Levi Mason Trading (SPMYM223P1391)

B-421668 Aug 14, 2023 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Levi Mason Trading, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business located in West Boylston, Massachusetts, protests the decision of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to cancel purchase order No. SPMYM2-23-P-1391, which was issued to Levi Mason without the contracting officer's signature, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. SPMYM223Q1144, for a flex barrier system. The protester argues that it is entitled to payment for partial performance as a result of costs it incurred in procuring the material required to produce the flex barrier system prior to the cancellation. The protester also asserts that the agency's cancellation of the purchase order was improper because it constituted a "breach of fair and honest bid practice." Protest at 5. We dismiss the protest in part and deny the protest in part. View Decision Decision Matter of: Levi Mason Trading File: B-421668 Date: August 14, 2023 Adam Rickenbach for the protester. Lesley Walter, Esq., and Mandy W. Chiles, Esq., Defense Logistics Agency, for the agency. Heather Weiner, Esq., and Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest seeking payment for partial performance of costs incurred for the solicited flex barrier system is dismissed because the protester’s challenge presents a question of contract administration not for our consideration as part of our bid protest function. 2. Protest that agency acted in bad faith in deciding to cancel the procurement is denied where there is no indication in the record that the agency’s actions constituted bad faith. DECISION Levi Mason Trading, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business located in West Boylston, Massachusetts, protests the decision of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to cancel purchase order No. SPMYM2-23-P-1391, which was issued to Levi Mason without the contracting officer’s signature, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. SPMYM223Q1144, for a flex barrier system. The protester argues that it is entitled to payment for partial performance as a result of costs it incurred in procuring the material required to produce the flex barrier system prior to the cancellation. The protester also asserts that the agency’s cancellation of the purchase order was improper because it constituted a “breach of fair and honest bid practice.”[1] Protest at 5. We dismiss the protest in part and deny the protest in part. BACKGROUND DLA issued the RFQ on April 17, 2023, on behalf of the Department of the Navy. The solicitation, which was set aside for small businesses, sought a flex barrier system. Req. for Dismissal, encl. 1, RFQ at 1, 5. Levi Mason submitted a timely quotation in response to the solicitation, and after conducting an evaluation, DLA selected Levi Mason’s quotation for issuance of a purchase order. DLA transmitted an unsigned Standard Form (SF) 1449 to Levi Mason on April 27, 2023, in the amount of $59,739; Levi Mason signed and returned the SF 1449 document the same day. Req. for Dismissal, encl. 1, SF 1449 at 1; Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 1. The next day, April 28, Levi Mason placed an order with its manufacturer for the flex barrier. Protest, attach. 2, Manufacturer Order at 1. That same day, Levi Mason emailed DLA requesting that it “please sign the contract and send it back[.]” Protest, attach. 8, Email to DLA, Apr. 28, 2023 at 1. Receiving no response from DLA, Levi Mason emailed the agency again on May 1 to inquire if it “should be expecting a signed contract from your office?” Protest, attach. 9, Email to DLA, May 1, 2023 at 1. The following day, May 2, the DLA contracting officer received an email from the Navy customer requesting that DLA cancel the award because the Navy “decided the material [it has] on hand will work for [its] application and [it] no longer need[ed] the Flex Barrier[.]” COS, exh. A, Navy Email to DLA, May 2, 2023 at 1. As a result, that same day, the contracting officer modified the SF 1449 to cancel it. Req. for Dismissal, encl. 2, RFQ Modification at 1. The protester requested a debriefing from the agency on May, 4, which the agency provided via email on May 10.[2] COS, exh. C, Emails at 1-2. The agency advised Levi Mason that the award was canceled because the “requested material is no longer needed by the end user” and that the Navy customer “requested cancellation prior to the contract award being finalized.” Id.