MOM Sues OSU for $1M over COMDOC Secret...

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An office-equipment company says Ohio State University awarded a $1 million-a-year printer and copier contract to a competitor after a school employee had unauthorized closed-door meetings with a representative for the competitor.

Modern Office Methods Inc., which has leased office machines to OSU for more than 20 years, sued the university on Monday in the Court of Claims. It is seeking an injunction to block the 40-month contract awarded to ComDoc Inc. from taking effect.

Another company that does work for OSU, Gordon Flesch Co., filed a formal protest with the school and could join the lawsuit.

“We expect them to rebid this,” said Charles M. Miller, an attorney for Cincinnati-based Modern Office Methods.

The Court of Claims yesterday set an accelerated trial date for Oct. 19-20.

The suit alleges that OSU’s Aug. 31 contract with ComDoc is “materially different” from what the university sought when it issued a request for proposals on Jan. 19.

Instead of paying Akron-based ComDoc on a per-copy basis, for example, the school will pay a monthly minimum. Modern Office Methods says it would have lowered its bid if it had known of that change and the fact that the new contract is for the entire university.

Miller said Modern Office Methods received reports from others at OSU that Debbie Gill-Parks, one of six OSU employees assigned to evaluate the proposals, had numerous private meetings with Bill Matthews of ComDoc. The two once worked together at Xerox Inc. and have known each other for decades, according to the suit.

Modern Office Methods alleges that ComDoc should have been disqualified from consideration because it had unauthorized contact with Gill-Parks, even though she was not the primary point of contact designated by OSU.

University spokesman Jim Lynch released a statement to The Dispatch in response to the suit.

“The university stands by its process for selecting a new vendor for the university’s print and copier services,” he said. “It is not Ohio State’s policy to discuss specifics of a lawsuit. However, the university expects that once the facts are known by the court, the university’s administrative actions and decisions will be upheld.”

Three office-equipment companies — Modern Office Methods, Gordon Flesch and Xerox — have contracts with OSU. After existing contracts are phased out, ComDoc will be the lone copier vendor, Miller said.

Approximately five companies submitted bids, and the top three were ComDoc, Gordon Flesch and Modern Office Methods, according to Miller. Gordon Flesch is based in Madison, Wis., but has its regional headquarters in Dublin.

OSU asked for proposals for the lease and maintenance of up to approximately 1,100 devices capable of printing, copying, scanning and faxing — along with the maintenance of more than 5,000 other machines.

Miller estimated the new contract is worth approximately $1 million a year.

http://www.dispatch.com/conten...copier-contract.html

9/30/118:23 PM

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Two outside entities are claiming Ohio State University .Ohio State University Latest from The Business Journals Leading the List: Highest-paid Ohio State officialsHarley-Davidson CEO aims to ‘wow’ riders to keep turnaround in gearSlideshow: Most expensive college football programs Follow this company .employees have had improper contact with companies going through public bidding for university business, Columbus Business First reports.

Cincinnati office equipment supplier Modern Office Methods Inc. .Modern Office Methods Inc. Latest from The Business Journals Ohio State helping favored bidders, critics chargeVendor, student activists claim OSU employees helping favored biddersModern Office Methods buys Document Solutions of Ohio Follow this company ., sued Ohio State this week to overturn a recent contract to supply printers and copiers, the paper said. It alleged ComDoc Inc. .ComDoc Inc. Latest from The Business Journals Ohio State helping favored bidders, critics chargeVendor, student activists claim OSU employees helping favored biddersOhio State shopping around for savings with vendors Follow this company ., a Xerox Corp. .Xerox Corp. Latest from The Business Journals Ohio State helping favored bidders, critics chargeXerox announces 3M government contractVendor, student activists claim OSU employees helping favored bidders Follow this company .(NYSE:XRX) subsidiary with a Columbus office, had private meetings with university printing officials during the bid process.

United Students Against Sweatshops, a student activist group, also has posted online an email exchange it obtained between Rick Van Brimmer, director of trademark and licensing services, and a representative for the Dallas Cowboys .Dallas Cowboys Latest from The Business Journals Crow, Perot Jr., Staubach named as real estate 'industry legends'Ohio State helping favored bidders, critics chargeNFL stadiums roll out new high tech toys for fans Follow this company ., which is seeking a deal to produce Buckeyes apparel, the paper said. “The only caveat is that I may be forced into looking at ‘bids,’ simply because we are a state agency. But don’t fear that process. Again, you will know EVERY step we take,” Van Brimmer said, according to the paper.

10/3/118:17 PM

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An office-company filed a lawsuit against Ohio State, saying the university wrongly awarded a potential $24 million printer and copier contract to a competitor.

Modern Office Methods filed the lawsuit on Sept. 26 in the Court of Claims, requesting that OSU set aside its recently awarded contract with ComDoc, Inc. and rebid it.

According to the documents, Modern Office Methods said a ComDoc employee met with an OSU employee, unknowingly to the other top-two competitors, Modern Office Methods and Gordon Flesch Co.

"Bill Matthews, a ComDoc representative, held unapproved closed-door meetings with OSU's Debie Gill-Parks during the Request for Proposal process, which should have disqualified ComDoc from the RFP," according to the lawsuit claim.

An RFP is a request for proposal.

Gill-Parks did not respond to The Lantern's emails.

OSU began taking proposals Jan. 19 and gave the 40-month-long contract to ComDoc on Aug. 31.

Charles M. Miller, Modern Office Methods' lawyer, said the contract is worth $4 million per year, and $12 million for the initial three-year contract. The contract could be renewed after that, for three years totaling $24 million.

"Copier contracts are subject to periodic renewal or rebidding," Miller said. "In the suit, MOM alleges that the latest round of rebidding was not a truly competitive process because OSU was holding improper discussions with the winning bidder that resulted in a contractor very different from the bids."

Miller said that Modern Office Methods just wants the chance to rebid the actual contract.

"Everyone got to submit bids for apples, but only the winner got to price oranges," Miller said.

The main differences, Miller said, between the proposed bid and the actual contract OSU agreed to with ComDoc are:

• The contract now requires that all OSU schools, campuses and departments participate where, under the bid, each could opt out

• OSU now guarantees a minimum 12-month placement for each copier (under the bid, there was no guarantee)

• OSU now guarantees a minimum cash flow per machine (also no guarantee under bid)

• The contract is now 40 months instead of 36 months

"These changes make the contract more attractive to the vendor, and thus vendors would be willing to submit lower bids," Miller said.

Miller said Gordon Flesch also filed a formal protest against OSU. OSU did not respond to the protests, so Modern Office Methods chose to file a suit, Miller said.

Tom Flesch, CEO of Gordon Flesch, did not respond to phone calls from The Lantern.

University spokesman, Jim Lynch, said OSU is unable to discuss the specifics of the lawsuit at the time.

"The university stands by its process for selecting a new vendor for the university's print and copier services. It is not Ohio State's policy to discuss specifics of a lawsuit," he said in a statement to The Lantern. "However, the university expects that once the facts are known by the court, the university's administrative actions and decisions will be upheld."

ComDoc also did not respond to multiple calls from The Lantern.

Trial for the lawsuit is set for Oct. 19 and 20, according to court documents.

Modern Office Methods has upheld a contract with OSU for some 20 years, and its machines currently comprise about half of all OSU copiers.

"MOM greatly appreciates its relationship with the university," Miller said. "MOM just wants a fair process, something the entire university community supports."

10/4/119:24 PM

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