In Cedroni Associates, Inc. v. Tomblinson, Harburn Associates Architects & Planners, Inc., Mcalpine & Associates attorney Ryan Jezdimir successfully argued that the low bidder on a school district construction project could support a cause of action against the architectural firm that recommended award to another bidder. The court held that Cedroni had a reasonable business expectancy of winning the contract, in light of its low bid and the district’s policy of awarding to the lowest responsible bidder. Thus, Cedroni could recover for tortious interference with a business expectancy upon showing that the architect’s recommendation was not supported by legitimate business reasons.
The Cedroni decision is important particularly to contractors who invest substantial resources into bid development on the expectation of fair treatment, only to find that the cards have been stacked against them. Too often those contractors are convinced to accept an unfair result without fully exploring sources of recovery.
