A Virginia company has filed suit after its construction of a monument in Alabama honoring a noted Confederate general, who also was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, was halted.

According to the Selma Times-Journal, the federal suit, filed by KTK Mining of Richmond, says the company got the necessary permits to do the work on the monument in Old Live Oak Cemetery honoring Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, but the city of Selma, Ala., suspended the permits when the project drew protests.

The company's suit says the suspension was done without prior notice to KTK Mining.

The city has filed a response saying its actions were reasonable and it has legal immunity.

KTK Mining has also filed claims with the city of Selma, seeking a total of $600,000.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.