Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind v. PDS Consultants, Inc., et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 2017-2379, 2017-2512 · judgment October 17, 2018
Before the decision, about 2.2× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a Federal Circuit decision below, and down for a business respondent.
Questions presented
Congress enacted the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act (“JWOD”), 41 U.S.C. § 8501 et seq., to increase employment for individuals who are blind and severely disabled, two groups that have been chronically underemployed throughout history. JWOD furthers its mission by requiring that the federal government acquire certain goods and services exclusively from nonprofit entities that employ blind and severely disabled individuals. Congress also enacted a small business contracting preference for veterans in 38 U.S.C. § 8127(d), which requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (the “VA”) to prioritize veteranowned small businesses in all restricted competitions for the purchase of goods and services. The issues in this case are:
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Whether the Tucker Act’s grant of bid protest jurisdiction to the Court of Federal Claims extends to suits that challenge the lawfulness of a federal agency’s acquisition policies and practices, and their underlying statutory foundation, outside the context of a specific solicitation regarding, or the award of, a government contract.
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Whether Congress intended 38 U.S.C. § 8127(d)’s competitive-bidding preference for providers owned and controlled by veterans to trump the mandatory requirements of JWOD that dictate that agencies must acquire goods and services in the first instance using the AbilityOne Procurement List. (i)
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Carter G. Phillips
Sidley Austin LLP
For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day
Proceedings
- Jan 13 2020Petition DENIED.
- Dec 23 2019DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/10/2020.
- Dec 20 2019Reply of petitioner Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind filed.
- Dec 09 2019Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
- Dec 09 2019Waiver of right of respondent PDS Consultants, Inc. to respond filed.
- Oct 30 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 9, 2019, for all respondents.
- Oct 29 2019Motion of the Solicitor General to extend the time to file a response from November 12, 2019 to December 9, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
- Oct 11 2019Brief amicus curiae of National Association for the Employment of People Who Are Blind filed.
- Oct 11 2019Brief amicus curiae of SourceAmerica filed.
- Oct 11 2019Brief amicus curiae of City of Winston-Salem filed.
- Oct 11 2019Brief amicus curiae of American Council of the Blind filed.
- Oct 11 2019Brief amicus curiae of National Industries for the Blind filed.
- Oct 10 2019Brief amici curiae of Alphapointe, et al. filed.
- Oct 04 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 12, 2019, for all respondents.
- Oct 03 2019Motion of the Solicitor General to extend the time to file a response from October 11, 2019 to November 12, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
- Sep 17 2019Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind.
- Sep 09 2019Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 11, 2019)
- Jul 22 2019Application (19A84) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until September 9, 2019.
- Jul 19 2019Application (19A84) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from August 8, 2019 to September 9, 2019, submitted to The Chief Justice.