DOBCO, INC. VS. BERGEN COUNTY IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY, ET AL. HOSSAM IBRAHIM VS. BERGEN COUNTY IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY, ET AL. (L-0486-21 and L-0508-21, PASSAIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (CONSOLIDATED) - Published

A construction company and its principal, a resident and taxpayer of Bergen County, filed separate complaints challenging the proposed selection process for a general contractor to rehabilitate the historic Bergen County Courthouse. The City of Hackensack designated the county improvement authority (BCIA) as a "redevelopment entity" pursuant to the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (LRHL). In turn, the BCIA solicited responses to a request for qualifications (RFQ), which set out the scope of the project and BCIA's intention to enter into a contract with a "redeveloper," the general contractor chosen. The selection process did not require public bidding under the Local Public Contracts Law (LPCL).

The Law Division judge dismissed both complaints, essentially concluding that because the BCIA was acting as a "redevelopment entity," its selection of a "redeveloper" was not subject to the LPCL. He dismissed both complaints with prejudice.

The court affirmed dismissal of the construction company's complaint on procedural and equitable grounds. However, the court reversed dismissal of the individual taxpayer's complaint, concluding that the BCIA generally was subject to the LPCL, and the "goods and services" at issue would normally be subject to public bidding. Although the BCIA was acting as a redevelopment entity under the LRHL, it could not avoid the strictures of the LPCL by simply denominating the general contractor as a "redeveloper." The court remanded the matter to the Law Division to permanently restrain the BCIA from proceeding with the selection process anticipated under the RFQ.