Womble Bond Dickinson’s Government Contracts Team Wins $245 Million Government Contract Appeal
Jan 22 2025
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of Womble Bond Dickinson’s client F3EA, Inc. (F3EA) in a significant and precedential bid protest appeal that resulted in the award of a $245 million contract to F3EA.
In 2020, F3EA was initially awarded a $245 million Special Operations Forces Requirements Analysis, Prototyping, Training, Operations and Rehearsal IV (SOF RAPTOR IV) contract by the Department of Defense Program Executive Office, Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) after PEO STRI properly concluded that F3EA submitted the best proposal.
Immediately after award, multiple competitors filed bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Josh Mullen served as lead counsel representing F3EA in those four initial GAO protests, which were each dismissed or denied. Josh Mullen also represented F3EA in a competitor’s small business size protest and appeal, which also was denied. However, one of the protesters then filed a second protest at the Court of Federal Claims (COFC), which was ultimately granted and the COFC enjoined the contract to F3EA and further ordered the Army to correct multiple alleged issues with the contract award.
On behalf of F3EA, Womble Bond Dickinson then appealed the adverse COFC ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Government also appealed. A Womble Bond Dickinson appellate litigation team, led by partners Josh Mullen and Ray Bennett with the assistance of associate Josh Funderburke, prepared a brief challenging the COFC’s rulings that impacted F3EA. Mullen then argued the appeal in a March 2024 hearing before the Federal Circuit.
After several months, the Federal Circuit ruled in F3EA’s favor in a significant precedential and published decision. Click here to read the decision. Upon remand, any remaining protest grounds were dismissed, which resulted in a complete resolution of the case and a significant $245 million contract award to our client.
As noted by F3EA’s leadership: “Josh Mullen and his team were critical to F3EA. Their expertise throughout a 4-year protest period were critical to obtaining the overwhelming ruling in favor of F3EA and the PEO STRI contracting office. Their counsel and guidance occurred 7 days a week for years at a time. We at F3EA could not be more appreciative of their efforts.”
If you have any questions about how Womble Bond Dickinson can assist your business with similar issues, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys referenced in this article, your regular Womble Bond Dickinson attorney, or any of the members of the Government Contracts Team.