HELENA -- A half-dozen computer experts who lost their jobs on a state Justice Department project are taking legal action, saying the state deceived them about the length and nature of the job.

Six people -- four women and two men -- filed a complaint Friday with the state seeking damages, a precursor to a likely lawsuit.

They lost their jobs in May after the Justice Department shifted gears on its $22.5 million project to computerize motor-vehicle records, deciding to hand it over to a private company in what became a $15.9 million contract.

"They gave the work they promised to us to the contractor, BearingPoint, without any explanation other than it was a business decision," said Katherin Clemmence, the lead plaintiff in the case.

The other plaintiffs in the case are Elaine Sinclair, Jan McFarren, Phoebe Williams, Kyle Smith and Michael Arave.

They filed the complaint with the state Risk Management and Tort Defense Division, which has 120 days to accept or reject it. If it's rejected, the plaintiffs can sue the state in District Court.

Jim Manley, a Polson attorney representing the plaintiffs, said he expects the issue will go to court.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said Tuesday the state is confident that proper state policy and procedure was followed in terminating the employees.

The six workers said they left good-paying jobs, some in other states, to move to Helena and work on the Justice Department project, which is one of the largest computer projects in state government.

Five of them began work early this year or late last year; Arave began working on the project in early 2004.

They were told they'd be part of the team developing the new computerized system of vehicle records, and that the work would last for at least two years, possibly longer, the complaint said.

This spring, however, Justice Department officials in charge of the project decided to abandon the in-house development and instead hire a private company to install an "off-the-shelf" product created by Archon Technologies of Denver.

They chose BearingPoint, which was partnered with Archon, to receive a no-bid contract. State purchasing officials nixed the idea of a no-bid contract, but BearingPoint ended up with the $15.9 million contract anyway, following a bidding process.

BearingPoint is an international consulting firm headquartered in Virginia. It was formerly known as KPMG Inc.

Larry Fasbender, deputy director of the Justice Department, said the agency had expected to build the computerized records system with its own employees. But when it found a completed system offered by Archon and BearingPoint, the state decided that would be the best way to go, he said.

The employees who lost their jobs were "modified employees" who knew they did not have a permanent job, he said.

Clemmens said she and other workers were told initially that while BearingPoint would provide the system, they still would be needed to help implement it.

"We were all under the impression that we would still have a job," she said.

Not long afterwards, however, they were told their jobs were over, Clemmens said and some were given just hours to clean out their desks.

"They were pretty heartless," she said. "We had no benefits, no notice, no severance pay. Everything was over. We were just gone."

The complaint, if filed in court, will ask a jury to decide damages for the terminated workers, including punitive damages.