Moreover, "nothing" would have prevented Marin County from adding the claims from the second lawsuit to the original action against Deloitte, where they would be heard by Herlihy, the consulting firm said.

Marin didn't do that because it was seeking "a more favorable forum" for its allegations against Deloitte, given that Herlihy "had by then shown he was skeptical of those allegations," the filing adds. "That is blatant forum shopping."

Deloitte wants the claims against it in the federal case to be referred to the judge, according to the filing. Its motion is scheduled to be heard on July 15.

Overall, Deloitte's motivations are clear, according to one expert.

"Obviously they're trying to avoid a media circus, and this has all the makings of a media circus," said Michael Krigsman, CEO of Asuret, a consulting firm that advises companies on how to run successful IT projects.