Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER LUNGSTRUM, District Judge. Plaintiffs, several minority-owned businesses, allege that defendant intentionally denied plaintiffs on the basis of race subcontracting opportunities in connection with defendant’s various projects. In that regard, plaintiffs .allege that defendant interfered with plaintiffs’ civil rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 2000d. This matter is presently before the court on two discovery motions-plaintiffs’ motion to sanction defendant for failing to make disclosures required by Rule 26, for Rule 37 sanctions, and for leave to open discovery for a limited purpose (doc. # 263) and plaintiffs’ motion for additional discovery (doc. #275) — and several dispositive motions-plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment (doc. # 229); defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs’ claims for damages (doc. #231); defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs’ Title VI claims (doc. # 233); defendant’s motion for summary judgment against plaintiff PAS Communications, Inc. (doc. #235); defendant’s motion for summary judgment against plaintiff Riteway Magic Supply Company, Inc. (doc. #238); and defendant’s motion for summary judgment against out-of-town plaintiffs (doc. # 241). As set forth in more detail below, the court denies plaintiffs’ motions for sanctions and for additional discovery and grants summary judgment in favor of defendant on all claims of all plaintiffs. Plaintiffs’ complaint is dismissed in its entirety. • Plaintiffs’ Motions for Sanctions and Additional Discovery On February 16, 2001, long after the close of discovery and one week after the parties fully briefed their respective motions for summary judgment, plaintiffs filed their motion for sanctions and to reopen discovery. The catalyst for plaintiffs’ motion was, according to plaintiffs, a “startling” phone call on January 30, 2001 from an individual named Mike Hughes. Mr. Hughes avers that he is a member of defendant’s Ad Hoe Committee and defendant’s Leadership Committee for Sprint Supplier Diversity. By way of background, the Ad Hoc Committee was formed, according to defendant’s evidence, to increase participation by women and minority contractors with respect to the construction of defendant’s campus. The Ad Hoc Committee included representatives from defendant, J.E. Dunn (the primary contractor and general construction manager for the campus), Zimmer Management Company (defendant’s representative with J.E. Dunn for the campus construction project), and various women and minority contractor associations. According to defendant, the members of the Committee were charged with identifying potential women and minority bidders for campus construction contracts. The Ad Hoc Committee, in turn, reported to the Leadership Committee, which included different representatives from J.E. Dunn and defendant. In their motion for sanctions and to reopen discovery, plaintiffs attach Mr. Hughes’ affidavit and a variety of documents given to them by Mr. Hughes that relate to minority contractor participation at defendant’s campus or, more specifically, that relate to work done by the Ad Hoc Committee. According to plaintiffs, these documents (many of which were never disclosed by defendant) and Mr. Hughes’ affidavit demonstrate that minority contractors were forced to complete a separate qualification process that majority contractors were not required to complete and that minorities were “excluded” from many campus bids. Plaintiffs further allege that, although the Ad Hoc Committee was supposedly created for the benefit of minority firms, the Committee essentially awarded African-American firms only janitorial contracts. While plaintiffs concede (as they must) that they learned of the existence of these Committees during the discovery process, plaintiffs contend that the documents obtained from Mr. Hughes and Mr. Hughes’ testimony shed additional light on the role of these Committees with respect to minority contractor participation at the campus. Plaintiffs seek to reopen discovery to depose various members of both Committees. In addition, plaintiffs move the court to sanction defendant for failing to disclose in its Rule 26(a)(1) disclosures the existence of the Committees, the identity of the members of the Committees, all documents reflecting the work of the Committees, and the role of the Zimmer Management Company with respect to defendant’s campus project. Plaintiffs also move the court to sanction defendants for allegedly misrepresenting to the court Zimmer’s role in defendant’s campus project, for allegedly misrepresenting to the court that certain documents that it was ordered to produce did not exist, and for failing to disclose the name of a consulting firm that worked with defendant. In their motion for additional discovery, filed just days ago, plaintiffs seek additional discovery in light of alleged “threats and attempts to intimidate” Mr. Hughes. According to plaintiffs, after submitting Mr. Hughes’ affidavit in connection with their motion for sanctions and to reopen discovery (in which Mr. Hughes alleged, inter alia, that minorities were excluded from many campus bids and that African-Americans were treated differently from other contractors), Mr. Hughes was threatened by Ray Malone, an African-American who, according to plaintiffs, has contracts with defendant and is a member of the Minority Contractors Association (“MCA”). Shortly after Mr. Malone’s alleged threat, Mr. Hughes was apparently terminated from his position as Director of the MCA. Plaintiffs assert that Mr. Malone and the MCA retaliated against Mr. Hughes for providing his affidavit in connection with this litigation. Plaintiffs ask for additional discovery because, as plaintiffs baldly assert, these “attempts to , intimidate and threaten Mr. Hughes can be attributed to Sprint.” • Defendant’s Alleged Failure to Disclose Information Required by Rule 26(a)(1) Plaintiffs first move the court to sanction defendant for failing to make adequate disclosures under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1) concerning persons and documents relevant to supplier diversity at defendant’s campus project or, more specifically, the application process for minority contractors seeking to do work at defendant’s campus. In that regard, plaintiffs contend that defendant should have disclosed the existence of the Ad Hoc Committee and the Leadership Committee for Sprint Supplier Diversity, the. names of all members of these committees, all documents (including correspondence) regarding the work of these committees, and the role of the Zimmer Management Company -with respect to supplier diversity at the campus. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(2)(A) provides that if a party fails to make a disclosure required by Rule 26(a), “any other party may move to compel disclosure and for appropriate sanctions.” Rule 26(a), in turn, “imposes on parties a duty to disclose, without awaiting formal discovery requests, certain basic information that is needed in most eases to prepare for trial and make informed decisions about settlement.” See ■ Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(1) advisory committee notes (1993). Rule 26(a)(1) provides in pertinent part: Except to the extent otherwise stipulated or directed by order or local rule, a party shall, without awaiting a discovery request, provide to other parties: (A) the name and, if known, the address and telephone number of each individual likely to have discoverable information relevant to disputed facts alleged with particularity in the pleadings, identifying the subjects of the information; (B) a copy of, or a description by category and location of, all documents, data compilations, and tangible things in the possession, custody, or control of the party that are relevant to disputed facts alleged with particularity in the pleadings. