Court: Idaho Loses Syringa Lawsuit

Idaho has lost the Syringa Networks lawsuit over the multimillion-dollar contract award for the Idaho Education Network, with a 4th District judge declaring the contract award void, and “made in violation of state procurement law.” The summary judgment ruling, which came out late yesterday from 4th District Judge Patrick Owen, is highly critical of the state Department of Administration’s continuing efforts to salvage the deal, which already has resulted in the cut-off of tens of millions in federal e-rate funds that were supposed to pay for three-quarters of the cost of the broadband network linking every Idaho high school. “An agreement made in violation of the state’s procurement law cannot be fixed or cured,” the judge wrote in his ruling. “The award to ENA violates state procurement law, and as a result, is void”/ Betsy Russell , Eye on Boise. More here.