# GAO Dismisses Design-Build Protest

The U.S. Government Accountability Office dismissed Encon DesbuildJV4, LLC’s protest concerning phase-one selection in a FAR subpart 36.3 design-build procurement as untimely. GAO found that the debriefing after phase one was not a “required” debriefing that extended the filing deadline. Contractors should not rely solely on a contracting officer’s description of a debriefing or on FAR part 15 references in a solicitation when determining protest timing.

- Absent a qualifying required debriefing, a protest must be filed within 10 calendar days after the protester knew or should have known its basis for protest.
- Procurement teams and offerors should assess the procurement’s governing procedures and whether a debriefing is legally required before calculating a protest deadline; an incorrect assumption could result in dismissal without review of the merits.
- Government contracting staff should clearly distinguish debriefings that trigger a deadline extension from other post-selection briefings.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Construction & Infrastructure
**Topics:** Regulatory Compliance
**Published:** October 28, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)

### Vendors
- Encon DesbuildJV4, LLC (protester and offeror)

### Sources
- [Debriefing to Dead Briefing: How to Avoid GAO Protest Dismissal by Identifying "Required" Debriefings | Crowell & Moring | Crowell & Moring LLP](https://www.crowell.com/en/insights/client-alerts/debriefing-to-dead-briefing-how-to-avoid-dismissal-by-identifying-required-debriefings) - Crowell & Moring LLP