Haas Metal Engineering Inc. (HME) is suing OU, claiming it violated title 61, section 117 of Oklahoma's Public Competitive Bidding Act.
According to the act, all public construction projects exceeding $50,000 "shall be let and awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, by open competitive bidding after solicitation for sealed bids..." The project, titled "Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Expansion and Renovation," is subject to the provisions of the act.
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In its petition filed on Oct. 5 to the Cleveland County Court clerk's office, HME alleged that its base bid for the project was $11,796,450. It also said the company the university selected to supply the project's materials was $11,880,680 — more than $84,000 higher. OU denied the base bid totals in its response to the petition, but did admit HME was the lowest initial bidder. The bids were submitted on Aug. 20, the petition says.
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