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(1) (emphasis added). Thus, the court must turn to plaintiffs First Amended Complaint to ascertain what disputed facts were “alleged with particularity” concerning the campus project. See Asia Strategic Investment Alliances Ltd. v. General Elec. Capital Servs., Inc., No., 95-2479-GTV, 1997 WL 122568, at *3 (D.Kan. Mar. 11, 1997) (before imposing sanctions under Rule 37 for disclosure improprieties, the court must first find a failure to disclose information required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a) or 26(e)(1)). In their First Amended Complaint, plaintiffs include only two paragraphs that specifically reference defendant’s campus project — paragraphs 20 and 22. Paragraph 20 states that “Presently Sprint is involved in constructing its world headquarters, a project involving interstate commerce and a proposed budget believed to be in excess of Six Hundred and Sixty Million Dollars.” This allegation does not indicate that plaintiffs applied for contracting opportunities at the campus and is simply too vague to require defendant to disclose general information about the application process for minority contractors seeking to do work at defendant’s campus. See 8 Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Richard L. Marcus, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2053 (2d ed. 1994) (“[T]here is no doubt that notice-giving is the goal of the particularity requirement in Rule 26(a)(1) and that failure to give sufficient notice about what is alleged should reheve the opposing party of any disclosure obligation.”). Paragraph 22 states as follows: By its own admission Sprint has contracted with minorities at its worldwide campus site for approximately Twenty-Two Million Dollars or less than 4% of the total construction budget. By Federal law Sprint is required to contract at least 10% of its procurement activities with eligible minorities. Of the Twenty-Two Million it has contracted with minorities to date only a little more than Two Million Dollars has gone to African-American firms or less than .005% of the total budget notwithstanding the fact that African-Americans constitute the dominant minority in Kansas and Missouri. In short such contracts as are being awarded to minorities by Sprint disproportionately favor non-African-American contractors and overwhelmingly the vast majority of contracts Sprint is awarding go to majority owned companies to the detriment of plaintiffs. This paragraph could be read to suggest that plaintiffs applied for but were denied contracting opportunities in connection with defendant’s campus project (e.g., defendant awarded contracts to majority owned companies “to the detriment of plaintiffs”). At first blush, then, information concerning committees that allegedly participated in the solicitation and review of potential contractors for the campus project is arguably “relevant to disputed facts alleged with particularity” for purposes of Rule 26(a)(l)’s mandatory initial disclosure requirement. Thus, the burden is on defendant to establish that the information that plaintiffs allege should have been disclosed is not relevant to disputed facts set forth in plaintiffs’ complaint. See Mike v. Dymon, Inc., No. 95-2405-EEO, 1996 WL 674007, at *4-5 (D.Kan. Nov. 14, 1996) (where discovery sought appears relevant, party resisting discovery bears the burden of establishing lack of relevance). According to defendant, ' information concerning the ■ Ad Hoc Committee, the Leadership Committee, and Zimmer has no relevance whatsoever to the types of contracts for which plaintiffs Riteway and PAS were allegedly qualified and for which they allegedly applied. Specifically, defendant contends that the ■ Ad Hoc Committee, the Leadership Committee and Zimmer were not involved in any way with -the letting of contracts at the campus for janitorial services or for inside premises wiring. In support of its argument, defendant has submitted the affidavit of Cedric Rowan, an employee of defendant and a member of the Ad Hoc Committee since its inception in May 1999. Mr. Rowan averred that the Ad Hoc Committee was not involved in any way with the application process or bidding process for janitorial contracts or inside premises wiring. According to Mr. Rowan, the Ad Hoc Committee was not involved with the application process or bidding process for janitorial contracts because such contracts were operational contracts— contracts for goods and services after the construction of the campus was complete. Operational contracts, according to Mr. Rowan, were awarded directly by defendant without the involvement or participation of the Ad Hoc Committee. As Mr. Rowan testified, the Ad Hoc Committee was involved only with construction contracts — contracts concerning the construction of the campus and awarded by J.E. Dunn, the primary contractor and general construction manager for the campus project. In other words, defendant was not responsible for awarding any contracts relating to the construction of the campus. Mr. Rowan further testified that the Ad Hoc Committee was not involved with the application process or bidding process for campus wiring contracts because defendant, as a telecommunications company with expertise in wiring for data and phone services, decided that J.E. Dunn would not award these contracts but that defendant would award these contracts itself. Thus, the Ad Hoc Committee did not identify potential bidders for these contracts. Mr. Rowan’s statements concerning the process for campus wiring contracts are further supported by the affidavit of Wanda Holland, an employee of defendant who was involved with selecting the companies to receive invitations to bid, reviewing the bids, and awarding the contracts for inside wiring at the campus. According to Ms. Holland, the Ad Hoc Committee was not involved in that process. In response to defendant’s evidence, plaintiffs state in their papers that “[sjome of the documents previously attached as Exhibit 7 show that the Ad Hoc Committee considered the qualifications of both janitorial and telecommunications firms.” Plaintiffs fail to identify any particular documents within Exhibit 7 that allegedly show that the Ad Hoc Committee considered the qualifications of these types of firms. Exhibit 7, attached to plaintiffs’ opening brief, is approximately two and one-half inches thick, contains countless randomly assembled documents with no obvious relationship to one another and, in many cases, contains several copies of the same documents. In many instances, Exhibit 7 contains only one page of a multi-paged document. In most instances, plaintiffs have failed to offer any explanation of the significance of a particular document and it is not possible from the face of these documents for the court to derive any significance from them. Nonetheless, the court has looked through the documents constituting plaintiffs’ Exhibit 7 and has failed to uncover any documents supporting