Ark. Highway & Transp. Dep’t v. O.J.’s Serv. Two, Inc.

In 2014, the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department issued a bid invitation for a janitorial and cleaning-services contract. O.J.’s Service Two, Inc. submitted a bid for the contract. The Highway Department, however, awarded the contract to another bidder, RazorClean. O.J.’s protested the contract award, contending that RazorClean’s bid did not conform to the specifications in the bid invitation. The Highway Department denied O.J.’s protest. Thereafter, O.J.’s filed suit against the Highway Department and other state defendants (collectively, “Defendants”) requesting a writ of mandamus compelling Defendants to follow the Arkansas procurement laws and regulations and requiring Defendants to declare the contract with RazorClean null and void and to award the contract to O.J.’s. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, asserting that O.J.’s claims were barred by sovereign immunity. The circuit court denied the motion. Defendants subsequently filed this interlocutory appeal. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal as moot, holding that because the contract at issue in the lawsuit had been fully performed, the matter is now moot, and none of the exceptions to the mootness doctrine apply. View "Ark. Highway & Transp. Dep't v. O.J.’s Serv. Two, Inc." on Justia Law