13 subpoenas issued in Dallemand arbitration case

The arbitration showdown between former Bibb County school Superintendent Romain Dallemand and the school board has taken more turns.

Dallemand, through his attorneys and the American Arbitration Association, has issued 13 subpoenas -- to each member of the Bibb school board (as well as one former member), the auditing firm Mauldin & Jenkins, Georgia's attorney general, Georgia Public Broadcasting and television station WMAZ. No subpoena has been issued so far to The Telegraph.

The school board opposed the subpoenas, according to a Sept. 28 brief filed by the board's attorney, Jerry Lumley.

In the brief, Lumley contends that the subpoenas are seeking information beyond the scope of discovery.

"The fishing expedition Dr. Dallemand wants to take should not be permitted," he wrote.

In an Oct. 11 order from the arbitrators, however, the arbitration panel found that "the documents requested are relevant" to Dallemand's claim and "are discoverable."

In January, Dallemand filed a $10 million claim with the association, contending that school board members had violated provisions of his severance agreement with the district. The school board filed its own $7.5 million counterclaim in February, which was later dismissed, but the panel said the board could use those claims as an affirmative defense.

The arbitration is in the midst of discovery, the process by which each party requests and shares information to validate its claims or defenses.

The discovery period opened Aug. 31, and it could continue through December.

In September, the school board sent Dallemand about 4,000 pages in its first production of documents. In its latest production, it sent about 6,000 pages -- including district reports, presentations, 2010-2015 E-SPLOST documentation, board policies and more.

Dallemand has produced about 600 pages so far.

Dallemand has also requested that the number of arbitrators to hear the case be reduced from three to one.

Arbitrators ruled against him in the Oct. 11 order, though, saying it was Dallemand who requested three arbitrators in an initial conference call Feb. 27.

During that call, Charles Dorsey, the association's case management director, told Dallemand it's likely that three arbitrators "cost five times as much as one arbitrator."

The arbitration panel wrote, "Having once made that agreement, (Dallemand) cannot now rescind it, in the face of (the school board's) refusal to consent to the use of one arbitrator. Accordingly, this arbitration will continue to be heard and determined by three arbitrators."

The hearings are expected to start early next year.

To contact writer David Schick, call 744-4382 or find him on Twitter @davidcschick.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 10:28 PM with the headline "13 subpoenas issued in Dallemand arbitration case ."