plaintiffs’ statement that the Ad Hoc Committee considered the qualifications of janitorial and telecommunications firms. In fact, the documents buttress defendant’s evidence. For example, meeting minutes from the initial Ad Hoc Committee in May 1999 reflect that J.E. Dunn was responsible for approving contractors with respect to campus construction. A diversity participation report included in Exhibit 7 reflects that premises wiring contractors were not considered contractors with J.E. Dunn but were considered vendors separate and apart from Dunn’s contractors. Other meeting minutes from Ad Hoc Committee meetings reflect that contracts for “operational services” were considered “other services” separate and apart from the services for which the Ad Hoc Committee sought potential bidders. Still other meeting minutes reflect the fact that the Ad Hoc Committee talked about creating another Ad Hoc Committee for the “procurement of vendors and goods and services for the campus once operational” and that non-construction and non-design related contracts were beyond the scope of the Committee’s work. Finally, certain documents in Exhibit 7 reflect that “interested service providers” should contact Wanda Holland at defendant and that “interested subcontractors” should contact J.E. Dunn. In short, the court sees nothing in Exhibit 7 suggesting that the Ad Hoc Committee analyzed the qualifications of janitorial or telecommunications firms. In sum, defendant has- established that information concerning the Ad Hoc Committee, the Leadership Committee and Zimmer is not relevant to “disputed facts alleged with particularity” for purposes of Rule 26(a)(1) because those groups were not involved in the procurement process for janitorial or inside wiring contracts. Because defendant had no obligation to disclose this information in connection with its mandatory initial disclosures, sanctions are not warranted. Moreover, plaintiffs are not entitled to additional. discovery with respect to the Ad Hoc Committee, the Leadership Committee or Zimmer. Plaintiffs’ motion with respect to these issues is denied. • Defendant’s Alleged Misrepresentations to the Court about Zimmer Next, plaintiffs move the court to sanction defendant based on defendant’s alleged misrepresentations to the court about Zimmér’s role in the procurement process for defendant’s campus project. In that regard, plaintiffs contend that defendant’s- prior representations to the court that Zimmer was not involved with contracts for operational services or premises wiring at the campus are patently false in light of documents recently obtained by plaintiffs from Mr. Hughes. By way of background, in August 2000, plaintiffs attempted to serve a subpoena to Zimmer in which they commanded the production of various documents and attendance for a- deposition. In response, Zim-mer filed an objection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45(c)(2)(B) and defendant filed a motion for protective order and to quash the subpoena. The court heard arguments on defendant’s motion at the final pretrial conference in September 2000. During those arguments, defendant’s counsel stated to the court that the subpoena should be quashed in part because Zimmer had no involvement with operational contracts related to the campus such as janitorial contracts and that Zimmer had no involvement with premises wiring contracts. Although the court heard arguments on the merits of defendant’s motion to quash, the court ultimately granted defendant’s motion on procedural grounds — Zimmer filed an objection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 and plaintiffs, at the time of the final pretrial conference, had not filed a motion to compel. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 45(c)(2)(B). Plaintiffs now assert that defendant’s statements to the court at the final pretrial conference and in its papers in support of its motion for protective order and to quash the Zimmer subpoena were false. In support of this assertion, plaintiffs refer the court to many of the same documents contained in plaintiffs’ Exhibit 7, an Exhibit discussed above in connection with plaintiffs’ Rule 26(a)(1) arguments. These documents fail to show that defendant made false statements with respect to Zimmer. As set forth above, the documents reflect the distinction between construction contracts and operational contracts at the campus. While the documents reflect that Zimmer was involved in the process for soliciting and reviewing potential minority contractors for contracts associated with the construction of the campus, defendant has never denied that fact. But none of the documents reflect that Zimmer was involved in the process for soliciting and reviewing potential minority contractors for operational contracts or wiring contracts. Thus, because plaintiffs point to no evidence demonstrating that defendant made false statements to the court regarding Zimmer, their motion with respect to this issue is denied. • Defendant’s Alleged Misstatements to the Court about the Existence of Reports Plaintiffs also assert that sanctions are warranted based on defendant’s alleged misstatements to the court about the existence of certain documents. In that regard, at the final pretrial conference, the court granted in part plaintiffs’ motion to extend time to complete discovery and, inter alia, ordered defendant to either produce to plaintiffs “a copy of any internal reports since 1995 which break down by race and services of the nature and type provided by plaintiffs relating to contracts let in the Kansas City, Des Moines or Omaha area or file a certification with the court that no such reports exist.” See Court’s Order of Sept. 13, 2000 at 2. Sprint averred that no such reports existed. In their motion for sanctions, plaintiff contend that this averment is “incredible” in light of a document in their possession (or, more specifically, a chart entitled “Campus Supplier Diversity Participation Report”) that reflects the utilization of minority contractors at the campus and that was never produced by defendant. As defendant correctly notes in its response, this particular report was in plaintiffs’ possession at the time of the final pretrial conference and, in fact, was discussed at the pretrial conference. Moreover, the court specifically excepted this report from its order regarding internal reports. See Transcript of Final Pretrial Conference at 107-08. Thus, this report fails to suggest in any way that defendant’s certification was false. In their reply brief, plaintiffs do not respond to defendant’s arguments concerning the diversity participation report and, instead, simply refer the court to another document authored by defendant that, according to plaintiffs, should have been disclosed in compliance with the court’s September 13, 2000 order. This document is entitled “Sprint World Headquarters/Supplier Diversity Plan/Summary of African-American Contracts and Plans.” The document simply lists African-American contractors who were qualified to perform construction work on the campus project. As such, the document does not relate to services of the nature and type provided by plaintiffs. Having wholly failed to show that defendant’s certification was false, plaintiffs’ request for sanctions is denied. • Defendant’s Failure to Disclose B & C Associates as a Consultant Finally, plaintiffs maintain that defendant should be sanctioned for failing to disclose the identity of B '& C Associates, a consulting firm that has done work for defendant. In their papers, plaintiffs allege that this consulting firm prepared a report for defendant about minority participation at the campus. Plaintiffs, however, have failed to support this statement with any evidence whatsoever. Mike Hughes averred that he met with consultants from B & C Associates “to provide information regarding [defendant’s] utilization of minorities at the campus and other issues.” Plaintiffs do not offer any other arguments or evidence concerning defendant’s failure to identify this entity.