MADISON COUNTY, Ala – An update in the Alabama Attorney General’s lawsuit against the Madison County Commission for relocating the Confederate monument at the courthouse.

Last week, a judge dismissed the lawsuit after an anonymous third party paid the $25,000 penalty associated with removing the statue, but the AG’s office says the lawsuit cannot be resolved this way.

The Attorney General filed a motion to vacate the judge’s order last week. The state claims it doesn’t know who paid the fine and they say that’s a problem.

The state says it is open to resolving the case without additional litigation, but in a motion to vacate the judge’s order to dismiss the case they argue, an anonymous payment to the clerk of court, without information about who paid the money, or why, does not provide a legal means for the state to accept the funds as payment of Madison County’s fine.

It went on to say the AG’s office notified Madison County that it wouldn’t accept the anonymous payment, it can only accept money from Madison County, or someone authorized to pay the fine on the county’s behalf.
News 19 has tried to find out who paid the court. That information does not appear to be listed in any court filings.

We called the court clerk’s office Tuesday. While they confirmed they received a check for the $25,000, they could not provide any information about who wrote it and referred me to County Attorney Jeff Rich. Rich did not respond to inquiries made Tuesday.

An assistant for Commission Chairman Dale Strong said he could not comment on this matter.

A hearing in this case is set for Friday, September 10, at 1:30 in the afternoon.