BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) — Central Alabama Water (CAW) filed a motion Wednesday asking a Jefferson County judge to step aside from a lawsuit over fluoridation, citing his previous work both representing and opposing the utility when it was known as the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB).
Circuit Judge Frederic Bolling issued a temporary restraining order Monday requiring the utility to restore fluoride to its water supply until a hearing on April 2.
Attorneys for CAW said Bolling’s impartiality could reasonably be questioned based on his history with the utility and comments he made in the restraining order.
In that order, Bolling wrote he would “eagerly await what argument could be made concerning costs, that would justify placing public health at risk, while administrative salaries continue to balloon, front-line workers have been terminated by the hundreds, and salaries for legal services have for years been inflated.”
The motion said those statements were made “in an ex parte setting and without any evidentiary record to support findings of fact on issues never raised in the pleadings.”
History with utility
Bolling represented the BWWB as an attorney in multiple cases from 2020 to 2021, including cases filed by Jill Colegate and Shannon Harris.
That relationship ended in September 2021 after BWWB attorney Mark Parnell notified Bolling his contract was being terminated.
According to emails filed as an exhibit in a previous recusal motion, Bolling responded to Parnell: “Please don’t contact me again. I have spoken to those that I need to speak with and I frankly think that the underhanded maneuverings that led to this are disgusting and were highly inappropriate.”
Bolling continued: “I also know the outrageous billing that you engage in with regard to routine matters. You are not representing anyone but your own greed and I pray that karma and justice finds it way to your doorstep.”
After his contract ended, Bolling represented parties in cases against the water board, including board member Lucien Blankenship in 2024 and George Munchus in two separate cases.
Previous recusal
Bolling recused himself in May 2025 from another case involving the utility, a billing dispute filed by ratepayer Sherry McCostlin.
In that order, filed as an exhibit in the current motion, Bolling wrote he was recusing himself “so that the Plaintiff might have her day in Court free from the media circus that this Court has ignited with opinions expressed nearly four (4) years ago.”
Bolling wrote in that order that his comments as an attorney “were directed in a singular direction” and “did not indicate any animosity toward the Birmingham Water Works Board and utility, which Judge Bolling proudly served as an attorney.”
He also wrote that his representation of Blankenship “did not create any animosity or bias for the Board.”
Despite finding no legal requirement to recuse, Bolling stepped aside from the McCostlin case to avoid “extraneous attention.”
Current case
The City of Birmingham filed suit against CAW last week, seeking to force the utility to resume fluoridation.
Bolling granted a temporary restraining order requiring fluoride be restored until April 2.
Judge Bolling is scheduled to hold a hearing on his motion Thursday at noon.
Original article online at: https://www.wbrc.com/2026/04/01/central-alabama-water-seeks-judges-recusal-fluoride-case/