On Thursday, April 2, 2026, WBRC 6 News reported that Central Alabama Water (CAW) filed a motion seeking the recusal of a Jefferson County judge from a lawsuit concerning fluoridation. The motion cites the judge’s past affiliations with the utility when it operated as the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB), both representing and opposing it.
Circuit Judge Frederic Bolling had issued a temporary restraining order on Monday, April 1, mandating that the utility restore fluoride to the water supply pending a hearing. CAW attorneys argue that Judge Bolling’s impartiality is questionable due to his history with the utility and statements he made in the restraining order.
In the order, Judge Bolling stated 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 filed by CAW contends that these 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.”
Judge Bolling’s history with the BWWB includes representing the board as an attorney in multiple cases from 2020 to 2021, including cases involving Jill Colegate and Shannon Harris. His relationship with the BWWB ended in September 2021, after which he represented parties in cases against the water board, including board member Lucien Blankenship in 2024 and George Munchus in two separate cases.
Judge Bolling had previously recused himself in May 2025 from another case involving the utility, a billing dispute filed by ratepayer Sherry McCostlin. In that order, he cited a desire to allow the Plaintiff to have her day in court “free from the media circus that this Court has ignited with opinions expressed nearly four (4) years ago.” He also stated that his comments as an attorney were directed in a singular direction and did not indicate animosity toward the BWWB.
Source: WBRC 6 News
