The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to review the ruling that could end Jefferson County, Alabama’s long-running bankruptcy appeal, Bond Buyer reported. Attorney Calvin Grigsby said on Tuesday that he’d filed for a writ of certiorari seeking to have the Supreme Court review the August appellate decision that ended his clients’ appeal of the county’s bankruptcy case. Grigsby, in a 59-page petition, asks the Supreme Court to consider several questions, including whether the “doctrine of equitable mootness” should bar his clients’ appeal of the county’s plan of adjustment because it alleges that the plan violates the 10th amendment, which reserves municipal utility ratemaking to the states and local governments. Grigsby, a former broker-dealer who is representing a group of ratepayers on the county’s sewer system, has said numerous times in court filings that his clients participated in the bankruptcy case but were never given an opportunity to have a hearing on the merits of their claims. Getting the justices to consider the petition might be difficult, said bankruptcy attorney John Whitlock, who is of counsel with Locke Lord LLP. The firm is not involved in the case. Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens said he expects the county to prevail if the Supreme Court agrees to review the lower court decision.
