Oracle also intends to sue the school for another $5.3 million, it adds.
Montclair is seeking a judgment against Oracle for breach of contract, gross professional negligence and other claims, along with compensatory damages.
ERP projects have been compared to a three-legged chair or stool, with the software vendor, implementation partner and customer all needing to play key roles in a project's success.
For example, vendors should provide software that either fits or can be adapted easily to the customers' needs, while systems integrators should ensure that realistic project timelines are set and met.
In turn, customers must provide adequate leadership as well as budget enough time and money for "change management" activities -- the training and other tasks needed to move users over to a new system.
The Montclair situation is far from the only time an ERP project ended up in court, with SAP, Ross Systems and other vendors also facing litigation in recent times.
It was not immediately clear how Oracle will characterize Montclair's role in the project. As of Monday, the company had not filed a response to the suit. A spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Chris's e-mail address is Chris_Kanaracus@idg.com
