Members of the Alabama Supreme Court temporarily paused litigation on Tuesday in a lawsuit involving alleged self-dealing among trustees overseeing a scholarship fund for needy children created by former Alabama Secretary of State Mabel Amos.
Montgomery County Circuit Judge Greg Griffin appointed a special master to the case in November, but the Alabama Supreme Court overruled the appointment in May and sent the case back to Griffin.
Allen Dodd, an appointed Deputy Alabama Attorney General, said in a July hearing in Montgomery County Circuit Court that the state, the fund's board members, and the trust fund's trustee, Regions Bank, recently settled the case. The fund's board members are Rick Clifton, Drew McNeese and Alabama Ethics Commission executive director Tom Albritton.
However, Griffin has yet to approve the settlement. Most recently, he appointed a temporary special fiduciary in August to audit and investigate the finances of the Mabel Amos Trust Fund. A hearing on the appointment is scheduled for September.
Dodd asked the Alabama Supreme Court to stay litigation in circuit court until the Supreme Court rules on whether to vacate Griffin's special fiduciary order. The request was granted on Tuesday. The entire Supreme Court concurred, except Justice Greg Cook, who recused.
"Further, now is the time of year that Regions normally honors the scholarships awarded from the Trust and makes tuition payments. Unless this litigation is stayed and Special Master White enjoined from acting under the New Special Master Order, Regions will cease distributing those scholarships, potentially causing irreparable harm to hundreds of students who depend upon the Trust payments," Dodd said.
Griffin said in his order appointing a special fiduciary on August 8, "There are several bases for this decision. First, it is impossible to determine at this point the extent of the trustees' breaches of duty, as only the tip of an apparent iceberg of impropriety can be seen."
The Mabel Amos Trust Fund is worth about $8.2 million, primarily due to oil and gas wells located on its property in South Alabama.
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