AXIOM RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, INC., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellant, and LOCKHEED MARTIN FEDERAL HEALTHCARE, INC., Defendant-Appellant., 564 F.3d 1374

Summary

Appellee had challenged the award of the contract to awardee on the basis that the existence of OCIs rendered the award improper and that proper mitigation of such OCIs had not been provided. The contracting officer (CO) had twice reviewed and confirmed the award. When the CO declined a third review, an appeal alleging that appellants had violated 48 C.F.R. § 9.500 et seq. and had acted arbitrarily and capriciously in making the award was filed. After allowing appellee to extensively supplement the record, the CFC set the award aside, but the court reversed. First, the CFC abused its discretion when it allowed appellee to extensively supplement the administrative record in the absence of a finding that the existing record was insufficient to permit meaningful judicial review. Second, the CFC failed to properly review the existing record under the arbitrary and capricious standard required by 5 U.S.C.S. § 706(2)(A) because the identification of OCIs and the evaluation of mitigation ...