A&A Windows and New Bedford Housing Authority
The Attorney General ruled the Awarding Authority was wrong to accept a window sub-bid from one of the general bidders. To be eligible, a general bidder must customarily perform the sub-trade work with its own employees. Customarily means the general bidder must regularly or habitually do that work. It is not enough that the general had performed some limited window work on several prior projects. The Awarding Authority must apply an objective standard and require the general bidder to demonstrate it regularly performs the sub-trade. Here the general bidder did not meet that objective test and its sub-bid was invalid.
Carlin Contracting and Tri-Town Septage Treatment Facility
General bids required a listing of unit prices and a total lump sum contract price. The second low bidder Carlin added its unit prices wrong. If its unit prices had been added correctly, it would have been the low bidder. Carlin claimed it should get the contract arguing it was really the low bidder based on its unit prices. The Attorney General ruled otherwise, concluding the bid statute made the total lump sum price the official bid price even if erroneously computed
Amanti & Sons and The Town of Middleton
Where there are less than three filed sub-bids in a trade an Awarding Authority may not reject sub-bids and conduct a rebid unless the bids submitted were not reasonable for acceptance. Here the low unrestricted sub-bid was less than the Engineer's estimate. The Attorney General ruled that sub-bid was reasonable for acceptance and the Awarding. Authority could not reject it in hopes of getting lower rebids. The Attorney General directed the subcontract be awarded to Amanti
Plumbers and Gas Fitters Local 12 and Boston Housing Authority
The Attorney General ruled the low plumbing sub-bid was invalid because the bidder was not a licensed plumbing contractor and none of its officers were master plumbers as required by statute. The fact that the corporation obtained a license and hired a master plumber after submission of its bid did not save the bid from invalidity. A plumbing sub-bidder that is not licensed at the time of bid cannot be one that customarily performs the work of that sub-trade as the public bid law requires.
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