Defendant city appealed a judgment of the Superior Court of Monterey County (California), which granted plaintiffs, contractor and surety, relief from forfeiture of a bid bond and awarded attorneys' fees. Judgment on defendant's cross-complaint for damages was denied.

Overview: caci invasion of privacy

Plaintiffs, contractor and surety, submitted an erroneous bid to defendant city, but advised them of the mistake. Defendant sent a formal contract to plaintiff with the incorrect figure and notified them that unless plaintiffs performed, they would take forfeiture action of plaintiff's bid bond. The trial court found for plaintiffs in their action seeking relief from forfeiture, awarded plaintiffs attorneys' fees, and denied judgment to defendant on its cross-complaint for damages. On appeal, the court reversed the grant of relief. Defendant was a public entity listed in Cal. Gov't Code § 4200 and Cal. Gov't Code §§ 4200 - 4208 established the exclusive procedure for relieving a bidder from a mistaken bid submitted to a public entity. Although plaintiffs advised defendant of the mistake, they did not provide specific information about the nature of the mistake within five days of the bid opening as required by Cal. Gov't Code § 4203. Because they did not substantially comply with § 4203, plaintiffs were not entitled to relief. The court held that defendant had the right to retain the bond as liquidated damages, but was not entitled to damages for breach of contract.

Outcome

The court reversed the judgment for relief from forfeiture of the bid bond because plaintiffs, contractor and surety, did not provide specific information to defendant city about the error in the bid within the statutory time period. Defendant had the right to retain the bond as liquidated damages. The denial of defendant's cross-complaint was affirmed because defendant was not entitled to recover damages for breach of contract.