Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has ruled that the General Services Administration (GSA) must provide a clear and rational explanation for its decision to terminate a $2.8 million task order award, citing the need for greater transparency and justification.
In a decision made public on July 30, Federal Claims Judge Kathryn C. Davis found that although the GSA identified outdated requirements and ambiguity in its solicitation for IT support services for the U.S. Air Force, the agency did not adequately explain how those requirements were outdated or clarify what ambiguities warranted cancellation of the contract.
“Without a more sufficient description of the agency’s findings and a clearer explanation connecting those findings to the determination made, the court cannot uphold the cancellation on the current record,” Judge Davis stated.
The case centers on a solicitation issued by the GSA in August 2023 for IT support services—including eFINANCE, LeaveWeb, FMSuite, and FMDQS systems—for the Air Force. After awarding a $2.9 million task order to CAN Softtech Inc. in January 2024, the GSA faced a protest from Octo Metric LLC, which challenged the agency’s evaluation process and past performance assessments.
In response, the GSA took corrective action by suspending CAN Softtech’s contract performance and extending the incumbent contractor’s contract through January 31, 2025. Later, the agency canceled CAN Softtech’s award in June 2024, citing that the solicitation’s performance work statement was outdated and ambiguous.
Judge Davis found that while the GSA had properly exercised its discretion to take corrective action, the agency failed to provide sufficient detail in its rationale for canceling the award and reissuing the solicitation. The court has ordered the GSA to provide a fuller explanation to permit meaningful judicial review.
The decision also rendered moot CAN Softtech’s claim that the GSA’s contract extension violated the Competition in Contracting Act, as the government issued a new sole-source task order for the contested services.
CAN Softtech is represented by Alexander Brewer Ginsberg of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP. The government is represented by Elinor Joung Kim of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division.
The case is CAN Softtech Inc. v. U.S., case number 1:24-cv-01009, in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
