## Bottom line Silverline should **file the Procurement Review Board protest immediately—today, Tuesday, September 7, 2027 if possible—and in no event later than Saturday, September 11, 2027** to preserve the automatic stay of performance. It should not follow management’s proposal to file an agency protest on September 10 and wait for the agency’s answer before going to the Board. The last date that preserves the automatic stay is **September 11**, not the September 14 merits deadline. The five-year polar-region experience ground is **waived** and should not be asserted as a Board ground. The viable post-award grounds were first disclosed at the September 4 debriefing; Silverline’s merits deadline is **Tuesday, September 14, 2027**, but the automatic-stay deadline is earlier. --- # 1. The waived solicitation ground: the five-year polar-region experience requirement The requirement for five years of polar-region experience was an **apparent solicitation defect**. Under Rule 1, a protest to an apparent solicitation defect must be filed **before the bid deadline**. Silverline had only three years of experience but submitted its proposal without protesting the requirement. That submission waived the ground. Under Rule 3, the required debriefing does **not** revive an apparent solicitation defect merely because it was not discussed or because the debriefing delayed knowledge of other matters. **Protest plan:** Do **not** include the polar-region experience requirement as a protest ground. It is waived. If it is mentioned at all, it should be identified only as a matter not asserted, or omitted entirely. --- # 2. When Silverline knew the post-award grounds The post-award grounds were first disclosed at Silverline’s required debriefing on **Saturday, September 4, 2027**. The written debriefing slides were received the same day. Under Rule 3, a required debriefing delays knowledge of matters first disclosed there. Therefore, for the post-award grounds: - The date Silverline knew, or should have known, the basis for protest is **September 4, 2027**. - That is also the date Silverline knew the disputed technical scoring, the improper treatment of subcontractor experience, and the fact that Atlas’s evaluated price was $1.8 million higher. The solicitation-defect ground does not reset this analysis; it is waived. --- # 3. The ten-calendar-day Board merits deadline Rule 2 requires a post-award Board protest to be filed within **ten calendar days after the protester knew or should have known the basis**, excluding the day of knowledge. Knowledge date: **September 4, 2027** Exclude September 4. Counting ten calendar days: | Day | Date | |---:|---| | 1 | Sunday, September 5, 2027 | | 2 | Monday, September 6, 2027 | | 3 | Tuesday, September 7, 2027 | | 4 | Wednesday, September 8, 2027 | | 5 | Thursday, September 9, 2027 | | 6 | Friday, September 10, 2027 | | 7 | Saturday, September 11, 2027 | | 8 | Sunday, September 12, 2027 | | 9 | Monday, September 13, 2027 | | 10 | Tuesday, September 14, 2027 | **Board merits deadline:** **Tuesday, September 14, 2027**. A protest filed by September 14 is timely on the merits. But that deadline does **not** preserve the automatic stay. --- # 4. The two alternative automatic-stay calculations Rule 4 provides that performance is automatically stayed only if the Board receives the protest by the **later** of: 1. **Ten calendar days after award notice**, excluding the award-notice date; or 2. **Five calendar days after the required debriefing**, excluding the debriefing date. ## A. Award-notice calculation Award notice date: **Wednesday, September 1, 2027** Exclude September 1. | Day | Date | |---:|---| | 1 | Thursday, September 2, 2027 | | 2 | Friday, September 3, 2027 | | 3 | Saturday, September 4, 2027 | | 4 | Sunday, September 5, 2027 | | 5 | Monday, September 6, 2027 | | 6 | Tuesday, September 7, 2027 | | 7 | Wednesday, September 8, 2027 | | 8 | Thursday, September 9, 2027 | | 9 | Friday, September 10, 2027 | | 10 | Saturday, September 11, 2027 | Award-notice automatic-stay deadline: **Saturday, September 11, 2027**. ## B. Debriefing calculation Required debriefing date: **Saturday, September 4, 2027** Exclude September 4. | Day | Date | |---:|---| | 1 | Sunday, September 5, 2027 | | 2 | Monday, September 6, 2027 | | 3 | Tuesday, September 7, 2027 | | 4 | Wednesday, September 8, 2027 | | 5 | Thursday, September 9, 2027 | Debriefing automatic-stay deadline: **Thursday, September 9, 2027**. ## C. Which date controls The automatic-stay deadline is the **later** of: - September 9, 2027, and - September 11, 2027. Therefore, the controlling automatic-stay date is: ## **Saturday, September 11, 2027** The Board is open on every relevant date, so the fact that September 11 is a Saturday does not extend the deadline to Monday, September 13, 2027. **Last filing date that preserves the automatic stay:** The Board must **receive** the protest by **Saturday, September 11, 2027**. A protest received on September 12, 2027 will be timely on the merits if received by September 14, but it will **not** trigger the automatic stay. --- # 5. Why the proposed agency-first sequence does not protect the stay Management’s proposal is: 1. File an agency