Life Science Logistics, LLC, which has operated multiple SNS sites since 2007, lost a lucrative 10-year contract for a facility in the National Capitol Region to competitor Integrated Quality Solutions in October 2023. LSL filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office, triggering an automatic 100-day stay of performance under the CICA.
A few weeks after the stay began, the GSA issued a determination finding that "urgent and compelling circumstances now exist that significantly affect the interests of the United States and do not permit waiting for the GAO decision." The agency used this finding to override the stay and allow IQS to begin performance, despite the pending GAO review.
LSL sued in the Court of Federal Claims, arguing the override was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. The trial court agreed, granting declaratory relief without requiring LSL to prove the traditional factors for preliminary injunctions, such as likelihood of success or irreparable harm.
The government appealed, arguing that the declaratory judgment was effectively coercive and equivalent to an injunction. Under that view, LSL would have needed to satisfy the four-factor equitable test to obtain relief.
Circuit Judge Stark, writing for the unanimous panel, rejected this argument. The court held that Congress explicitly imposed no burden on the protestor in the CICA; the simple filing of a written protest triggers the automatic stay.
Stark warned that requiring the four-factor test would "undesirably incentivize the government to override more (if not all) CICA stays." The court emphasized that any coercive impact resulted from the statute itself, not the judicial judgment.
The case reached the Federal Circuit after the underlying dispute became moot when the GAO sustained LSL's protest in February 2024, leading the government to withdraw the override. The court applied the "capable of repetition yet evading review" exception to mootness, noting that CICA disputes unfold too quickly for full appellate review.
The ruling clarifies that agencies must have solid justification to override protest stays. It limits the government's ability to bypass statutory protections by claiming urgent circumstances without meeting the rigorous standards that would apply if a preliminary injunction were sought.