In SJJC Aviation Services v. City of San Jose, ordered published June 20, 2017, the 6th District Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal on demurrer of a trial court writ petition challenging the award of a lease for airport facilities. The defendant city issued a Request for Proposal that described the elements required for proposals. The plaintiff submitted an RFP response that omitted nine required elements. The city denied the proposal as nonresponsive, and awarded the lease to another bidder. Before the lease was approved, the city changed one of the requirements for the lease, over the plaintiff's protest. The city council approved the lease. The plaintiff brought a writ petition alleging that the city violated its duties in changing the bid requirements and then awarding the lease. It also sought injunctive and declaratory relief.
The appellate court ruled that the plaintiff could not state a cause of action for writ relief, because it lacked the beneficial interest in the outcome required by Code of Civil Procedure section 1086. Because the plaintiff submitted a nonresponsive proposal, the requirement change it protested took place after the plaintiff's proposal was rejected, and the changed requirement had nothing to do with the reasons for the plaintiff's proposal's rejection, the changed requirement did not injure any interest plaintiff had. None of the requirements for citizen standing, as a substitute for beneficial interest, were present. The plaintiff also could not establish any grounds for injunctive or declaratory relief. Because the plaintiff failed to show how it could cure the petition by amendment, the trial court properly sustained the city's demurrer without leave to amend.
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