It may be the most public firing of a company in Omaha's history. But will it cost the city 40-million dollars? The city of Omaha fired WBE Company in Valley, Nebraska, five years ago. In the next couple of months, the case will finally go to trial to determine if Omaha breached the contract.

In October 2004, WBE was working on six different projects in Omaha when Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey and his administration kicked the company off the job sites and replaced the workers with other road construction crews. At the time Mayor Fahey held a news conference and said, "They have not shown they can get the job done."

The city said the company was behind schedule on at least two projects and the work that was done was poor at best. Fort Street from 108th to 120th was singled out by neighbors who had been complaining for months about a new road that felt like an old one. Some of the same issues came up on the 132nd Street construction between Blondo and Dodge.

Soon after being fired, WBE filed for bankruptcy and blamed the city of Omaha for destroying its cash flow and the company.

In 2006 WBE Attorney Ted Boecker said, "The rules got changed on WBE for some reason."

In court, WBE will argue that the company was treated differently than other contractors, that delays actually caused by MUD and OPPD were never factored in and that the city never gave it a chance to finish what it started.

Court documents indicate a profit loss of close to $38-million dollars because of Omaha's decision to fire the company.

After a judge ruled on a number of recent motions, the trial between the two sides is expected in the next two months.