On July 20, 2017, The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the decision of the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County in Solid Waste Servs. v. City of Allentown & Waste Mgmt. of Pa., No. 1748 C.D. 2016 (Pa. Commw. Ct. May 2, 2017). In doing so, the Court denied the Appellants’ request for a permanent injunction that sought to void the contract for solid waste and recyclable services between the City of Allentown and Waste Management of Pennsylvania; to prohibit the City of Allentown from awarding the contract to any proposers under the City’s Request for Proposals; and to force a sealed bidding process. Doug Smillie, Chair of FL&B’s Litigation & Trial practice, successfully represented the City of Allentown in both the trial and appeal.
“I am pleased that the Commonwealth Court upheld Judge McGinley’s thorough and well-reasoned opinion,” said Smillie. “The City of Allentown utilized a competitive process authorized under its Home Rule Charter. The contract awarded as a result of that process represents a good deal for the City and its residents, and is the result of hard work by a number of City employees to ensure that result. As services contracts become increasingly complex, cities like Allentown benefit from the flexibility of the process employed and upheld by the courts.”
