Attorney Matt Jameson, Co-Chair of Burns White’s Construction Law Group successfully represented a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (“SDVOSB”) in a size determination appeal before the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (“OHA”). The dispute began in August 2022 when the client filed a size protest with the SBA’s Contracting Officer over the award of a contract for a construction project at the Indiantown Gap National Cemetery in Pennsylvania. The protest alleged that the contract awardee (“Appellant”) was not small due to its affiliation with multiple entities, and had engaged in a concerted and deliberate scheme to gain access to VA projects set aside for SDVOSBs. The SBA’s Area Office agreed and issued a size determination finding Appellant was not a small business. Appellant then appealed the size determination. On appeal, Attorney Jameson presented detailed calculations to support the position that the Area Office appropriately considered the annual receipts of Appellant and its affiliates when determining that Appellant’s revenue exceeded the limit set to qualify as a small business. OHA agreed and determined that the receipts of Appellant and its affiliates far exceeded the size standard.
The August 11, 2023 Decision of the OHA affirms the purpose and intent of the SBA to protect the interest of small business concerns and the goal of the federal government to award at least 3% of all federal contracts to SDVOSBs annually.
The trial team also included Mary Beth Alexander, Legal Analyst.