Barbara Moore, Vanessa Reed, and Christine Burrell v. State of Alabama ex rel. Mayor Robin Sims, as informant

── Barbara Moore, Vanessa Reed, and Christine Burrell v. State of Alabama ex rel. Mayor Robin Sims, as informant ── Court: Supreme Court of Alabama Date: April 24, 2026 Author: Brady Mendheim Category: General Rel: April 24, 2026 Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0650), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is printed in Southern Reporter. SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA OCTOBER TERM, 2025-2026 _________________________ SC-2026-0038 _________________________ Barbara Moore, Vanessa Reed, and Christine Burrell v. State of Alabama ex rel. Mayor Robin Sims, as informant Appeal from Jefferson Circuit Court, Bessemer Division (CV-25-108) MENDHEIM, Justice. Barbara Moore, Vanessa Reed, and Christine Burrell appeal from a judgment of the Jefferson Circuit Court, Bessemer Division ("the trial SC-2026-0038 court"), granting a writ of quo warranto and a petition for a permanent injunction filed by Robin Sims, the mayor of the City of Lipscomb, purportedly on behalf of the State of Alabama, that removed Moore, Reed, and Burrell from their offices as members of the Lipscomb City Council due to their failure to meet residency requirements pursuant to statutory law. For the reasons explained below, we conclude that the trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over the action, and, consequently, we reverse and remand. I. Facts According to Moore, she has served as a member of the Lipscomb City Council since 2017, and she has resided in her current residence for more than 20 years. Moore has served as the representative for District 5 on the city council. According to Reed, she has served as a member of the city council since 2020, and she has resided at the same residence during the entire period that she has served on the city council. Reed has served as the representative for District 3 on the city council. According to Burrell, she has served as a member of the city council since 2020, and she has resided in her current residence for over 20 years. Burrell has served as the representative for District 2 on the city council. 2 SC-2026-0038 Moore, Reed, and Burrell ("the council members") all testified that, in May 2025, the city council considered a redistricting plan proposed by Jefferson County Commissioner Shelia Tyson. Instead of adopting the redistricting plan, the city council approved Resolution No. 2025-15 that expressly stated that "the current boundaries shall remain unchanged until the council receives and reviews the standard number of three redistricting maps as per the customary process or until further information is provided that permits a comprehensive evaluation." On August 26, 2025, the City of Lipscomb conducted a municipal election. Both Reed and Burrell ran unopposed in the election, so their names did not appear on the ballot for the election. Moore had one opponent, but she received a majority of the votes cast between her and her opponent. According to Barry Stephenson, the chair of the Jefferson County Board of Registrars, the August 2025 municipal election in Lipscomb was held based on the redistricting map that had been proposed by Commissioner Tyson rather than using the previous districting map, under which Moore, Reed, and Burrell lived in the districts they represented on the city council. Despite that discrepancy, 3 SC-2026-0038 on November 3, 2025, Moore, Reed, and Burrell were sworn into office to continue serving in the districts they previously had been serving. On December 9, 2025, Sims filed an "Application for Te