Published
October 20, 2026
People who paid fees to get back a vehicle towed on the orders of the Brookside, Alabama police after a traffic stop, or who were charged in the Brookside Municipal Court after a traffic stop, between March 1, 2018 and August 1, 2022 can share in a $1.5 million settlement. The court granted preliminary approval on September 30, 2026. The claim form is not open yet; claims will be due 120 days after notice is sent.
Current Status
The claim form is not open yet. Judge Anna M. Manasco of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama granted preliminary approval on September 30, 2026 and directed that notice go to potential class members within 75 days, which is by December 14, 2026. Claims, exclusion requests and objections are each due 120 days after the administrator sends notice, so no calendar deadline has been set yet. The final approval hearing is August 12, 2027.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Claim Form Not Yet Open
preliminary approval Sept. 30, 2026 · final approval hearing Aug. 12, 2027
Claim Deadline
Not Yet Set
120 days after notice · notice due by Dec. 14, 2026
Estimated Payout
Pro Rata Share
$1M towing fund · $500K charging fund · notice estimates $588+ per towing claim, $91+ per charging claim
Proof Required
Not Yet Determined
claim form not open · proposed form asks for sworn answers, not receipts
What Changed Recently?
On September 30, 2026, Judge Anna M. Manasco granted preliminary approval of the class settlement in Coleman, et al. v. The Town of Brookside, Alabama, et al., No. 2:22-cv-00423-AMM, finding at this stage that it is fair, reasonable and adequate. The order preliminarily certifies two classes, a Towing Class and a Charging Class, approves the proposed notice and claim form, and appoints Angeion Group LLC as the claims administrator.The lawsuit, filed in April 2022, alleges that starting in 2018 Brookside used towing fees and municipal court fines, fees and costs to raise revenue for its police department in ways that violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and that its towing provider, Jett’s Towing Inc., took part in the towing side. Brookside and Jett’s Towing contested and denied the claims. The court denied their motions to dismiss but has not decided who is right. The settlement is between the plaintiffs and the town; Jett’s Towing is not a party to it.
The case followed AL.com’s 2022 investigation of the town’s police department. Brookside’s police chief resigned in January 2022 after that report, according to WBRC. The complaint alleges that the town’s fines and forfeitures revenue rose from $82,467 in 2018 to $610,307 in 2020 and that police-ordered tows rose from 50 to 789 over the same years.
Who Qualifies?
The Towing Class is everyone who, from March 1, 2018 to August 1, 2022, paid fees to the Town of Brookside, Jett’s Towing, Rich’s Towing or any other towing company, or any combination of them, to get back a vehicle towed on the orders of the Brookside Police Department after a traffic stop.The Charging Class is everyone who, from March 1, 2018 to August 1, 2022, was charged with an offense in the Brookside Municipal Court after a traffic stop by the Brookside Police Department.
A person can belong to one class, both or neither. People who already released their claims against Brookside in earlier individual lawsuits or settlements listed in the agreement are excluded, as are people who opt out.
How Much Can You Get?
Brookside will pay $1,000,000 into a Towing Class Fund and $500,000 into a Charging Class Fund. Separately, the town pays the first $155,000 of administration costs; the administrator has quoted no more than $133,500. If costs ever exceed $155,000, the excess comes equally out of the two funds. Class counsel are not seeking attorneys’ fees, so the $1.5 million goes to class members.The Towing Class Fund is split into equal shares, one for each verified towing incident with a valid claim, so a person with two verified tows gets two shares. When two people paid different parts of the release fees for the same tow, one paying the town and the other the towing company, they split that share in half. The Charging Class Fund is divided equally among valid claimants. A person in both classes can be paid from both funds. Payments are mailed by check after the settlement becomes final, and checks expire 90 days after they are issued.
The class notice estimates the Towing Class at a maximum of about 1,700 members and the Charging Class at about 5,500. If no fund money goes to administration costs, it projects these amounts per claim:
• Towing Class: $588.23 if all 1,700 claim, $1,176.47 if half claim and $2,352.94 if a quarter claim
• Charging Class: $90.90 if all 5,500 claim, $181.81 if half claim and $363.63 if a quarter claim
Money from checks left uncashed goes to a nonprofit or community-based organization serving the Birmingham area.
What Else Does the Settlement Do?