- In response, defendant has submitted the affidavit of Frankie T. Jones, the President and Chief Operating Officer of B & C Associates. According to Mr. Jones, B & C’s work for defendant was limited to “community assessment work, community relations and political issues.” Mr. Jones further averred that B & C never evaluated or critiqued defendant’s minority business enterprise program and never. performed any analysis of minority business spend at defendant. In the face of Mr. Jones’ testimony, Mr. Hughes’ vague statement that he provided “information” ■ to B & C regarding defendant’s utilization of minorities at the campus is insufficient to' demónstrate that defendant should have disclosed B & C, particularly because plaintiffs have not provided the court with the language of the specific discovery request that they allege required defendant to disclose B & C. Similarly, to the extent plaintiffs contend that defendant was required to disclose B & C in connection with its Rule 26(a)(1) disclosures, Mr. Hughes’ statement is simply inadequate to show that B & C was “relevant to disputed facts alleged with particularity.” For these reasons, plaintiffs’ motion for sanctions and to reopen discovery is denied. • Defendant’s Alleged Intimidation of Mr. Hughes Plaintiffs’ motion for additional discovery to explore the circumstances surrounding Mr. Hughes’ termination from his position with the MCA and defendant’s alleged intimidation of Mr. Hughes is denied. Plaintiffs have provided the court with no evidence or suggestion that defendant was involved with or had any bearing on the decision to terminate Mr. Hughes from his position with the MCA or that defendant intimidated Mr. Hughes in any way. Mr. Hughes’ affidavit states only that Mr. Hughes felt intimidated by Mr. Malone, J.E. Dunn and the Board of the MCA regarding his involvement in this litigation. There is no evidence that defendant discussed Mr. Hughes or the content of his testimony with Mr. Malone or anyone else associated with MCA. In the absence of any evidence of defendant’s involvement, the alleged intimidation of Mr. Hughes and the termination of Mr. Hughes from his position with MCA are of no consequence to the issues before the court. The motion is denied. • Motions for Summarg Judgment Having determined that plaintiffs are not entitled to additional discovery, the court turns to the parties’ motions for summary judgment. • Facts Plaintiffs are six African-American owned businesses, each of which sought to provide services to defendant either by submitting bids for particular contracts or by notifying one of defendant’s supplier diversity managers, Terry Smelcer, of their interest in working with defendant. Plaintiff PAS is owned by Tom Turner. PAS is in the business of inside premises wiring. While PAS was successful in obtaining contracts with defendant in the early 1990s, it has not been successful in obtaining such contracts with defendant in recent years. For example, PAS submitted a bid for premises wiring work on a project in Las Vegas in 1998. It was not awarded that contract. PAS also bid for premises wiring work on a project at defendant’s 6363 College Boulevard office in the Kansas City area in 1999. PAS was not awarded that contract, although defendant did award the contract to another African-American owned company. Plaintiff Riteway is owned by Mark McAfee. Riteway provides janitorial services. Like PAS, Riteway has provided services to defendant in the past. In 1994, Riteway was awarded a contract for janitorial services in connection with one of defendant’s offices in Independence, Missouri. Riteway eventually lost that contract to another African-American-owned firm because, according to defendant, defendant experienced numerous complaints about Riteway’s performance of the contract. In any event, like PAS, Riteway has been unsuccessful in obtaining contracts with defendant in recent years. In 1998 and 2000, Riteway submitted a bid to provide janitorial services at defendant’s office at 2330 Shawnee Mission Parkway in the Kansas City area. Both times the contract was awarded to Benz Janitorial, a majority-owned firm. Riteway also submitted a bid to provide janitorial services at defendant’s new world headquarters (the “campus”). Defendant awarded those contracts to other African-American-owned janitorial companies. The four remaining plaintiffs never submitted bids for any specific contracts and, according to the record before the court, have never provided services to defendant. Rather, these plaintiffs approached one of defendant’s supplier diversity managers, Terry Smelcer, at a trade seminar in Des Moines, Iowa in April 1997. According to these plaintiffs, they specifically advised Mr. Smelcer that they were interested in providing services to defendant and provided Mr. Smelcer with written materials concerning the nature of their businesses. In that regard, Quality Transfer, owned by Cal Erwin, provides transportation and moving services. Similarly, 1A Rob, owned by James Robinson, provides transportation and moving services. Reliable Maintenance is owned by George McKay and is in the business of providing janitorial services. K.E. Johnson Consultants is owned by Keith Johnson and provides consulting services on diversity issues. Additional facts will be provided as they become relevant to the issues before the court. • Summary Judgment Standard Summary judgment is appropriate if the moving party demonstrates that there is “no genuine issue as to any material fact” and that it is “entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In applying this standard, the court views the evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 F.3d 664, 670 (10th Cir.1998) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). A fact is “material” if, under the applicable substantive law, it is “essential to the proper disposition of the claim.” Id. (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). An issue of fact is “genuine” if “there is sufficient evidence on each side so that a rational trier of fact could resolve the issue either way.” Id. (citing Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505). The moving party bears the initial burden of demonstrating an absence of a genuine issue of material fact and entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Id. at 670-71. In attempting to meet that standard, a movant that does not bear the ultimate burden of persuasion at trial need not negate the other party’s claim; rather, the movant need simply point out to the court a lack of evidence for the other party on an essential element of that party’s claim. Id. at 671 (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). Once the movant has met this initial burden, the burden shifts to the non-moving party to “set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505; see Adler, 144 F.3d at 671 n. 1 (concerning shifting burdens on summary judgment). The nonmoving party may not simply rest upon its pleadings to satisfy its burden. