Major school system court case postponed

The courtroom showdown between the DeKalb County School District and a former construction management company has been postponed until spring.

The joint venture of Heery International, Inc. and E.R. Mitchell & Co. sued DeKalb for $478,000 in unpaid fees in 2007, after the school system fired the company. DeKalb countersued, seeking more than $100 million in damages and alleging mismanagement and billing fraud.

Mitchell settled but Heery continues to fight, with tens of millions of dollars in legal bills and damages at stake for each side. The trial was scheduled this year but on Thursday DeKalb Superior Court Judge Clarence Seeliger signed an order postponing the trial until April 29, two weeks after the start of a criminal trial for former superintendent Crawford Lewis, who fired the joint venture.