Circuit Court Judge Fred Bolling issued an order recusing himself from a lawsuit at the request of the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB), doing so to avoid a “media circus.”
The civil case before Bolling involved a lawsuit brought by small business owner Sherry McCostlin, who is challenging thousands of dollars in water bills charged by the water works.
The move comes less than a week after lawyers for Birmingham Water Works filed a motion asking the judge to recuse himself, including copies of a fiery exchange between Bolling and their attorney, Mark Parnell, in September 2021. Parnell told AL(dot)com that Bolling asked that the motion be sealed and not made public, but Bolling did otherwise.
The utility explained, according to the filing, “The presence of a strained or adversarial attorney-client relationship creates an unacceptable risk of perceived bias," adding, "Given the legal precedent, the undisputed prior relationship between your honor and the defendant, and the apparent personal tensions reflected in the written communications, it is clear that recusal is necessary.”
The filing cited an email from Parnell, discontinuing the services of Bolling’s firm and the BWWB, and requesting that Bolling hand over documents and send his final invoice.
Bolling’s response to Parnell was direct and harsh, telling Parnell to never contact him again and accusing him of inappropriate “underhanded maneuverings," saying, "You are not representing anyone but your own greed and I pray that karma and justice finds it(s) way to your doorstep,”
In a statement, Bolling, while speaking of himself in the third person, said, "To be clear, the comments previously made were directed in a singular direction. They did not include any animosity toward the Birmingham Water Works Board and utility, which Judge Bolling proudly served as an attorney.”
Bolling said that his comments were directed at Parnell, not the BWWB. He said that he had a right to stay on the case but would leave to avoid creating a distraction.
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