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Rather, the nonmoving party must “set forth specific facts that would be admissible in evidence in the event of trial from which a rational trier of fact could find for the nonmovant.” Adler, 144 F.3d at 671. “To accomplish this, the facts must be identified by reference to affidavits, deposition transcripts, or specific exhibits incorporated therein.” Id. Finally, the court notes that summary judgment is not a “disfavored procedural shortcut;” rather, it is an important procedure “designed to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action.” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 1). • Plaintiffs’ Section 1981 Claims In the pretrial order, plaintiffs claim that defendant denied plaintiffs contracts, including bid information about contractual opportunities, on the basis of plaintiffs’ race in violation of section 1981. Plaintiffs move for summary judgment on their section 1981 claims on the grounds that, according to plaintiffs, the uncontroverted evidence establishes that defendant, as a matter of law, discriminates against African-American-owned businesses in general and has discriminated against these plaintiffs in particular. Defendant moves for summary judgment. on the grounds that plaintiffs have failed to set forth sufficient facts with respect to their prima facie case of discrimination and, in any event, that plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that any actions taken by defendant were motivated, even in part, by racial animus and have failed to demonstrate that defendant's proffered reasons for its contractual decisions are pretextual. As set forth below, the court concludes that no reasonable jury viewing the evidence presented by plaintiffs in the light most favorable to plaintiffs could infer that defendant intentionally discriminated against plaintiffs on the basis of race. Summary judgment in favor of defendant is therefore appropriate. Section 1981 addresses racial discrimination in contractual relationships. See 42 U.S.C. § 1981(a) & (b). For purposes of summary judgment, the parties agree that, in the absence of direct evidence, plaintiffs’ section 1981 claims are analyzed under the burden-shifting framework developed under Title VII in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). See Kendrick v. Penske Transp. Servs., Inc., 220 F.3d 1220, 1225-26 (10th Cir.2000) (McDonnell Douglas applied to section 1981 employment discrimination claim); Pamintuan v. Nanticoke Mem. Hosp., 192 F.3d 378, 385 (3d Cir.1999) (McDonnell Douglas applied to section 1981 discrimination in contracting claim); Jackson v. Montgomery, 999 F.2d 547, 1993 WL 261876, at *2 (10th Cir.1993); Brown v. American Honda Motor Co., 939 F.2d 946, 949 (11th Cir.1991) (same); see also Asbury v. Brougham, 866 F.2d 1276, 1279 (10th Cir.1989) (McDonnell Douglas applied to section 1982 claim for alleged discrimination in housing). Pursuant to this framework, plaintiffs initially must make a prima facie case of discrimination. See Randle v. City of Aurora, 69 F.3d 441, 451 (10th Cir.1995). Once plaintiffs establish their prima facie case, the burden shifts to defendant to offer a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its actions. Id. (citing McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802-03, 93 S.Ct. 1817; EEOC v. Flasher Co., 986 F.2d 1312, 1317-19 (10th Cir.1992)). If defendant comes forward with a nondiscriminatory reason for its actions, the burden then reverts to plaintiffs to show that the proffered reasons are pretextual, or unworthy of belief. Id. (citing Ingels v. Thiokol Corp., 42 F.3d 616, 622 (10th Cir.1994)). This framework provides the governing law for determining what facts are material for summary judgment purposes. 1. Plaintiffs’ Prima Facie Case of Discrimination The parties agree that plaintiffs, for purposes of establishing their prima facie case, must show that they are minority-owned businesses; that they attempted to contract for certain services with defendant; that they were denied the right to contract for those services; and that such services remained available or were awarded to others outside the protected class. See Jackson, 1998 WL 261876, at *3 (setting forth prima facie elements for claim of contract discrimination under section 1981); Brown, 939 F.2d at 949 (same); Asbury, 866 F.2d at 1279-80 (setting forth similar elements of prima facie case for analogous claim of housing discrimination under section 1982). In addition to the elements set forth above, however, defendant urges that plaintiffs, as part of their prima facie case, must demonstrate that they were qualified to perform the particular contracts that they were allegedly denied. This element is certainly supported by the case law. See, e.g., McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817 (in failure-to-hire context, plaintiff must show, inter alia, that he applied and was qualified for a job for which the employer was seeking applicants and that despite being qualified, the plaintiff was rejected); Asbury, 866 F.2d at 1280 (in section 1982 context, plaintiff must show as part of prima facie case that she was qualified to rent apartment in particular complex). Moreover, although plaintiffs’ framing of the prima facie elements does not include a qualification element, they do not specifically object to defendant’s use of this element. In the end, however, the court need not resolve this issue because the court reaches the same conclusion with respect to plaintiffs’ prima facie case regardless of whether it applies a qualification element at the prima facie stage. The court turns, then, to apply the pri-ma facie elements set forth above to plaintiffs’ claims. Following the course charted by the parties in their papers, the court first analyzes plaintiffs’ prima facie case with respect to specific contracts for which plaintiffs submitted an application or bid and then analyzes plaintiffs’ prima facie case with respect to unidentified contracts that plaintiffs were allegedly denied. a. Specific contracts Only plaintiffs PAS and Rite-way have sought specific contractual opportunities with defendant. The court turns first to plaintiff PAS and, more specifically, PAS’s attempts to contract with defendant for the project in Las Vegas and the project in Kansas (the “6363 College” project). According to defendant, PAS cannot establish a prima facie case with respect to the Las Vegas project because the individual who made the award decision, Fernando Jordan, is African-American (and, thus, is in the same protected class as plaintiff PAS) and because PAS obtained several contracts with defendant in the early 1990s. Based on these facts, defendant maintains that no inference of discrimination can be inferred. Defendant, however, points to no authority suggesting that such evidence precludes PAS from establishing a prima facie case. Thus, while such evidence may, in the end, undermine PAS’s ability to show racial animus, see, e.g., Rhodes v. Guiberson Oil Tools, 75 F.3d 989, 1002 (5th Cir.1996) (proof that all decisionmakers were members of the same race as complaining employee considerably undermines probability that race was a factor in employment decision); Ziegler v. Delaware County Daily Times, 128 F.Supp.2d 790, 812 n. 47 (E.D.Pa.2001) (inference of