Big school district lawsuit may be put on hold while prosecutors pursue criminal case

A federal judge is set to consider at a Tuesday hearing whether the lawsuit filed by the Bibb County School District against former superintendent Romain Dallemand, technology company owner Isaac Culver and others should be put on hold while prosecutors pursue a criminal case against Culver, his company and his business partner.

Culver’s lawyers also are set to ask the judge to issue an order restricting access to financial records subpoenaed by the school district.

The school district’s multimillion-dollar suit alleges Dallemand, Culver and his company; former school district technology director Tom Tourand; Culver; Culver’s company, Progressive Consulting Technologies Inc.; Comptech Computer Technologies Inc. and its president and CEO, Allen J. Stephen; and Pinnacle/CSG Inc. and and its president, Cory McFarlane participated in a series of fraudulent acts concerning 2012 technology purchases for the district. Tourand died July 2.

A federal grand jury indicted Culver, Progressive Consulting Technlogies Inc., and Culver’s business partner, Dave Canty, on fraud charges last month stemming from the sale of 15,000 Ncomputing devices to the district that were delivered without key necessary components to make them functional.

U.S. District Court Judge Marc Treadwell is set to hold a hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Lawyers representing Culver and his company contend issues in the civil and criminal cases are related to the same key facts. Portions of the indictment are identical to an amended complaint filed by the school district in the civil case.

Most, if not all, the witnesses and documents presented in the cases will be the same, they argued in a motion filed earlier this month.

What’s more, they contend Culver and his company won’t be able to adequately defend themselves in the civil case without invoking their fifth amendment rights against self-incrimination, which could also have a negative impact in the civil case.

The school district’s lawyers oppose the stay, saying evidence has shown others not included in the lawsuit may have shared in the proceeds of the alleged fraud and new defendants could either be added to the suit or sued separately, according to a response filed last week.

They also argue Progressive Consulting Technologies doesn’t have a right against self-incrimination as a corporate entity.

‘Attorneys-Eyes-Only’

The school district has subpoenaed more than six years’ worth of banking records from Bank of America, including records for Culver’s wife, Sheila Culver, according to a motion and legal brief filed by Culver’s legal team on Monday.

The district has also requested records from accounts at Wells Fargo, Capital City Bank and Renasant Bank, including accounts for Progressive Property Management LLC and Castlegate Holdings LLC, companies not included in the lawsuit, according to the brief.

Culver’s lawyers are asking that the records be designated as “attorneys-eyes-only information.”

They contend there’s “no legitimate or reasonable explanation” for how the school district “would be prejudiced” if attorneys were barred from sharing the records with the school district or Board of Education members.

They argued that the school district shouldn’t be allowed to obtain the records and use them without limitation.

“Such unfettered access and use has far reaching consequences and would allow Plaintiff to disseminate private bank records to the local newspaper or news station,” she wrote in the brief.

The Telegraph will be attending Tuesday’s hearing and will update this story.

This story was originally published July 18, 2017 at 8:48 AM with the headline "Big school district lawsuit may be put on hold while prosecutors pursue criminal case."