MCNA Insurance Company v. Department of Technology, unpublished decision of the Michigan Court of Appeals, No. 342646, 2019 WL 206417 (January 15, 2019).
The Michigan Court of Appeals recently released an unpublished opinion regarding whether an entity has standing to sue if they are not awarded a government contract for services. Plaintiff submitted a proposal for two state contracts to provide dental services under a state program. Defendant awarded the contracts to another bidder. Plaintiff filed a protest with the state arguing improper deductions were made in scoring its proposal. Defendant agreed to adjust the scoring, but even so the adjustment did not affect the outcome of the award.
Plaintiff filed a claim in circuit court alleging that the process and revised recommendation violated the law resulting in material injustice, and was arbitrary and capricious. The trial court did not rule on the motion to dismiss and instead adjourned the hearing, directing the Defendant to submit an affidavit explaining why it allowed another entity to change its bid and allowed the Plaintiff to depose a representative of the Defendant. Plaintiff filed an application for leave to appeal with the Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals ruled that a disappointed bidder does not have standing to challenge the bidding process and the circuit court should have granted Defendant’s motion to dismiss based on lack of standing.