protest on Friday, September 10, 2027; 2. Wait for the agency’s answer; 3. Then file with the Board. That sequence does **not** preserve the automatic stay. Rule 6 is clear: - An agency-level protest does **not** trigger the Board’s automatic stay. - It does **not** toll either Board deadline unless the agency issues a **written suspension** before the Board deadline expires. - The agency has made no written commitment to suspend performance. Even if an agency protest is filed on September 10, performance is not automatically stayed. If Silverline waits for the agency’s answer and does not file with the Board by September 11, the automatic stay is lost. If the Board filing occurs after September 14, the merits protest is also untimely. The only reliable path to the automatic stay is to have the **Board receive the protest by September 11**. A written agency suspension before September 11 might toll the Board deadlines under Rule 6, but: - it is not guaranteed; - it is not the Board’s automatic stay; - and Silverline should not build its protest strategy around an agency action that has not been committed in writing. **Protest plan:** Do not file the agency protest first as a delaying step. If Silverline wants to preserve agency-level objections, file an agency protest **only after or concurrently with** the Board protest, and do not wait for the agency’s answer before filing with the Board. --- # 6. Grounds to include in the initial Board protest The initial Board protest should include the post-award grounds first disclosed at the September 4 debriefing. It should not include the waived polar-region experience ground. ## Ground 1: Unsupported technical score based on an unidentified sensor model Include the ground that the Authority improperly credited Atlas with a sensor-resolution score based on a model that Atlas did not identify in its proposal. Facts then known: - At the September 4 debriefing, the Authority disclosed that it credited Atlas with a sensor-resolution score based on a model not identified in Atlas’s proposal. - Silverline received the written debriefing slides on September 4. - A score based on proposal content not actually included in Atlas’s proposal is unsupported by the proposal record and is not in accordance with the solicitation. Requested relief for this ground: - Set aside the evaluation score; - Direct reevaluation of Atlas’s technical score; - Set aside the award if the corrected evaluation changes the result. ## Ground 2: Improper zero credit for Silverline’s subcontractor experience Include the ground that the Authority improperly treated Silverline’s relevant subcontractor experience as worth zero despite the solicitation’s statement that relevant subcontractor experience “will be considered.” Facts then known: - The solicitation provided that relevant subcontractor experience “will be considered.” - The Authority disclosed at the September 4 debriefing that it treated Silverline’s subcontractor experience as worth zero. - This treatment is contrary to the solicitation clause and, if material, prejudicial to Silverline. Requested relief for this ground: - Correct the evaluation of Silverline’s subcontractor experience; - Direct reevaluation; - Set aside the award if the corrected evaluation changes the result. ## Ground 3: Selection of Atlas is not supported by the evaluated record once the disputed technical scoring is corrected Include the ground that Atlas’s evaluated price was $1.8 million higher than Silverline’s, but the Authority selected Atlas based on the disputed technical scoring. Facts then known: - The Authority disclosed that Atlas’s evaluated price was $1.8 million higher. - The Authority selected Atlas based on the disputed technical scoring. - If the technical scoring is corrected, the selection of Atlas over a lower-priced offeror is not supported by the evaluated record. Requested relief for this ground: - Set aside the award; - Direct the Authority to reevaluate proposals or take other corrective action consistent with the solicitation; - If appropriate, direct resolicitation. ## Grounds to omit Omit the five-year polar-region experience ground. It is waived. --- # 7. Required contents of the initial Board protest Under Rule 8, the initial protest must state: 1. Each ground; 2. The supporting facts then known; 3. Requested relief; 4. Any request for protected access to procurement records. Silverline should not file a bare protest and wait for records. The protest filed by September 11 should be complete as to all facts known on or before the filing date. ## Recommended initial protest contents Include: - Identification of the contract, award notice date, successful offeror, and Silverline as unsuccessful offeror; - A statement that the protest is timely under Rule 2 because the post-award grounds were first disclosed at the September 4, 2027 debriefing; - The three non-waived grounds described above; - The facts known from the September 4 debriefing slides; - Relevant proposal and solicitation excerpts, including the subcontractor-experience clause; - The award notice; - The debriefing slides; - A request for automatic stay of performance under Rule 4; - A request for protective order or