Northwest Technical Resources Inc. v. Bechtel Hanford

MEMORANDUM **

Northwest Technical Resources, Inc. (“Northwest”) appeals from a grant of summary judgment in favor of Bechtel Hanford Corp. (“Bechtel”). Northwest filed suit against Bechtel after negotiations to extend a subcontract for professional staffing services ended unsuccessfully.

Northwest alleges that Bechtel violated federal regulations by requiring cost and price data in order to evaluate price reasonableness as part of the subcontract negotiations. The gravamen of Northwest’s claim is that its services fell within a commercial item exception and hence Bechtel was prohibited from requiring cost and price data. 48 C.F.R. § 15.403-1 . A “commercial item” includes “[sjervices of a type offered and sold competitively in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace based on established catalog or market prices.” 48 C.F.R. § 2.101 . Determining whether a product or service qualifies for the commercial item exception lies within the reasonable discretion of the contracting party, which Northwest identifies as Bechtel. 48 C.F.R. § 15.403 -l(c)(3)(i). In this instance, the Department of Energy singled out the Northwest contract as lacking in verification of price…