STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

1. SINHA CORPORATION, )

   )

   Petitioner, )

   )

   vs. ) CASE NO. 87-4613BID

   ) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, )

   )

   Respondent. )

   )

   
   

   RECOMMENDED ORDER

   
   

   This matter was heard by William R. Dorsey, Jr., the Hearing Officer designated by the Division of Administrative Hearings, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on October 30, 1987. A transcript of the proceeding was filed on November 9, 1987. The Department of Transportation filed a proposed recommended order. Mr. Sinha declined the opportunity to file a proposed recommended order (transcript page 33). Rulings on the proposals of the Department of Transportation are made in the Appendix to this Recommended Order.

   
   

   For Petitioner: N. Sinha, pro se

   for N. Shira Corporation

   
   

   For Respondent: Brant Hargrove, Esquire

   Tallahassee, Florida ISSUE

   The issue is whether the contract for Florida Department of Transportation project number 87200-3463 should be awarded to J & G Painting, Inc.

   
   

   FINDINGS OF FACT

   
   

   1. J & G Painting, Inc. and N. Sinha Corp. submitted bids for DOT Project Number 87200-3463. The bid of J & G Painting, Inc. for $69,887 was the low bid. The bid of N. Sinha Corp. of $81,413, was the next lowest bid. (Exhibit 2).

      
      

   2. The Florida Department of Transportation tabulated the bids and proposed to award the contract to J & G Painting, Inc.

      
      

   3. N. Sinha Corp. protested the intended award because: (1) the front page of the bid proposal of J & G did not contain, on the first line, the name of J & G Corp., (2) the signature page for the bid proposal of J & G contained a blank relating to an addendum to the contract, and (3) J & G never initialed any changes made on the price extension sheet of its bid proposal.

      
      

   4. Bidders commonly fail to write their name on the first page of bid proposals. A review of the entire proposal makes clear that the proposal came from J & G Painting, Inc.

   5. A pre-bid conference for this contract was held on September 17, 1987. Attending the conference was not mandatory. Certain addenda to the contract were discussed at the meeting, which are contained in the minutes of that meeting. (Exhibit 3).

      
      

   6. Because no representative of J & G attended the pre-bid conference, the President of J & G, George Kareovlias, called the Department to determine if any changes to the original bid proposal were announced at the conference. The only change of any significance was an increase in the liquidated damages provision of the contract from $100 per day to $300 per day no evidence that initialing of any changes made with white-out is required.

      
      

      CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

      
      

   7. Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over this matter. Section 120.53(5), Florida Statutes (1985).

      
      

   8. The Department of Transportation is authorized to award a contract work to the "lowest responsible bidder" by Section 337.11(3), Florida Statutes (1985). The bid documents incorporate Section 3-1 of the General Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction (1986), which provides:

      
      

      Until the actual award of the contract, however, the right

      will be reserved to reject any or all proposals and to waive technical errors as may be deemed best for the interest of the state.

      
      

   9. The failure to place the name of J & G Painting Inc. on the front page of its bid proposal is, at most, a technical error which may be waived. While the space for inserting the addendum number on the signature page of the J & G bid proposal is blank, the President of J & G understood that there was an addendum, the contents of which would not affect J & G's price. The failure to insert the addendum number and its date on the properly executed signature page for the proposal is not fatal to J & G's bid. The failure to initial portions of the price extension sheet which had been whited out is likewise not fatal to the bid, as initialing is not required.

      
      

   10. None of the matters which N. Sinha Corp. points to gave J & G a price advantage not enjoyed by other bidders. Harry Pepper & Associates v. City of Cape Coral, 352 So.2d 1190, 1193

       
       

   11. This change was of no consequence to Mr. Xareovlias because although he would be bound by it, it had no impact on his bid price.

       
       

   12. The signature page for the bid proposal is a form. It has several blank spaces on it, including a space which states:

       
       

       I (we) hereby acknowledge receipt of the following Addenda issued during the bidding period:

       Addendum No. , Dated (add further addends [sic] as necessary)

   13. The space for filling in any addendum numbers and associated dates on the J & G submission is blank, although the signature page is otherwise correctly executed by J & G Painting, Inc.

       
       

   14. The signature page for N. Sinha Corp. is filled in, acknowledging Addendum No. 1, Dated September 17, 1987.

       
       

   15. The extension sheet for the J & G bid lists quantities and unit prices for the materials to be used in completing the contract. The original J & G bid proposal contains some entries which have been whited-out and typed over. I accept the testimony of Mr. Kareovlias that the prices listed are the prices J & G intends to charge the Department of Transportation to accomplish the job. If entries on the price extension sheet had been scratched out and interlineations added, initialing of such changes would have been prudent, but there is 1193 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977). There are no material errors in the bid which would cause the Department to reject the bid of J & G Painting, Inc.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the Florida Department of Transportation award the contract for Job Number 87200-3463 to J. & G Painting, Inc.

DONE AND ORDERED this 18th day of November, 1987, in Tallahassee, Florida.

WILLIAM R. DORSEY, JR.

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings The Oakland Building

2009 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 18th day of November, 1987.

APPENDIX TO RECOMMENDED ORDER

All findings of fact proposed by the Department of Transportation are incorporated in the Recommended Findings of Fact. No proposals were filed by N. Sinha Corp.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Brant Hargrove, Esquire Department of Transportation Haydon Burns Building, MS-58 605 Suwannee Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0458

N. Sinha Corporation Post Office Box 5461 Hialeah, Florida 33014

Kaye N. Henderson Secretary

Department of Transportation

Haydon Burns Building, Mail Station 58 605 Suwannee Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0458

Thomas H. Bateman, III General Counsel

Department of Transportation

562 Haydon Burns Building 605 Suwannee Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0458

Docket for Case No: 87-004613BID

Orders for Case No: 87-004613BID