confidential treatment as needed; - A request for protected access to procurement records; - Requested relief: set-aside, reevaluation, and any other appropriate corrective action. --- # 8. Role of protected-record access and supplementation Silverline should request protected access to procurement records in the **initial** Board protest. Request access to, among other things: - The evaluation report; - Score sheets and rater notes; - Atlas’s proposal as evaluated, including any material relating to the sensor-resolution score; - The Authority’s evaluation of Silverline’s proposal; - The price evaluation; - The debriefing materials; - Communications concerning the disputed evaluations; - Any agency protest report or supplemental report later prepared. The request should specify that protected access is necessary to develop the protest and should request appropriate confidentiality protections for Atlas’s proprietary information. ## Supplementation Rule 8 permits later supplementation for facts first learned from the agency report. That means Silverline should: 1. File the initial protest by September 11 with all facts then known; 2. Request protected access to the procurement record; 3. After receiving the agency report or other protected records, file a prompt supplement; 4. Identify the newly learned facts and the source where first learned; 5. Tie the new facts to the existing grounds or, if appropriate, show that they were first learned from the agency record. Silverline should not use supplementation as a substitute for an adequate initial protest. Supplementation is a tool to complete the record, not a basis for withholding known grounds from the initial filing. --- # 9. Court relief if the automatic stay is lost If the Board does not receive the protest by September 11, the automatic stay is lost. Under Rule 5, a timely merits protest may still proceed, but performance continues unless the Board or a court grants discretionary relief. Because Atlas is scheduled to begin transition work on **Monday, September 13, 2027**, Silverline must act quickly if the automatic stay is not in place. ## If the Board protest is received between September 12 and September 14 The protest is timely on the merits, but there is no automatic stay. Silverline should: 1. Immediately move the Board for discretionary stay of performance; 2. Simultaneously or promptly file for emergency court relief before transition begins. ## Court standard Under Rule 7, a court may issue an injunction based on: 1. Likelihood of success on the merits; 2. Irreparable harm; 3. Balance of harms; 4. Public interest. Filing in court does **not** create an automatic stay. ## Likelihood of success Silverline can argue that it is likely to succeed because: - The Authority scored Atlas based on a sensor model not identified in Atlas’s proposal; - The Authority zeroed Silverline’s subcontractor experience despite the solicitation stating that relevant subcontractor experience “will be considered”; - Atlas’s evaluated price was $1.8 million higher, but the selection rested on the disputed technical scores; - If the technical scoring is corrected, the award to Atlas is not supported by the evaluated record. ## Irreparable harm The $620,000 proposal-preparation cost alone is not enough. Proposal costs are ordinarily compensable and therefore do not, by themselves, establish irreparable harm. Silverline should instead show noncompensable harm, such as: - Transition work beginning on September 13 would entrench Atlas as the apparent awardee; - If the protest succeeds later, the transition work may be difficult or impossible to unwind; - Ongoing transition would make meaningful corrective competition harder; - The public would continue to suffer the risk of an improperly awarded contract; - The procurement process would be undermined by performance of an award resting on unsupported evaluations. Silverline should support this with affidavits, transition documents, scheduling materials, or other evidence showing that the September 13 transition is not merely a preliminary administrative step but would create real reliance and prejudice. ## Balance of harms Silverline should argue that the balance favors a stay because: - A stay preserves the status quo; - Atlas can be made whole for delay costs if the protest fails; - If performance proceeds and the protest succeeds, the harm to Silverline and the public may be difficult to remedy. ## Public interest The public interest supports a stay because it favors: - Fair and full competition; - Proper use of public funds; - Evaluation in accordance with the solicitation; - Integrity in federal procurement. --- # 10. Exact filing sequence Silverline should use The strongest procedural position is to make the **Board protest** the controlling filing and to use the agency protest, if any, only as a secondary measure. ## Step 1: File the Board protest immediately—today, September 7, 2027 Do not wait until September 10 or 11. File the protest with the Procurement Review Board today if possible. Early filing: - Preserves the automatic stay; - Preserves the merits deadline; - Gives the Board time to rule before transition begins on September 13; - Avoids the risk of