discrimination less where decisionmaker was member of same protected class as plaintiff); Marlow v. Office of Court Admin. of New York, 820 F.Supp. 753, 757 (S.D.N.Y.1993) (same), aff'd, 22 F.3d 1091 (2d Cir.1994), PAS has shown that it submitted a bid on the Las Vegas project, that defendant rejected that bid, and that the contract was awarded to a majority-owned firm. PAS has satisfied its prima facie case with respect to the Las Vegas project. With respect to the 6363 College project, in addition to its arguments made in connection with the Las Vegas project, defendant contends that PAS cannot establish a prima facie case because the contract was awarded to an African-American firm. In fact, PAS does not dispute that the contract was awarded to an African-American firm. Rather, PAS attempts to controvert this fact only by arguing that defendant did not produce during discovery any documents identifying the firm to which the 6363 College contract was awarded. An alleged failure to provide documentary evidence is not grounds to controvert a fact that is otherwise supported by affidavit—particularly when plaintiffs have no evidence to controvert the information contained in the affidavit. In any event, defendant has provided with its papers copies of the bates-stamped documents that were apparently produced to plaintiffs—documents that specifically identify the name of the firm that won the 6363 College contract. Moreover, Tom Turner, PAS’s owner, testified in his deposition that he had seen a minority contractor at the 6363 College job site and that he “assumed” that defendant has awarded the contract to that minority contractor. Simply put, PAS has offered no evidence whatsoever that the 6363 College contract was awarded to a majority-owned firm. Thus, PAS has failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination with respect to the 6363 College project. See Brown v. American Honda Motor Co., 939 F.2d 946, 949 (11th Cir.1991) (to establish a prima facie case in section 1981 contract discrimination case, plaintiff must show that the contract was “eventually given to an individual who is not a member of [the plaintiffs] protected class”). The court now turns to plaintiff Riteway and, more specifically, Riteway’s attempts to obtain janitorial contracts with defendant for defendant’s 2380 Shawnee Mission Parkway building in Kansas; Phase I and Phase II of defendant’s campus; the Executive Hills buildings in Missouri; and defendant’s 110th Street and College Boulevard buildings. According to defendant, Riteway cannot establish a prima facie case of discrimination with respect to the janitorial contracts awarded for Phase I and Phase II of defendant’s campus and with respect to the janitorial contracts awarded for defendant’s 110th Street and College Boulevard buildings because those contracts were awarded to African-American firms. Indeed, it is un-controverted that these contracts were awarded to African-American firms. Thus, as explained above in connection with PAS’s bid on the 6363 College project, Riteway has failed to establish a pri-ma facie case of discrimination with respect to Phase I and II of the campus and with respect to the 110th Street and College Boulevard buildings. With respect to the Executive Hills buildings, defendant has come forward with evidence, in the form of an affidavit, that the buildings are not owned by defendant, that defendant has never controlled any janitorial service contracts on that property, and that defendant has never awarded any janitorial service contracts for those buildings. Thus, according to defendant, Riteway cannot establish its prima facie case with respect to these contracts. Specifically, defendant contends that Riteway cannot show that it attempted to contract with defendant and cannot establish that defendant denied Riteway the contracts. Riteway has failed to controvert thes,e facts. In fact, in response to these facts, Riteway states only that it has “no knowledge” of what firm received the contract. This answer is simply not responsive to the particular facts set forth by defendant—it does not speak to the issue of whether defendant was the entity responsible for awarding janitorial contracts on the property. In any event, the answer is insufficient to controvert the facts asserted by defendant. See supra note 26. Thus, Riteway has failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination with respect to the Executive Hills buildings. Riteway has, however, satisfied its prima facie case with respect to the 2330 Shawnee Mission Parkway building. In that regard, Riteway has shown that it submitted a bid for the contract, that defendant rejected that bid, and that the contract was awarded to a majority-owned firm. Although defendant argues that Riteway cannot establish a prima facie case because the same decisionmakers on the 2330 building awarded a substantial percentage of janitorial contracts to African-American firms, defendant points to no authority suggesting that such evidence precludes Riteway from establishing a pri-ma facie case. Finally, defendant maintains that Riteway cannot establish a pri-ma facie case because it cannot show that the successful bidder was “similarly situated” to it. As this court has previously held, however, a plaintiff need not demonstrate, for purposes of establishing a prima facie case in a section 1981 contract discrimination case, that the successful bidder was “similarly situated” to the plaintiff. See Edwards & Assocs., Inc. v. Black & Veatch, 84 F.Supp.2d 1182, 1193 (D.Kan.2000). For these reasons, Riteway has adequately established a prima facie case with respect to the 2330 Shawnee Mission Parkway building. b. Unidentified contracts Aside from the specific contracts identified above, plaintiffs’ claims are based on two theories. The first is that defendant, based on plaintiffs’ race, denied plaintiffs the right to contract in general. Under this theory, plaintiffs assert that even though they did not seek or bid on a specific contract with defendant, defendant had notice that plaintiffs were interested in contracting with defendant but nonetheless failed to provide any contracting opportunities to plaintiffs as part of a pattern and practice of discriminating against African-American contractors. The second theory plaintiffs advance is that they were denied the opportunity to bid for any specific projects because defendant, on the basis of plaintiffs’ race, intentionally withheld bid information from plaintiffs. Plaintiffs have not identified any specific contracts, under either theory, that they were allegedly denied. Stated another way, plaintiffs do not point to any particular contract that they contend they should have been or would have been awarded absent defendant’s alleged discrimination. Defendant maintains that plaintiffs cannot establish a prima facie case of discrimination with respect to these unidentified contracts. As an initial matter, defendant argues that plaintiffs cannot meet the second element of their prima facie case—that they “attempted to contract” with defendant. According to defendant, plaintiffs written and oral communications with Mr. Smelcer—a manager of supplier diversity for defendant’s long distance division—are insufficient to put defendant on notice of plaintiffs’ interest in any specific contracting opportunities. See Whalen v. Unit Rig, Inc., 974 F.2d 1248, 1251 (10th Cir.1992) (in employment discrimination context, law does not require