Arguments in Swift & Staley Contract Case Proceed
Oral arguments were set yesterday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., as Department of Energy contractor Swift & Staley seeks to hold onto the $160-million Paducah Infrastructure Support Services Contract in Kentucky, which it won in December before the Small Business Administration ruled the company exceeds the size limit for the award.
Federal Claims Judge Thompson Dietz is expected to hear motions and cross-motions for summary judgement from Swift & Staley, the federal government and Virginia-based Akima Intra-Data during the session that will not be open to the public.
The motions will be based upon the administration record from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and its Office of Hearings and Appeals, according to earlier orders from the judge.
In April the SBA hearings panel ruled Swift & Staley exceeds the $41.5 million size standard for the new set-aside contract at Paducah once its share of a joint venture providing similar services at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio is considered. North Wind is the lead partner in the Portsmouth Mission Alliance.
The rival contractor, Akima Intra-Data, questioned the winner’s eligibility to the SBA, which agreed that Kentucky-based Swift & Staley is too large to qualify for the small business landlord contract at the former gaseous diffusion plant in Kentucky. Swift & Staley subsequently appealed the ruling to Federal Claims Court and virtually all the filings have been made under seal by the parties.
Attorneys in the case could not be reached for comment.
Swift & Staley has been the provider of services at Paducah since October 2015 under a contract now valued at $256 million. With the ongoing litigation, DOE extended the company’s tenure in February until March 2022. The business covers a variety of tasks from road maintenance to building upkeep to record keeping.
