Drivers who paid to get a car back after a Brookside, Alabama police tow between March 2018 and August 2022 will be paid per tow, not per person, from a $1 million fund — but nobody can file yet. A federal judge preliminarily approved the $1.5 million settlement with the Town of Brookside on September 30, 2026. Notice is due to go out by December 14, 2026, and the 120-day claim window starts only then. A separate $500,000 fund covers people charged in the Brookside Municipal Court after a traffic stop.
Status: Preliminary approval September 30, 2026 | Claim form not open yet — claims due 120 days after notice is sent | Notice due by December 14, 2026 | Final approval hearing August 12, 2027
Background: A Small Town’s Policing Revenue
The case is Coleman, et al. v. The Town of Brookside, Alabama, et al., No. 2:22-cv-00423-AMM, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, before Judge Anna M. Manasco. Filed in April 2022, it 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.
The suit 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.
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 Two Classes
| Towing Class ($1,000,000) | 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 a combination, to get back a vehicle towed on the orders of the Brookside Police Department after a traffic stop. |
| Charging Class ($500,000) | Everyone who, from March 1, 2018 to August 1, 2022, was charged with an offense in the Brookside Municipal Court after a Brookside police traffic stop. |
A person can be in one class, both or neither, and someone in both can be paid from both funds. People who already released claims against Brookside in earlier individual lawsuits or settlements listed in the agreement are excluded, as are people who opt out.
How the Money Is Split
The towing fund is divided into equal shares, one for each verified towing incident with a valid claim. Two verified tows mean two shares. If 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. The charging fund is divided equally among valid claimants.
Class counsel are not seeking attorneys’ fees. Brookside separately pays the first $155,000 of administration costs, and the administrator has quoted no more than $133,500; only costs above $155,000 would come equally out of the two funds.
The class notice estimates the Towing Class at a maximum of about 1,700 members and the Charging Class at about 5,500. Assuming no fund money goes to administration, it projects:
| Share of class that files | Per towing claim | Per charging claim |
| All | $588.23 | $90.90 |
| Half | $1,176.47 | $181.81 |
| A quarter | $2,352.94 | $363.63 |
Checks are mailed within 30 days after the settlement takes effect and expire 90 days after issue. Money from uncashed checks goes to a nonprofit or community-based organization serving the Birmingham area.
Debts Wiped Out, and a Pardon on Request
For many class members the non-cash terms may matter as much as the check. Once the settlement is 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 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 and must be requested within 120 days after the settlement takes effect.
Limits on Future Policing Revenue
The town also agrees to 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. It will stop actively patrolling Interstate 22 for 10 years, except for emergencies and requests for help from other agencies, hold the pay of its municipal judge and prosecutor to inflation adjustments for 10 years, and post budgets, financial reports, council recordings, ordinances and key contracts on its website.
Brookside will send class members, and post 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.” The agreement says nothing in it can be used as an admission if the settlement does not become final.
What Filing Will Look Like
No official settlement website had been posted as of October 20, 2026. Under the agreement, the administrator, Angeion Group LLC, must launch one by the day notices go out, with the notice, claim form, court papers and an online claim option. Notices go by first-class mail and, where known, email to people found in the town’s and towing records, followed by reminders and AL.com advertising.
Under the proposed claim form the court approved, you give your name, date of birth and at least one way to be reached, pick your class or classes, and answer under penalty of perjury, to the best of your recollection, when you were charged or towed and the vehicle, driver, owner and who paid for each tow. People who received a mailed notice 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. One form covers both classes.
Claims must be postmarked or submitted online within 120 days after the first notices, with a limited 30-day grace window in the agreement. Exclusion requests go by mail and must be received in the same 120 days. Objections go to the Clerk of Court in that window, and an objector must also submit a claim form.
Next Steps in Court
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. Filings are on the federal court docket, and the Brookside settlement page on OpenClassActions.com follows the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
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 administrator must launch a settlement website with an online claim option when notice goes out.
Do I get more if my car was towed more than once?
Yes. The Towing Class Fund is divided into equal shares, one for each verified towing incident with a valid claim, so two verified tows earn two shares.
How much could I receive?
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, half or a quarter of each class files.
Do I need receipts?
Receipts are not listed as required on the proposed claim form, which asks for sworn answers to the best of your recollection. The administrator may ask for records when two people claim the same tow.
Will my unpaid Brookside fines be cancelled?
Under the settlement, once it is final, Brookside will cancel unpaid fines, fees and costs from Brookside Municipal Court cases between March 1, 2018 and August 1, 2022 owed by Charging Class members, and unpaid tow-release fees owed by Towing Class members.
Are lawyers taking a cut?
No. Class counsel are not seeking attorneys’ fees, and the town pays the first $155,000 of administration costs separately.
Sources
- 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), on the CourtListener docket.
- WBRC, “Brookside police chief resigns; Lt. Gov. requests audit” (January 25, 2022).
- OpenClassActions.com — Brookside, Alabama $1.5 Million Towing and Ticketing Settlement
Source and credit: the settlement terms, deadlines and benefit details described above are drawn from our sister site’s reporting — OpenClassActions.com: Brookside, Alabama $1.5 Million Towing and Ticketing Settlement — which tracks this case against the court-approved notice and the official settlement website and is updated as the court rules.
Legal Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. OpenClassActions.org is a consumer news site, not a law firm and not the settlement administrator, and is not affiliated with any party to the case described. The allegations are allegations; unless a court has ruled, the defendants deny wrongdoing and no court has decided the merits. Deadlines, benefit amounts and payment timing can change as the court and the administrator act, so confirm current status on the official settlement website. You never need to pay anyone to file a claim or to receive a settlement payment.