that a plaintiff formally apply for position in question; rather, law requires “either that the employer be on specific notice that the plaintiff seeks employment or, where informal hiring procedures are used, that the plaintiff be in the group of people who might reasonably be interested in the particular job”). Defendant contends that plaintiffs, at a minimum, were required to approach a decisionmaker in procurement about contracting opportunities. The problem with defendant’s argument, however, is that Mr. Smelcer, while admittedly not a person who makes procurement decisions, is not totally removed from the procurement process. In fact, Mr. Smelcer testified that it is his job “to identify and to introduce minority- and women-owned small business[es] to the buyers at Sprint and to the various departments so that they may have opportunities to compete for Sprint’s business to provide products and services.” Mr. Smelcer further testified that his department is “the contact” for minority- and women-owned businesses inquiring about contract opportunities with defendant and that he receives inquiries from these businesses in a number of ways, including nonsolicited inquiries through the mail and by telephone. A reasonable jury could infer from Mr. Smelcer’s testimony, then, that it would be appropriate for plaintiffs to contact Mr. Smelcer about doing business with defendant and that Mr. Smelcer would then be responsible for getting the word out to defendant’s procurement personnel that plaintiffs were interested in providing goods and services to defendant. For this reason, the court concludes that plaintiffs have satisfied this element of their prima facie case. Next, defendant contends that plaintiffs cannot establish a prima facie case of discrimination because plaintiffs have failed to identify any specific contracts that they should have been or would have been awarded absent defendant’s alleged discrimination. As the Supreme Court has emphasized, “in order to prove that she was denied the same right to make and enforce contracts as white citizens, [a section 1981 plaintiff] must show, inter alia, that she was in fact denied an available position.” See Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 491 U.S. 164, 187 n. 7, 109 S.Ct. 2363, 105 L.Ed.2d 132 (1989) (emphasis in original); accord Texas Dep’t of Comm. Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 253 n. 6, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981) (for a prima facie case of racial discrimination, a plaintiff must show, inter alia, that he applied and was qualified for “a job for which the employer was seeking applicants”); Anaeme v. Diagnostek, Inc., 164 F.3d 1275, 1278 (10th Cir.1999) (To establish a prima facie case of disparate treatment as a result of the prospective employer’s failure to hire, a plaintiff must show, inter alia, that he applied for an available position); Randle v. City of Aurora, 69 F.3d 441, 451 n. 13 (10th Cir.1995) (same). In light of this principle, every Circuit that has addressed this issue has required a plaintiff, as part of that plaintiffs prima facie case, to come forward with evidence of a specific vacant position for which the plaintiff was qualified and on which the plaintiffs claim is based. See, e.g., Brown v. Coach Stores, Inc., 163 F.3d 706, 711-12 (2nd Cir.1998) (affirming 12(b)(6) dismissal of plaintiffs failure-to-promote claim in part because plaintiff failed to allege the specific positions to "which she would have applied had the alleged discriminatory practices not existed); Weber v. American Express Co., 994 F.2d 513, 516 (8th Cir.1993) (affirming grant of summary judgment to defendant on plaintiffs failure-to-hire claim where plaintiff failed to generate- a factual dispute on an “essential element” of his prima facie case — the availability of a position for which he was qualified); Rush v. McDonald’s Corp., 966 F.2d 1104, 1118 (7th Cir.1992) (affirming grant of summary judgment to defendant on plaintiffs failure-to-promote claim in part because plaintiff failed to show the existence of an available position); Chavez v. Tempe Union High Sch. Dist. No. 213, 565 F.2d 1087, 1091-92 (9th Cir.1977) (concluding that plaintiff failed to prove the existence of a job opening and thus failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination in failure-to-promote context). In their papers, plaintiffs address this issue only by stating that the court has already rejected this argument in denying defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ section 1981 claims. Plaintiffs, however, misconstrue the court’s decision in that regard. Prior to discovery, defendant moved to dismiss plaintiffs’ section 1981 claims on the grounds that plaintiffs, in their complaint, failed to identify any specific contracts that defendant allegedly denied them. The court denied the motion and concluded that the allegations in plaintiffs’ complaint were sufficient under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) to state a claim for relief. The court also concluded, however, that “[additional detail with respect to plaintiffs’ section 1981 claims should be elicited through the discovery process.” Discovery, of course, has long since closed and yet plaintiffs still have not identified any particular contracts that they were allegedly denied on the basis of their race. With any evidence whatsoever of specific contracts, the jury would be left to speculate whether defendant had even awarded any contracts during the relevant time period for which plaintiffs would have been qualified and able to perform. In short, at this stage in the litigation, it is simply not sufficient for plaintiffs merely to assert that they were generally denied contracts on the basis of their race. See Jones v. Unisys Corp., 54 F.3d 624, 631 (10th Cir.1995) (affirming summary judgment for employer; plaintiff failed to establish prima facie case of discrimination because he “did not identify specific jobs to which he claims he should have been transferred nor present evidence he was qualified for such jobs”); accord Mueller v. Greenlee Textron Inc., No. 93-1256, 1993 WL 312891, at *4 (7th Cir. Aug. 18, 1993) (affirming summary judgment for employer where plaintiff failed to present any evidence that there were actual job opportunities matching his qualifications; such information, if it existed, should have been available to plaintiff when he conducted discovery); Madiedo v. Miami-Dade County, No. 99-1422 CIV, 2000 WL 1763845, at *7 (S.D.Fla. June 1, 2000) (granting summary judgment for employer where plaintiff failed to identify any specific assignment she desired but did not receive; “[t]he bare allegation that [plaintiff] did not receive assignments she desired is insufficient to raise a material issue of fact as to whether the County discriminated against her”). Based on all of the authorities set forth above, and in the absence of any persuasive argument from plaintiffs, it is clear that none of the plaintiffs can establish a prima facie case of discrimination based on the theory that defendant denied plaintiffs the right to contract or the theory that defendant withheld from plaintiffs bid information because none of the plaintiffs has identified a specific contract that they should have been or would have been awarded absent defendant’s alleged discrimination. Plaintiffs Quality, 1A Rob, Reliable and K.E. Johnson’s failure to identify specific contracts that they were