T4NG2 lawsuit hearings set for late summer

The court battle involving the Veterans Affairs Department's main IT contract vehicle is now in next phase with oral arguments scheduled for the late summer.

The defendants in the lawsuit have filed their reasons for why they feel the protests should be dismissed. At the very least, they say substantial portions of the protests should be dismissed. VA and several of the 30 primes on the $60 billion vehicle are the defendants.

The protesters now have until July 17 to file their responses.

Oral arguments on the motions to dismiss will be heard Aug. 27 and 28. The judge at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims wants to make a ruling by Sept. 27.

A major theme emerges In looking at the filings of the defendants.

They argue that because the protesters are too late with their challenges to aspects of the solicitation. The defendants say the protesters should have raised those issues when VA released that request for proposals and not after the awards.

One defendant told the court that the protesters were trying to go back in time.

The protesters are now working on their counterarguments for later this month.

There were some protests at the Government Accountability Office, but 32 companies have filed complaints at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Most of the protests involve complaints about VA’s use of a self-scoring methodology and how the department verified those scores.