ODOT Bidder Permitted to Supplement Bid After Opening

Kegler Brown Construction Newsletter

The Ohio Court of Claims has ruled that ODOT did not abuse its discretion by allowing a low bidder to submit a list of subcontractors and the commitment letters from pre-qualified subcontractors as required, after the bid opening but prior to award. Becdir Construction Co. v. Ohio Dept. of Transp. (1992), 66 Ohio Misc.2d 93. The Court ruled that the low bidder did not obtain any competitive advantage by submitting this information after the bid opening.

This case emphasizes that low bidders with some technical omission in their bids may want to try to encourage the owner to accept submission of the omitted material after the bid opening in order to still be considered "responsive."