___________________________________________ MOTION FOR COSTS GRANTED IN PART: March 15, 1995 ___________________________________________ GSBCA 13061-C(12925-P) CBIS FEDERAL, INC., Protester, v. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, Respondent. William A. Roberts, III, and Lee Curtis of Howrey & Simon, Washington, DC, counsel for Protester. Michael D. Tully, Office of General Counsel, General Services Administration, Washington, DC, counsel for Respondent. Before Board Judges DANIELS (Chairman), PARKER, and DEVINE. PARKER, Board Judge. CBIS Federal, Inc. (CBIS) moves, pursuant to Rule 35, for award of its costs of filing and pursuing a successful protest against the General Services Administration (GSA). CBIS's application, as amended, requests costs totaling $316,256.44. The parties have agreed that CBIS's cost application should be granted in the amount of $314,065.95. We grant the application in the amount agreed to by the parties. Background The underlying protest involved a contract that GSA awarded to Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) for automatic data processing support services for federal agencies in a geographic area known as the "Central Zone." Two offerors, CBIS and Computer Data Systems, Inc. (CDSI), protested the award. In granting the protests, the Board held that GSA committed violations of statute and regulation during the procurement which made the award to CSC improper. CBIS Federal, Inc. v. General Services Administration, GSBCA 12925-P, et al., 95-1 BCA 27,352, 1994 BPD 234. CBIS requests reimbursement for its costs of filing and pursuing the protest. The application seeks a total award of $316,256.44, consisting of $268,362.43 in outside and in-house attorneys' fees, $498.75 in paralegal fees, $10,687.17 in CBIS's internal costs, and $36,708.09 in total disbursements. The disbursements include fees for document reproduction, telephone calls, computerized legal research, local travel, courier services and related minor items, as well as $13,475 for CBIS's expert witness. CBIS's internal costs include in-house employee costs and expenses for travel, telephone calls, and business meals related to the protest work. Pursuant to Board Rule 36(e), the parties entered into a "Stipulation of Award/Settlement Agreement" concerning the costs sought by CBIS. The stipulation requested that the Board grant CBIS's cost application, but reduced the requested amount by $2,190.49. The stipulation provided in part: 1. CBIS is to be considered a prevailing party in the underlying protest and is entitled to reimbursement of reasonable and documented attorneys' fees and protest costs; 2. That pending the decisions in Sterling Federal Systems, Inc. v. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (GSBCA 10601-C(10381-P)) 1994 WL 583170 (October 20, 1994) and Science Applications International Corp. v. Dep't of the Navy, GSBCA 12834- P, 1994 WL 547679 (September 30, 1994), the parties believe that the issues of reimbursement for costs associated with in-house personnel and consultant/expert fees have not been definitively resolved by the Board; 3. The amounts contained in the $2,190.49 figure represent $2,106.35 of legal fees and disbursements of outside counsel and $84.14 for in-house employee expenditures. The latter figure represents $63.26 for lunches (prior to October 6, 1994) and $20.88 for mileage and parking fees (after the protest was granted); 4. That should the Board decide consultant/expert fees and the salaries and disbursements of in-house employees are reimbursable, the amounts sought by CBIS are not opposed by GSA, with the exception of the $84.14 previously noted; 5. GSA and Applicant agree that this Stipulation of Settlement shall act as an accord and satisfaction of all claims relating to the litigation of GSBCA 12925-P, 12928-P and the subsequent cost applications; however, nothing in this stipulation shall alter or affect the CBIS' right to subsequently submit an application for proposal costs for further Board consideration. Nevertheless, nothing in this stipulation shall be construed as an admission by GSA as to CBIS Federal's entitlement to proposal costs or the quantum which it may seek; 6. The government shall agree to pay from the Permanent Indefinite [Judgment] Fund to CBIS a total not to exceed $314,065.95 ($316,256.44 - $2,190.49); Stipulation of Award/Settlement Agreement (Jan. 10, 1995). Discussion The Brooks Act provides that when the Board determines that an agency has violated a statute, regulation, or the conditions of a delegation of procurement authority, the Board may grant an "appropriate interested party" its costs of filing and pursuing the protest, including reasonable attorney fees. 40 U.S.C. 759(f)(5)(C) (1988). An appropriate interested party has been defined as a "prevailing party" or "one that has succeeded on any significant issue in the litigation that achieves some of the benefit it sought in bringing suit." Bedford Computer Corp., GSBCA 9837-C(9742-P), 89-2 BCA 21,827, at 109,811, 1989 BPD 121, at 3. The statute implies that the costs and fees sought to be reimbursable must be reasonable. United States v. Compusearch Software Systems, 936 F.2d 564, 566 (Fed. Cir. 1991). The parties have stipulated that CBIS is a prevailing party and we agree. As a result of the protest, the Board found violations of statute and regulation and CBIS received the relief it sought -- re-entry into the competition. Thus, CBIS is an appropriate interested party to recover its costs of filing and pursuing the protest. We have independently reviewed the documentation submitted by CBIS in support of its application. We find the agreed-upon amount to be well documented and reasonable. CBIS is awarded $314,065.95.[foot #] 1 ----------- FOOTNOTE BEGINS --------- [foot #] 1 This amount includes the agreed-upon amounts for expert witness fees and in-house personnel costs. The Board has recently held that such costs are reimbursable under the Brooks Act. Sterling Federal Systems, Inc. v. National ________________________________________________ Aeronautics and Space Administration, GSBCA 10000-C-REM(9835-P) _____________________________________ (Mar. 10, 1995). ----------- FOOTNOTE ENDS ----------- Decision CBIS's application for costs is GRANTED IN PART. CBIS is awarded the sum of $314,065.95, to be paid without interest from the permanent indefinite judgment fund, 31 U.S.C. 1304 (1988). _________________________ ROBERT W. PARKER Board Judge I concur: _________________________ STEPHEN M. DANIELS Board Judge DEVINE, Board Judge, dissenting in part. I dissent from the opinion of the majority to the extent that it allows reimbursement for "in-house personnel costs," which I do not believe are reimbursable under our statute, despite anything to the contrary in Sterling Federal Systems, Inc. v. NASA, GSBCA 10000-C-REM(9835-P) (Mar. 10, 1995). __________________________ DONALD W. DEVINE Board Judge