On September 1, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee issued an order in Ultima Services Corp. v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, et. al., Case No. 2:20-cv-00041, following the status hearing held on August 31, 2023. In my previous blog I wrote about the District Court’s injunction prohibiting the SBA from using the rebuttable presumption of social disadvantage narrative (https://whitehavenadvisors.com/district-court-enjoins-sba-from-using-race-based-rebuttable-presumption-under-8a-program )
According to the District Court’s order of September 1st, it states that only two issues remain in the case:
- Ultima Services Corporation’s request for an injunction precluding the federal government from reserving administrative and technical support contracts with the Natural Resources Conservation Service U.S .Dept of Agriculture the SBA’s 8(a) program; and
- The SBA’s compliance with the District Court’s prior injunction.
The Ultima case arose from the Government’s decision to initiate a follow-on procurement for a contract in which Ultima was the incumbent, within the SBA’s 8(a) program. Consequently, Ultima was precluded from competing for the new contract. The complaint filed by Ultima sought an order restraining the federal government from restricting competition for administrative and technical support contracts with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to participants in the program.
A briefing schedule was set by the District Court to address these issues:
- Ultima’s brief is due by September 15, 2023;
- The government’s brief is due by September 29, 2023; and
- Ultima’s reply brief is due October 5, 2o23.
Follow up information will be provided as it becomes available.
Inquiries regarding the aforementioned information, please feel free to contact:
Lisa J Dolan, CPP
Advisor- Government Contracting Services
Whitehaven Advisors LLC
lisad@whitehavenadvisors.com