The settlement also changes how the town polices and runs its court. Once it becomes final, Brookside agrees to:• Repeal the parts of its towing ordinances that charge money to release a towed or impounded vehicle, and stop charging for releases
• Cancel unpaid tow-release fees owed by Towing Class members and unpaid fines, fees and costs from Brookside Municipal Court cases between March 1, 2018 and August 1, 2022 owed by Charging Class members
• Dismiss, with prejudice, prosecutions and appeals from that period that are still pending
• Offer Charging Class members who stay in the settlement a pardon from the mayor, records the agreement describes for Alabama expungement and a written statement that they owe nothing on those cases; the pardon requires a further release of claims and must be requested within 120 days after the settlement takes effect
• Keep none of its law-enforcement fines, fees, forfeitures and court costs for five years, then cap them at 1% of its general operating budget for 10 years and 2.5% for the next 15 years, with the excess going to the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Fund and the Alabama Fair Trial Tax Fund
• Stop actively patrolling Interstate 22 for 10 years, except for emergencies and requests for help from other agencies, and hold the pay of its municipal judge and prosecutor to inflation adjustments for 10 years
• Post budgets, financial reports, council recordings and minutes, ordinances and towing, prosecutor and judge contracts on the town website
The town also agrees to send class members, and post publicly for 10 months, a statement that its 2018 policy of aggressive policing “prioritized generating revenue for the department’s expansion” and “likely interfered with the Town’s obligation to administer justice equally under law,” and that the policy “raised serious constitutional concerns under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” The agreement provides that nothing in it can be used as an admission if the settlement does not become final.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
The claim form is not open yet, so OCA has not been able to check the online version. Under the proposed claim form approved with the notice plan, a claimant gives a name, date of birth and at least one way to be reached, picks the class or classes, and answers, to the best of their recollection and under penalty of perjury, when they were charged or towed, plus the vehicle, driver, owner and who paid for each tow. People who got a notice by mail are asked for the “Claim #” on it. Receipts are not listed as required, though the administrator may ask for records when two people claim the same tow.What Is the Deadline?
No calendar date has been set. Claim forms must be postmarked or submitted online within 120 days after the administrator sends the first notices, with a limited 30-day grace window in the agreement. Exclusion requests go by mail and must be received within the same 120 days. Objections are filed with the Clerk of Court within 120 days, and an objector must also submit a claim form. One claim form covers both classes.How Do You Take Action?
No official settlement website had been posted as of October 20, 2026. Under the agreement, Angeion must launch one by the day notices go out, with the notice, claim form and court papers, an online claim option and a call center. Notices go by first-class mail and, where known, email to people found in the town’s and towing records, followed by reminder notices and AL.com advertising. Court filings are on the federal court docket.What Happens Next?
Notice is due by December 14, 2026. The motion for final approval is due June 30, 2027, and the final approval hearing is August 12, 2027 at 9:00 a.m. in the Eighth-Floor Courtroom of the Hugo L. Black U.S. Courthouse in Birmingham. Plaintiffs in two related class actions against Brookside argued the amount may be too low given the town’s insurance coverage; the court said they may raise objections. Checks go out within 30 days after the settlement takes effect.Sources and Verification
• Order granting preliminary approval (ECF 170, September 30, 2026), Coleman, et al. v. The Town of Brookside, Alabama, et al., No. 2:22-cv-00423-AMM (N.D. Ala.)• Unopposed motion for preliminary approval (ECF 166) and proposed settlement agreement with class notice, claim form and administrator agreement (ECF 165-3, February 6, 2026), on the CourtListener docket
• WBRC, “Brookside police chief resigns; Lt. Gov. requests audit” (January 25, 2022)
Questions
Who is covered by the Brookside, Alabama settlement?
Two groups, from March 1, 2018 to August 1, 2022: people who paid fees to get back a vehicle towed on the orders of the Brookside Police Department after a traffic stop, and people charged with an offense in the Brookside Municipal Court after a Brookside police traffic stop. A person can be in both.
How much is the Brookside settlement payment?
It depends on how many people file. The class notice projects $588.23 to $2,352.94 per towing claim and $90.90 to $363.63 per charging claim, depending on whether all or a quarter of each class files. Towing payments are made per verified tow.
Can I file a Brookside settlement claim now?
Not yet. Notice is due by December 14, 2026, and claims are due 120 days after notice is sent. The claim form will be available by mail and on a settlement website the administrator must launch when notice goes out.
Did Brookside admit wrongdoing?
Brookside contested and denied the claims, and the court has not decided who is right. As part of the settlement, the town agreed to issue a statement that its 2018 aggressive-policing policy prioritized revenue and likely interfered with its obligation to administer justice equally.
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount
$1,500,000
$1,000,000 Towing Class · $500,000 Charging Class
Case Title
Coleman, et al. v. The Town of Brookside, Alabama, et al.
Case Number
2:22-cv-00423-AMM
Court
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama
Final Approval Hearing
August 12, 2027 at 9:00 AM
Hugo L. Black U.S. Courthouse, Birmingham
Administrator
Angeion Group
