The US Supreme Court on Monday put an end to Oracle’s challenge to how the Pentagon awarded the government’s now-canceled $10 billion JEDI cloud computing contract.
The justices declined to hear Oracle’s appeal of a lower court ruling that found that the Austin, Texas-based business software maker was not harmed by any errors made by the Pentagon in awarding the contract because the company would not have qualified for it in the first place.
The US Defense Department awarded the sole-source cloud computing procurement contract to Microsoft in 2019, but scrapped that deal in July, announcing a new contract that is expected to include Amazon, which also had been excluded from the prior one.
Oracle wanted the justices to hear the appeal despite the fact that the JEDI contract had been canceled because it said the flaws in that contract could recur as the government screens bidders for a new one.
The now-canceled Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) contract was part of a broader digital modernization of the Pentagon aimed at making it more technologically agile.
Oracle sued in 2018 to protest the structure of the procurement and certain Pentagon employees’ conflicts of interest involving Amazon, which ultimately lost the JEDI award to Microsoft.
The Washington-based US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears appeals involving government contracts, ruled against Oracle last year, saying that the company would not have had a substantial chance of securing the contract.
Like Oracle, Amazon had filed suit protesting the JEDI sole-source deal, arguing that then-President Donald Trump exerted improper pressure on military officials to steer the contract away from Amazon.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
UK Probes Lindab’s Acquisition of HAS-Vent Amid Fears of Market Monopoly
Apr 28, 2024 by
CPI
Shein Faces EU Regulations Over User Data
Apr 28, 2024 by
CPI
Google Fights Back Against US Antitrust Lawsuit
Apr 28, 2024 by
CPI
US Homeland Security Establishes Blue-Ribbon Board with Tech CEOs to Advise on AI
Apr 28, 2024 by
CPI
FTC Accuses Amazon Executives of Using Disappearing Messaging Apps to Conceal Evidence
Apr 28, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI