The battle among big-name developers to build a new Miami-Dade civil courthouse turned contentious when the runner-up raised issues with the rankings.

M-S-E Judicial Partners LLC said top-ranked Plenary Justice Miami LLC lowballed its bid and proposed an inferior building that will cost more in improvements down the line, a notion Plenary disputes.

Miami-Dade wants a new civil courthouse on a half-acre it owns on Flagler Street between the existing courthouse and the Metromover tracks. The county issued a request for proposals for a development team to work on the project in a public-private partnership. Construction is to start in July 2020.