Dallas appeals court ends Hi Line fight that stank from the start

An appeals court has affirmed what should be obvious: The city of Dallas has the authority to choose vendors based on many factors, not just price.

In a decision issued July 11, the Court of Appeals of the 5th District of Texas ended a dispute between Gadberry Construction and the city over construction of the Hi Line Connector trail, part of the much-celebrated Loop around Dallas, which experienced monthslong delays because of this lawsuit.

Gadberry was the low bidder on that project, but the city chose the second-lowest bidder, The Fain Group, noting that Gadberry lacked experience with similar projects and its references were “mixed.” Gadberry’s bid was $9.2 million; Fain’s original bid was $9.9 million, though it has increased as the project has been delayed. Gadberry filed suit last May.

Projects funded by taxpayers should usually go to the lowest bidder, but the city is right to consider other factors as well. Crucially, bid documents require the city to award contracts to “the lowest responsible bidder.” None of the projects on Gadberry’s résumé were as large as the Hi Line, according to officials. And even after the city granted it permission to beef up its application, Gadberry couldn’t produce any similar trail or roadway project, according to the court’s summary.

Importantly, the court’s decision does not empower the city to entirely ignore price when choosing vendors. If the council’s discretion were absolute then “a city could openly reject any bid but that of the mayor’s brother-in-law, or the contractor with an envelope of cash in an outstretched hand, and have its corruption shielded by immunity,” the court wrote.

But work experience is relevant, and, ironically, the whiff of impropriety in this case comes from the loser of the contract, not the winner. Gadberry Construction is owned by Dustin Gadberry, who was campaign treasurer for City Council member Omar Narvaez. In April 2022, Narvaez voted to delay the deal with Fain, and failed to mention his connection with Gadberry until it was reported by D magazine, though he did abstain from voting on the contract. To us, that seemed a violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the city’s ethics policy.

The Hi Line project is well under way now, and officials with The Loop say they hope the entire 50-mile circuit will be completed by 2027.

This one turned out the way it should, thanks to reporters, courts and common sense.

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