Alabama residents still seeking water lawsuit payments

LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — In “Sinking Settlement Hopes,” News 19’s ongoing investigation into a contaminated drinking water lawsuit settlement now finds frustrated Lawrence County residents have taken steps to try and collect settlement payments through the courts or through complaints to the Alabama Bar Association.

But so far, it appears those residents remain in a legal maze.

The focus of the resident complaints is a 2018 lawsuit against 3M and other PFAS chemical makers and the West Morgan East Lawrence Water Authority over chemical contamination of local drinking water. The lawsuit was settled in 2022 by 3M for an undisclosed amount.

PFAS was declared hazardous by the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year.

Thousands signed up for the lawsuit filed by the Anniston-based law firm Stewart and Stewart. But several residents have told News 19 over the past year they did not receive an expected lawsuit settlement payment – generally around $3,500 – even though they signed up for the lawsuit. Those same residents tell us they have had difficulty getting answers from their attorneys.

In our latest story, we found at least six Lawrence County residents have filed lawsuits since December against attorney Taylor Stewart, of Stewart and Stewart which handled the contaminated drinking water lawsuit against 3M and other parties.

In those recent lawsuits, which all claim the plaintiff was not paid his or her water settlement check, the residents received a default judgment after Stewart did not respond to their claims. The next step was to try and collect on the judgments, but records show attempts at garnishment have been unsuccessful. And, Alabama courts do not handle lawsuit judgment collections.

News 19 has made numerous attempts to talk to attorneys at Stewart and Stewart but those requests have gone unanswered.

Lawrence County resident Sharon Murray told News 19 that her cousin Eric Tyrone Billings continues to be questioned and occasionally threatened by frustrated residents who believe Billings knows about the lawsuit settlement checks. Billings is the listed lead plaintiff in the 3M case. But Billings told News 19 last year he never signed up for the case and never had contact with the Stewart law firm.

Murray has taken a different approach. She has gathered more than 120 complaints from area residents — alleging non-payment of lawsuit settlements by Stewart and Stewart. She said she submitted those complaints to the Alabama Bar Association via certified mail in December, January and May.

The Alabama Bar Association told News 19 its rules do not allow it to confirm whether an investigation is being conducted. Murray said after months of no response from the Alabama Bar she spoke to an investigator last week.

In an interview with News 19, Murray said the investigator told her he’d spoken to Stewart and Stewart and was told all of the residents had been paid. Murray said she’d also been told by the Alabama Bar investigator they have received a large number of complaints about the firm from different communities in Alabama, not just Lawrence County.

Murray said more investigation is needed.

“They have received over 1,300 complaints from people that weren’t getting paid and people are not just going to jump up and lie to get something when they know it can be investigated and found out,” Murray said.

Murray said the investigator has asked for more proof of the claims of non-payment. She said she was at Wheeler Chapel Church on the nights hundreds of people signed up for the lawsuit and she kept records of what the lawyers provided. Murray said she’s submitted those materials to the Alabama Bar Association investigator.

News 19 also found during our investigation that many residents did not receive a receipt or obtain a copy of their sign-up form or related material, leaving a clear gap in the ability to prove a claim.

As part of our investigation, News 19 spoke to area residents who were enlisted to sign up their neighbors for the lawsuit. Those charged with collecting signatures say they continue to hear from people they signed up – that they haven’t been paid.

Murray has been pushing for a bar investigation for nearly six months and she told News 19 the effort isn’t for herself but for her loved ones and neighbors. It’s about more than the $3,500 payment, she said, but for a poor community, that money would make a difference for people.

“It might not seem like a whole lot to some people, but this is a poor area. I don’t like to say it like that. But this is a retirement community,” Murray said. “Everybody didn’t work at a factory or something like that, where they get a nice pension once a month and Social Security.”

“Some of them are living off a $600 or $700 Social Security because they picked cotton out down Dave Martin plantation. So this little extra helps. It’ll help pay a bill and It’ll help buy some groceries. Basically, it would help.”

Murray says she’s doing the work with one goal in mind.

“My hope is that they get it. That’s my hope. That’s my prayer. That they get what they were promised.”

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