TUSCALOOSA, Ala.–State regulators, who are already operating Alabama One CU under a conservatorship, have now asked a court to disqualify the attorney who is representing former board members and employees who are suing the regulator.
The Alabama Credit Union Administration and its administrator, Sarah Moore, filed a motion in Tuscaloosa Circuit Court that states the plaintiffs’ attorney, Paul Toppins, is a necessary witness with crucial information and that his testimony is needed in the lawsuit. Toppins is the former in-house counsel for Tuscaloosa-based Alabama One.
As CUToday.info reported previously, Toppins was dismissed from that position along with 10 other members of the Alabama One management team and board in late August when the Alabama Credit Union Administration placed Alabama One in conservatorship.
In addition to that suit, which seeks reinstatement to previous board and management positions and an end to the conservatorship, another suit has been filed by former Alabama One CEO John Dee Carruth. CUToday.info has coverage of that litigation here.
The Tuscaloosa News reported that attorney Robert Reynolds, who was appointed as a deputy attorney general to represent the ACUA, said in his motion that Toppins has personal knowledge regarding the concealment of books, papers, records and assets of Alabama One. The failure to turn over those items to the ACUA for inspection was among the reasons the regulator cited in its conservatorship order, which also said the credit union had refused to comply with an earlier cease-and-desist letter.
According to the Tuscaloosa News, in seeking Toppins removal as the plaintiff’s attorney, the motion cited the state rules for professional conduct, which state that a lawyer shall not act as advocate at a trial in which the lawyer is likely to be a necessary witness, except where the testimony related to an uncontested issue, the testimony relates to the nature and value of legal services rendered in the case, or disqualification of the lawyer would work substantial hardship on the client.”
The Tuscaloosa News said it received an e-mail from Toppins in which he stated he has not been provided specific information to support its takeover of the credit union. “Consequently, it is difficult to respond to some of the allegations in their motion to disqualify,” the News quoted Toppins as saying. “Nevertheless, we deny that anyone associated with Alabama One — lawyer, employee, or official — has done anything improper, as the facts will show.”