In a significant legal ruling, a U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge vacated the U.S. Army’s €978.6 million ($1.02 billion) contract for armed security services at military installations in Germany, following a complaint filed by Continuity Global Solutions LLC (CGS). The judge found that the Army had relied on unstated evaluation criteria when downgrading CGS’s past performance rating, which could have led to the company’s selection for the contract.
Judge Eric G. Bruggink’s decision, released publicly on Friday, cited the Army’s error in applying criteria regarding prior experience in Germany and with U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) entities – factors that were not disclosed in the contract solicitation. According to the ruling, this oversight created a significant likelihood that CGS would have been awarded the contract had the Army correctly evaluated its performance references.
The case arose after the Army issued a solicitation in September 2023 for armed security services across its installations in Germany, requiring bidders to submit proposals under four volumes. One of the critical evaluation factors was past performance, where bidders had to provide recent and relevant references. While CGS’s references met the solicitation requirements, they were marked as only “satisfactory confidence” due to the lack of experience in Germany and with DOD entities.
Fellow bidder Pond Security Services GmbH was awarded the contract with a higher rating of “substantial confidence” despite the late submission of its proposal revisions. The court found that the Army should have disqualified Pond from consideration after the company submitted its revisions past the designated deadline.
Judge Bruggink ruled that the Army’s reliance on additional, undisclosed criteria led to a prejudicial error. He noted that had the Army followed the proper evaluation process, CGS’s performance rating would have likely improved, thus increasing the chances of CGS winning the contract, especially considering the significant price difference between CGS’s proposal and Pond’s.
As a result of the ruling, Judge Bruggink vacated the Army’s decision to award the contract to Pond and instructed the Army to reevaluate the past performance of CGS and Pond, considering only the factors outlined in the original solicitation. The Army is now required to make a new award decision.
This ruling emphasizes the importance of transparency in the evaluation process for government contracts and ensures that all bidders are assessed based on the same criteria. The case is Centerra Security Services GmbH v. U.S., case number 1:24-cv-01879, in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
For further information, please contact the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division or the respective legal representatives of the parties involved.
