Premysler v. United States
17-1016 · cofc · 2018-01-12
Summary
In Premysler v. United States, the Court of Federal Claims dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction a pro se plaintiff's suit alleging breach of an implied contract arising from DOE's Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize competition. The court held that no contract was formed because the plaintiff never submitted an entry (an expression of interest is not acceptance of the competition's offer), and, following Frankel II, that a federal prize competition is not a procurement, so the claim could not proceed as a bid protest under 28 U.S.C. § 1491(b)(1). The decision matters for the boundaries of the court's jurisdiction because it distinguishes prize-authority competitions from procurements and from enforceable implied contracts.