Sub Bid Protest Rejected

Kegler Brown Construction Newsletter

On another ODOT project, a concrete subcontractor and its concrete trade association challenged the acceptance of the asphalt (not concrete) alternative. ODOT argued that the subcontractor and the association of which he was a member did not have standing to challenge the bid award.

While the Court recognized that trade associations generally have standing to bring legal action on behalf of members, it said that right was limited to whether the member (here a subcontractor not bidding directly to ODOT) had a right to sue.

The Court went on to find that a disappointed subcontractor has no right to sue the public owner as a disappointed bidder. As a result, the Court threw out the bid challenge filed by the concrete subcontractor and his trade association. Ohio Concrete Construction Assn. v. ODOT, Case No. 08 CV 09-13867 (October 6, 2008).