Bombardier Transportation, the disqualified bidder for a billion-dollar rail car contract, filed an appeal in state Intermediate Court of Appeals Thursday to force the city to reconsider its selection of a contractor.

The move is the latest in a long string of attempts by the Canada-based rail car maker to win the city’s contract to design, build, operate and maintain the rail cars for Oahu’s $5.17 billion rail system.

The city has selected Ansaldo Honolulu for the contract, with a $1.4 billion bid.

Bombardier offered a $1.2 billion contract, the lowest of three bids. But the city disqualified Bombardier after the company took issue with a limited liability clause in the request for proposals.

The company wanted a change in the language, and the city viewed it as a "condition," which meant an automatic disqualification. This, Bombardier executives claim, was a surprise to them.

In its appeal, Bombardier argues that the city "failed to fulfill its duty to afford Bombardier fair and meaningful discussions." The city denied the company’s protest in June.

Bombardier then filed a protest with the state Office of Administrative Hearings, which was also denied in August. The company then appealed the denial to Circuit Court, but a judge upheld the hearings officer’s decision last month. The current filing is an appeal of the judge’s decision.

The city is moving forward with its contract with Ansaldo Honolulu, an Italian firm whose parent company Finmeccanica has said it wants to restructure or sell off. On Thursday, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation said it was close to sealing the contract.

The third bidder, Sumitomo Corp. of America, has not conducted any legal challenges after being denied at the state administrative level. Instead, Sumitomo executives have tried to appeal to HART.