Mediation next in Bibb schools' multimillion-dollar lawsuit

Attorneys for the Bibb County school system and defendants named in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit are set to meet early next year to discuss the prospects of settling a case involving the allegedly fraudulent sale of software to the school district in 2012.

The school district is seeking to recoup about $8.8 million in the civil case against several defendants, including former Superintendent Romain Dallemand.

The mediation is set for Jan. 18 at a location to be determined, lawyers agreed Thursday during a teleconference with U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell.

In October, the judge gave Pinnacle/CSG Inc. — a construction and tech company that was supposed to have produced the so-called Proscenium software — 30 days to produce it.

In November, school district lawyers contended that the company had not provided the software. At the teleconference on Wednesday, the company’s lawyer, Jack McLean Jr., said the software was available for the school district to access on a website using a particular login.

However, Jerry Lumley, who helps represent the school district, expressed concerns about stability and security issues with the website where the software purportedly exists. The judge ordered the company to download what data it has onto a hard drive to provide to the school.

Lumley said experts will study the software once it is received. During the teleconference, the judge questioned McLean about the software. McLean said it cost between $1.2 million and $1.6 million to develop the software.

When asked about the rest of the $3.2 million the school district paid the company, McLean said it had been “retained.”

“So the money is gone?” the judge asked.

“Yes sir.” McLean said. “It is.”

Laura Corley 744-4334; @Lauraecor

This story was originally published December 7, 2017 at 6:56 PM with the headline "Mediation next in Bibb schools' multimillion-dollar lawsuit."