DOCUMENT 24

ELECTRONICALLY FILED
2/5/2021 1:24 PM
63-CV-2020-901061.00
CIRCUIT COURT OF
TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, ALABAMA
MAGARIA HAMNER BOBO, CLERK
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF
TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, ALABAMA

SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW

CENTER,

Plaintiff,

v. Civil Action No. CV-2020-901061

RON ABERNATHY, in his

official capacity as Custodian of the
Records of the Tuscaloosa County Jail,

Defendant.

NOTICE OF VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL

Pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(i) of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiff

Southern Poverty Law Center hereby voluntarily dismisses this action for equitable

relief against Defendant Ron Abernathy. In support thereof, Plaintiff states the

following:

1. Plaintiff filed this action, pursuant to the Alabama Open Records Act,

Ala. Code §§ 36-12-40–41, against Defendant Abernathy in his official capacity as

Sheriff of Tuscaloosa County and as the custodian of records related to the spread

of COVID-19 inside of the Tuscaloosa County Jail (“Jail”).

2. Plaintiff had attempted to resolve the records request for nearly four

months before resorting to the recourse of this Court.

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3. Although Defendant eventually responded to Plaintiff’s request in the

form of a memorandum, see Doc. 18 (filed Jan. 22, 2021), this response was

insufficient under the text of the Open Records Act, which entitles Plaintiff to all

“records . . . reasonably necessary to record the business and activities required to

be done or carried on” by the Defendant in fulfilling his duties as Sheriff, see Stone

v. Consolidated Pub. Co., 404 So. 2d 678, 681 (Ala. 1981) (emphasis added).

4. Defendant’s counsel has since responded that the Sheriff has no records

responsive to Plaintiff’s request and has filed this attestation with the Court. See Doc.

19 (filed Jan. 22, 2021).

5. Plaintiff understands Defendant’s response to mean that the Sheriff has

no written COVID-19 policies, guidance, protocols, or trainings for Jail staff; no

emails or other written communications about COVID-19 between the Sheriff, the

Jail physician, or any other Jail staff; and no memoranda or files regarding the

number of people—either employed by or housed within the Jail—who have been

tested and/or infected with COVID-19.

6. Accordingly, Plaintiff files this notice of voluntary dismissal. Because

Defendant has not yet filed either an Answer or a Motion for Summary Judgment,

such notice of dismissal is proper under Rule 41(a)(1)(i). See, e.g., Hope Developers,

Inc. v. Vandiver, 582 So. 2d 1073, 1075 (Ala. 1991).

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Respectfully submitted this 5 day of February, 2021.

/s/ Alexandra Jordan

Alexandra Jordan (ASB-4640-X00X)
Micah West (ASB-1842-J82F)
Ellen Degnan (ASB-3244-I12V)
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER
400 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, Alabama 36104
Tel: (334) 531-4447
alexandra.jordan@splcenter.org
micah.west@splcenter.org
ellen.degnan@splcenter.org

Attorneys for Plaintiff

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

Pursuant to Rule 5 of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, I hereby certify

that, by filing this notice on February 5, 2021, I have served counsel Benjamin Jay

Stuck (jay@law-bjs.com) for Defendant Ron Abernathy via the Court’s electronic

filing system.

/s/ Alexandra Jordan

Alexandra Jordan

On behalf of Attorneys for Plaintiff