City of Florence v. Powder Horn Constructors, Inc.

BABCOCK, Judge.

On this issue of first impression in Colorado, we must decide whether a contractor may be relieved of its bid on a public construction project where the bid is the product of a clerical error and the public authority is notified of the error prior to the award of the contract. We hold that relief from a bid is possible, but that the contractor bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) the mistake relates to a material feature of the contract; (2) it occurred despite the exercise of reasonable care; and (3) the public authority can be placed in…