AGC has reported on the big court win and the next steps for federal contractors in the MVL USA, Inc. vs. United States ruling that the federal mandate to use PLAs on virtually all federal large-scale projects is unlawful. As a result, the Department of Defense (DOD) has issued a class deviation which waives PLA requirements on all solicitations. The General Services Administration (GSA) followed suit in a February 12th memo but did so as a class exception. GSA’s memo waives the requirement to use a PLA for land port of entry projects going forward. More information on GSA’s approach is explained in this article here.
The different approaches by the DOD and GSA highlight confusion within the government concerning the government’s interpretation of the MVL decision, which also negatively impacts AGC members trying to navigate competing for federal work. In hopes of providing clear lines and avoiding confusion, the contractor plaintiffs in the MVL case, all AGC members, have made a motion requesting a permanent injunction ordering the Government to rescind Executive Order 14063, FAR Subpart 22.5, and FAR Clauses 52.222-33 and -34, and take other appropriate action to implement its January 19, 2025, Opinion and Order.
Significantly, the “Plaintiffs have already succeeded on the merits, as the Court has ruled that the PLA Requirements violate CICA’s requirement for the Government to obtain full and open competition.” The motion for a nationwide injunction was made on February 10, 2025 and has been unsealed.
The Government opposes the proposed injunction. The following schedule has been agreed to by the parties: 1) on or before February 24, 2025, the Government shall respond to the plaintiffs’ motion for injunctive relief; and 2) on or before March 3, 2025, plaintiffs will file a reply. Oral arguments and a subsequent ruling by Judge Ryan Holte would follow.
For additional questions or comments, contact Brian Perlberg, Senior Counsel, at brian.perlberg@agc.org, or Leah Pilconis, General Counsel, at leah.pilconis@agc.org.
