In a late May order, Madison County Circuit Court Judge Gregory Reid issued sanctions against plaintiffs in a Huntsville land dispute spanning over 25 years.
Brothers Kevin and Robert Matthews have been trying to take back their family's land on Winchster Road, which they claim County Conservator Douglas C. Martinson, II, and other defendants took from them by the illegal use of their late father's deed in 2001. Subsequent rulings by Judge George Day and the Alabama Supreme Court have affirmed the defendants' ownership of the land, which has since been divided and sold to multiple businesses and retailers.
The Matthews, along with their attorneys Rick Kornis and Franklin Eaton, renewed their efforts to reclaim the land when Madison County Probate Judge Frank Barger ruled in April 2024 that all titles and deeds for the property after Pierce Matthew's 1948 deed, when Kevin and Robert Matthews' parents inherited the land, were invalid and should be expunged from the record. That ruling was later rescinded in May due to objections made by the defendants.
However, Kornis and Eaton have maintained that Barger's order is the only valid ruling and that no certified copies of the private sale exist, rendering other motions void and nullifying the request for sanctions.
"The Respondents in this matter maintain that the Order of the Court and the Ruling affirming said order are void due to the lack or non-existence of 'certified' copies of a private sale; therefore said order and the affirmation thereof by the Supreme Court have no legal or binding effect," Judge Reid said in a May 28 ruling. "Further, the Respondents contend that they and their Counsel are not required to abide by the orders they believe to be void and without authority. The Court finds this argument to be completely without merit."
Judge Reid ordered the plaintiffs to pay a total of $166,072.37 — $78,863.50 to Douglas C. Martinson II and Martinson & Beason, $11,680.15 to Watson Company LLC and Winchester Partners LLC and $18,882.18 to four other defendants.
"The Court further finds the Plaintiff/Respondents and Counsel of Record in contempt for the failure to follow the Order entered by Judge George Day and ultimately affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court," Reid stated. "The above-listed sanctions are reasonable given the actions of the Plaintiff/Respondents and their Counsel and the needless expense incurred by the Defendant/Petitioners due to said contemptuous conduct."
Reid said the plaintiffs have 30 days to pay the monetary sanctions and that they could "purge" the contempt finding by "immediately ceasing any further attacks on the legal title of the subject properties."
However, in a June 20 filing, the Matthews attorneys motioned for Judge Reid to modify or vacate his contempt and sanctions ruling. They detailed 11 arguments in their favor, including Judge Barger's April order, which they claim was rescinded through improper ex parte communications with non-parties in violation of Rule 24 of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure. They also claim a recognition of an heir deed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the defendants' "lack of valid proof of title," and a violation of due process should compel the court to overturn the sanctions and rule in their favor on the land dispute.
The defendant's attorneys would not comment on the legal issues of the case but said the courts' rulings speak for themselves.
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