Expert Witness Blog
Public contract codes expert witnesses may opine on public contract codes, public contract regulations, and related issues. In Bid Protests on California Government and Public Works Contacts in California, attorney George W. Wolff of George W. Wolff & Associates writes:
Protest Deadlines:
The Time period to submit a Bid Protest after the bid opening, or to respond to a Bid Protest from another bidder are typically very, very, very short, after as little as 3-5 days after bid opening, or possibly even less!
Therefore, do not wait until the government formally awards the contract to another bidder, as that could well be too late.
If you are late, the government and the other bidder may argue that your protest should be rejected, as they have been prejudiced since the contract may have been signed and mobilization has begun.
If it is an important project for your company, attend the Bid Opening, and if you think you might want to protest, ask the public agency for a copy of their Tabulation of the Bids and a copy of the Bid(s) of the Bidder(s) you might want to protest, pursuant to the “California Public Records Act”, they are usually required by this Act to give you these documents.