The city disputes Sumitomo Corp. of America’s claim that the company that won the bid for the rail car contract should have been disqualified because it was not licensed as a contractor when it made its original offer.

A city spokeswoman declined comment Thursday on losing bidder Sumitomo’s contention in its appeal to the state after the city rejected its protest June 23 and another from the other losing bidder, Bombardier Transportation (Holdings) USA Inc.

However, in its response to the complaints, winning bidder Ansaldo of Honolulu cited Friday the city’s response to Sumitomo’s protest.

The city told Sumitomo that its instructions to prospective bidders was that all licenses had to be submitted at the time of the award of the contract, not at the time of the bid.

The city concluded Ansaldo had complied with the terms because it was licensed before the award of the contract in March.

Sumitomo argues Ansaldo should have been disqualified because it violated state law by acting as a contractor when it was not licensed at the time of the bidding.

The city does not dispute that Ansaldo was unlicensed at the time it made its first submittal.

However, the city said Sumitomo’s challenge of a specification requirement is too late and should have been done before the city received the proposals.

The city also calls "simply false" Sumitomo’s claim that Ansaldo’s pricing was imbalanced because it shifted a substantial amount of design and building costs to operation and management.