The Gardendale City Schools have filed a lawsuit in Jefferson District Court against the Jefferson County Board of Education, asking the court to keep the county from introducing delays in the breakaway process that would keep the new system from taking over local schools in time to begin the 2015-16 school year.

The Gardendale system filed suit in Jefferson Circuit Court late Tuesday afternoon.

Giles Perkins, an attorney with the Adams and Reese law firm — whose services were just retained Monday night by the Gardendale board — said that the suit was necessary to keep the new system on schedule to take over the schools this summer. The lawsuit accuses the county system of trying to delay that process.

“We would like for a judge to recognize the fact that the state superintendent has issued a final order decreeing that we have the right to operate the system, and that everyone should recognize that fact,” said Perkins.

The suit seeks a preliminary injunction against JefCoEd, which would grant quick relief to Gardendale, while a hearing would be scheduled later in which the county system could respond, and at which time a permanent injunction could be handed down.

Perkins said that Circuit Judge Jim Hughey III would preside over the case. No hearing date and time had been set as of press deadlines Tuesday night.