Stacy & Witbeck, Inc. v. City & County of San Francisco

The crux of this appeal is whether a municipality, consistent with applicable ordinances and without overreaching areas occupied by state law, can bar a contractor from bidding on its public works projects for five years, on a declaration of irresponsibility for knowingly filing a false claim. We conclude it can and reverse the order preliminarily enjoining the City and County of San Francisco (City) and its public utilities commission (PUC) from enforcing the PUC’s order against public works contractor Stacy & Witbeck, Inc. (Stacy).

I. Background

The City is a chartered city and county and as such has adopted its own laws requiring competitive bidding on public works contracts involving expenditure of more than $50,000. (San Francisco Administrative Code (SFAC) § 6.1, calling for the letting of such contracts to “the lowest reliable and responsible bidder.”) In May 1991, pursuant to its competitive bidding process, the City awarded Stacy and Nationwide Construction Company, its joint venture partner, Muni Contract MR-1038 to construct a double crossover track system at the Castro Street light rail vehicle station. The contract called for a 10-day continuous shutdown…