ATLANTA - When the sealed envelopes containing bids to build Evans Middle School were opened in March, the low bid was missing a little detail: the names of the plumbers, electricians and other subcontractors who would install most of the mechanical systems.

Within two hours, the contractor with the low bid, McKnight Construction Co., had delivered the subcontractors list. When the board met a week later, it decided saving taxpayers nearly $60,000 was reason enough to overlook the late addition of the list, even though it was a violation of the bidding guidelines.

On Tuesday, the Georgia Supreme Court heard lawyers for McKnight Construction, the school board, and the runner-up bidder, R.D. Brown Contractors Inc. At issue was whether omitting the list when the bids were due was a minor detail or a significant violation that should have invalidated the bid.

"Is this a technicality or is this a material issue?" asked lawyer Jack Long, representing McKnight Construction. "I submit to you it was a technicality and the board had the authority to waive it."

But Paul Dunbar, Brown Contractors' attorney, told the justices that failure to include the list was anything but a technicality. He said other bidders submitted it as required, and coming up with the list after the outcome of the bidding was already known would open the door to contractors bullying subcontractors to reduce the price on their portion of the bid. Such pressure would result in shoddy work, he said.

"In this type of case, this type of thing will happen over and over again," Mr. Dunbar said.

Justice George Carley asked Mr. Dunbar why bother with this appeal since the building is already half built. The attorney said his client wanted to prevent other property owners from changing the bidding rules after the bids were submitted.

"He, as a contractor, is concerned about the effect this will have on the bidding process on contractors across the state of Georgia," Mr. Dunbar said.

"We would set a precedent that would prevent games from being played with bids on public-works projects."

The justices fired a battery of questions to the attorneys for the board and McKnight Construction about how the board could justify its action.

Reach Walter Jones at (404) 589-8424 or walter.jones@morris.com.