TMI Management Systems, Inc.

2009 WL 3108215 (2009)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

TMI Management Systems, Inc.

United States Government Accountability Office
2009 WL 3108215 (2009)

  • Written by Liz Nakamura, JD

Facts

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (defendant) posted a notice regarding the issuance of its Request for Proposals (RFP) on the Federal Business Opportunities website (FedBizOpps). FEMA’s RFP was for a contract to provide maintenance, disposition, and transportation services for temporary housing units (THUs) across the United States. FEMA posted its notice on FedBizOpps under procurement classification code 99, for miscellaneous products. The RFP provided a detailed, accurate description of the services solicited. After the window for submitting proposals closed, TMI Management Systems, Inc. (TMI) (plaintiff) submitted a protest to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) arguing that FEMA violated the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) by listing its FedBizOpps solicitation notice under an inappropriate procurement classification code. Specifically, TMI argued that, rather than using procurement code 99 for miscellaneous products, FEMA should have listed the solicitation notice under either (1) procurement code M, for operation of government owned facilities; or (2) procurement code R, for professional, administration, and management support services. TMI claimed that FEMA’s failure to appropriately classify its FedBizOpps notice made it impossible for TMI, and other similar contractors, to locate the notice and thereby stifled full and open competition. TMI had an existing blanket purchase agreement contract with FEMA to provide substantially similar THU support services. FEMA challenged, arguing that a prudent contractor would have searched FedBizOpps by keyword, which would have pulled up FEMA’s solicitation notice, rather than relying on the procurement codes.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Gordon, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership