The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey affirmed the decision of New Jersey Transit Corporation to award a new contract for the management of billboard advertising to All Vision, LLC, represented by Morristown-based law firm Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP, following a lengthy Request for Proposal process. The Appeal had been brought by Viacom Outdoor Group, the manager of NJ Transit's billboards for more than twenty years, after a Final Agency Action of NJ Transit in 2004.
In October of 2003, NJ Transit had issued a Request for Proposal, soliciting proposals from qualified firms to create and manage its bus, rail and light rail advertising inventory. A five-member Technical Evaluation Committee independently evaluated and scored the proposals and, in April of 2004, recommended that the contract be awarded to All Vision.
Viacom objected to the award, on numerous grounds, including allegations of favoritism on the part of NJ Transit in evaluating the submitted proposals. In affirming NJ Transit's Final Agency Action, the Appellate Division held that Viacom's arguments were founded on unsupported allegations and speculation lacking factual support. The Court determined that, because contracts or agreement made by NJ Transit are governed by statute and that, ultimately, the contract is to be awarded to the entity whose proposal is deemed to be the most advantageous to NJ Transit, the Court would not interfere in the absence of bad faith, corruption, fraud or gross abuse of discretion.
All Vision was represented by Stuart M. Lederman and Mary Kay Roberts of Riker Danzig, both partners in the firm's governmental affairs group. Lederman, counsel to All Vision, notes that the case is significant because, “It is one of the first cases in New Jersey to address the discretion of an agency when awarding a negotiated contract.
Viacom was represented by Robert Bergen of Holland & Knight.
