NATCHEZ — The City of Natchez will soon appear in court again in a years-long series of litigation.

A hearing is scheduled for June 1 in circuit court to decide what damages must be repaid to a construction company for a breach of contract lawsuit they won against the city in 2011.

Roundstone Development LLC sued the city first in 2007, then in 2010, seeking compensation for what they say are damages to the company resulting from the denial of a rezoning application.

The Natchez Board of Aldermen discussed the updates to the case in executive session during its meeting Tuesday.

City Attorney Hyde Carby said the originally scheduled damages hearing in November did not result in a decision, but was simply postponed until June.

“(The postponement was) just a schedule thing, to accommodate the lawyers,” Carby said.

The 2007 zoning dispute was ultimately resolved in 2013 by the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Roundstone planned to build 65 single-family units, stretching from Old Washington Road to Oriole Terrace, but needed the city to first rezone the property in order to begin construction.

The Natchez Planning Commission denied the application, and the board of aldermen later upheld that decision.

Roundstone claimed it had purchased the acreage under the belief that no problems with developing the housing project would occur.

Roundstone sued the city, saying the government was wrong to deny its rezoning application. The company lost its case in circuit court and appealed the case to the Mississippi Supreme Court in 2013, which sided with the city on the matter, City Attorney Hyde Carby said.

While the first lawsuit was ongoing, the company also sued the city for damages in 2010, asking for compensation for the lost business due to the city’s wrongdoing in the matter.

In 2011, Circuit Court Judge Forrest “Al” Johnson ruled against the city for breach of contract and misrepresentation. The decision was a default judgment, made because the court decided the city did not respond to the lawsuit in a timely fashion.

Payment of damages in the 2011 case was postponed until the 2007 case was resolved.