allegedly denied is explained by defendant’s evidence on this issue. With respect to plaintiffs Quality and 1A Rob, defendant’s uncontrovert-ed evidence demonstrates that defendant has master contracts with companies like United Van Lines, North American Van Lines and Bekins Van Lines — national transportation companies providing services on a national basis. Defendant’s uncontroverted evidence further demonstrates that defendant has not awarded any transportation or moving contracts to any companies that only operate on a metropolitan or regional basis outside of Kansas City. Similarly, with respect to plaintiff Rehable, defendant’s uncontroverted evidence demonstrates that defendant simply did not award any janitorial contracts in the Des Moines, Iowa metropolitan area during the relevant time period. Finally, defendant’s uncontroverted evidence concerning K.E. Johnson is that all of defendant’s diversity consulting contracts have been awarded to African-American-owned businesses and that defendant has never contracted with a majority-owned business to consult on supplier diversity issues. Thus, even if plaintiff K.E. Johnson had identified these consulting contracts, it nonetheless would be unable to establish a prima facie case of discrimination as each of these contracts was awarded to an African-American firm. In sum, PAS has established a prima facie case with respect to the premises wiring contract for the Las Vegas project and Riteway has established a prima facie case with respect to the janitorial contract for the 2330 building. The four remaining plaintiffs have failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination because those plaintiffs have failed to identify a specific contract that they should have been awarded absent defendant’s alleged discrimination. Similarly, PAS and Riteway have failed to establish a prima facie case to the extent their claims are based on unidentified contractual opportunities. 2. Defendant’s Proffered Reasons Because plaintiffs PAS and Riteway have set forth sufficient facts establishing the elements of their prima facie case of discrimination, the burden shifts to defendant to produce evidence of a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for the challenged conduct. According to defendant’s evidence, it did not select PAS for the Las Vegas project because PAS’s bid was extraordinarily high-twice the amount of the successful bid. With respect to plaintiff Riteway and the 2330 building, defendant’s evidence shows that it selected another janitorial firm, Benz Janitorial, because that firm was the incumbent provider for the 2330 building and had performed the contract satisfactorily for more than twenty years. Moreover, according to defendant’s evidence, Benz had special training in video conferencing set-up and meeting set-up for corporate offices. Finally, defendant contends (and it’s evidence supports the contention) that it had experienced prior performance problems with Riteway. In short, defendant has satisfied its “exceedingly light” burden to provide a nondiscriminatory reason for its actions. See Anaeme v. Diagnostek, Inc., 164 F.3d 1275, 1279 (10th Cir.1999). 3. Plaintiffs’ Evidence of Pretext/Racial Animus To establish pretext, then, plaintiffs must show either that defendant’s contracting decisions were more likely motivated by plaintiffs’ race or that defendant’s proffered explanations for its decisions are unworthy of credence. See Shorter v. ICG Holdings, Inc., 188 F.3d 1204, 1208 (10th Cir.1999); Bullington v. United Air Lines, Inc., 186 F.3d 1301, 1317 (10th Cir.1999) (quoting Texas Dep’t of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 256, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981)). Here, plaintiffs have attempted to show both that defendant’s proffered reasons are unworthy of credence and that defendant’s contracting decisions were motivated by plaintiffs’ race. As set forth in more detail below, plaintiffs have failed to establish that defendant’s proffered reasons for its contracting decisions are pre-textual under either of these approaches. Whether Defendant’s Proffered Reasons are Unworthy of Credence In its summary judgment papers, defendant has submitted the affidavit of Fernando Jordan, a buyer in Supply Chain Management for defendant since 1995 and the individual who handled the award for the premises wiring contract on the Las Vegas project. According to Mr. Jordan, PAS’s bid was almost two times that of the lowest bidder — the bidder to whom Mr. Jordan awarded the contract. Mr. Jordan further averred that he decided to award the contract to the lowest bidder and that he simply “could not justify” awarding the contract to PAS given its “extraordinarily high” bid. In an attempt to show that Mr. Jordan’s proffered reason lacks credence, PAS first states that “there is no evidence properly before this court to support Sprint’s allegation that PAS was the extraordinarily high bidder” because defendant allegedly failed to produce “alternative bids.” While PAS’s argument is not entirely clear, Mr. Jordan attached to his affidavit the “bid opening form” for the Las Vegas project reflecting that three firms bid on the Las Vegas project for premises wiring. The form shows that the lowest bid was from Tele/Data (the firm who won the contract) in the amount of $12,900.63 and that the highest bid was from PAS in the amount of $25,000. The other bidder, GNG Systems, submitted a bid of $19,950. Thus, defendant’s uncon-troverted evidence shows that only 3 groups submitted bids for the Las Vegas project and that PAS’s bid was the highest. PAS’s argument, then, lacks merit. PAS’s only other argument regarding defendant’s proffered reason for its decision on the Las Vegas project is that Mr. Jordan advised Tom Turner on one occasion that defendant has a practice of awarding contracts to the “best” bid rather than the lowest bid. This evidence fails to show that Mr. Jordan’s proffered reason for selecting Tele/Data on the Las Vegas project is unworthy of belief. There is no evidence that Mr. Jordan did not believe that Tele/Data’s bid was not only the lowest but also the “best.” There is no evidence that PAS’s bid, despite being so high, was nonetheless the “best.” In other words, the mere fact that defendant’s policy was to select the “best” bid does not mean that defendant violated this policy by selecting the lowest bidder for a particular project, particularly in the absence of any evidence that another bid was “better.” In short, PAS has failed to show that Mr. Jordan’s proffered reason for selecting Tele/Data for the project lacks credence. With respect to Riteway’s bid on the 2330 building, defendant has submitted the affidavits of Nita Moden and Teri Craner, buyers in Supply Chain Management for defendant ydth responsibilities for awarding contracts for janitorial services. Ms. Moden handled the request for proposals in June 2000 for the 2330 building. According to Ms. Moden, Riteway’s bid was rejected at that time in favor of the incumbent Benz Janitorial because Riteway’s bid package was higher than Benz’s package, because Benz had special training in conference room set-up and video set-up and because Benz had in place employees who had for several years satisfactorily performed their job duties at the 2330 building. Ms. Craner handled the request for proposals in 1998 for the 2330 building. According to Ms. Craner, she decided to award the contract to Benz because Benz had speci