a late-receipt issue on the deadline day. The filing should include: - The three viable post-award grounds; - All facts known as of September 7; - The award notice; - The debriefing slides; - The solicitation clause on subcontractor experience; - Relevant proposal excerpts; - A request for automatic stay; - A request for protected access to procurement records; - A request for set-aside or other appropriate corrective relief. ## Step 2: Do not file an agency protest first and wait Do not adopt management’s proposed sequence of filing only an agency protest on September 10 and waiting. If management wants an agency-level protest, file it: - After the Board protest has been filed and receipt confirmed; or - Concurrently with the Board protest, but only if it does not delay the Board filing. The agency protest should not be treated as a substitute for the Board protest. ## Step 3: If desired, seek a written agency suspension before September 11 If Silverline files an agency protest on September 10, it may also request that the agency issue a written suspension of performance before the Board deadline expires. But: - This is optional; - It is not automatic; - It is not reliable unless the agency actually issues a written suspension before September 11; - It does not replace the need to file with the Board. If a written suspension is issued before September 11, attach it to the Board filing and request the Board to reflect the tolling or suspension in the record. ## Step 4: Ensure Board receipt by September 11, 2027 The critical deadline is **Board receipt** by **Saturday, September 11, 2027**. Silverline should: - Use the Board’s designated filing method; - Obtain a time-stamped receipt or acknowledgment; - If using paper or courier, ensure delivery will occur by the deadline; - Confirm that the protest is not merely “filed” by Silverline but actually received by the Board. Because the Board is open on all relevant dates, the deadline is not moved from Saturday, September 11, to Monday, September 13. ## Step 5: After receiving protected records, file a prompt supplement After the Board grants access or the agency provides the report: 1. Review the records promptly; 2. Identify facts first learned from the agency report; 3. File a supplemental protest or supplemental statement; 4. State when and how each new fact was first learned; 5. Update the record to support the existing grounds. ## Step 6: If no automatic stay is in place, seek emergency relief before September 13 If the Board protest is not received by September 11, or if for any reason the automatic stay is not effective: 1. File with the Board immediately if not already filed, and by September 14 at the latest to preserve the merits; 2. Move the Board for discretionary stay; 3. File for emergency court relief before transition begins on Monday, September 13, 2027; 4. Argue likelihood of success, irreparable harm, balance of harms, and public interest; 5. Do not rely on the $620,000 proposal cost alone as irreparable harm. --- # Final recommended protest plan 1. **Drop the waived polar-region experience ground.** It was apparent, not protested before the bid deadline, and cannot be revived by the debriefing. 2. **Treat September 4, 2027 as the knowledge date for the post-award grounds.** The required debriefing first disclosed the disputed scoring, subcontractor-experience treatment, and price differential. 3. **Treat Tuesday, September 14, 2027 as the Board merits deadline.** That preserves the protest on the merits, but it does not preserve the automatic stay. 4. **Treat Saturday, September 11, 2027 as the last date to preserve the automatic stay.** The later of the two automatic-stay dates controls. The five-day debriefing date, September 9, is earlier and does not control because the ten-day award-notice date, September 11, is later. 5. **File the Board protest now, on September 7, 2027, if possible, and in any event ensure Board receipt by September 11, 2027.** The protest should include the sensor-resolution scoring error, the improper zero credit for subcontractor experience, and the unsupported selection of Atlas given the $1.8 million price difference once the disputed technical scores are corrected. 6. **Request protected access to procurement records in the initial protest.** Do not wait for records to state known grounds. Supplement later only for facts first learned from the agency report. 7. **Do not follow the agency-first plan.** An agency protest on September 10, without a Board filing by September 11, will lose the automatic stay. It does not toll the Board deadline unless the agency issues a written suspension before the Board deadline expires, and no such written commitment exists. 8. **If the automatic stay is lost, move immediately for Board discretionary relief and, before transition begins on September 13, seek a court injunction.** The court will not grant an automatic stay. Silverline must show likely success, irreparable harm, a favorable balance of harms, and a public interest in a stay. The $620,000 proposal cost alone is not enough; the harm must be framed as the noncompensable injury caused by transition and continued performance of an improperly evaluated award.