Cases - Apcoa Parking (UK) Ltd v Westminster City Council
Record details
- Name
- Apcoa Parking (UK) Ltd v Westminster City Council
- Date
- [2010]
- Citation
- EWHC 943 (QB)
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Right of process abandonment - grant of an interim injunction preventing procurement process - missing out on a flagship contract and reputational kudos
- Summary
-
The tenderer applied for the grant of an interim injunction preventing the local authority from continuing with a procurement process. The tenderer had complained that the local authority had behaved unlawfully under a previous process – a charge that the local authority conceded. The authority therefore started a new process. The tenderer sought the continuation of the previous process, which the local authority refused to do. The local authority refused to delay any award pending resolution which the tenderer claimed effectively precluded it from competing anew.
The court focused on Regulation 32(11) which expressly allows a contracting authority to abandon a procurement process with the result that there was no legal basis upon which the contractor should be awarded interim relief. It also rejected the tenderer’s claim that damages would not be an adequate remedy because of missing out on a flagship contract and reputational kudos.
It is sometimes necessary to abandon a tender process and start afresh. There must be good reason to take this action.