Alabama Supreme Court rules in Russell County v. Phenix City. Here’s the decision, impact.
The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Phenix City in a lawsuit Russell County filed over a dispute about annexation.
The January 2018 lawsuit stemmed from the city’s annexation of residences next to the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Highway 80. The litigation eventually included the county challenging 52 annexations dating back to 1991.
All those annexations were done because those property owners requested to be part of the city to benefit from municipal services, such as the water and sewer systems and police and fire protection, said Jim McKoon, one of the lawyers who represented the city.
McKoon spoke at Tuesday’s meeting of the Phenix City Council.
Also at stake was “millions” of dollars in tax revenue from residential and commercial properties, McKoon said.
McKoon praised the city officials for the meticulous records they have kept for decades. That enabled them to create a map to show the court the annexations meet the requirement of being contiguous, he said.
The state supreme court’s order affirmed, without opinion, the circuit court’s summary judgment and dismissal of all the county’s claims.
The Ledger-Enquirer didn’t reach any Russell County officials for comment before this story’s deadline.
This is a developing story that will be updated as needed.
