A Montgomery County circuit judge dismissed the lawsuit challenging Republican lieutenant governor nominee John Wahl’s residency Tuesday after the plaintiffs submitted a stipulation seeking dismissal with prejudice.
Circuit Judge Monet Gaines granted the plaintiffs’ stipulation in a brief order filed October 13. Her order makes no findings concerning Wahl’s residency and does not address the arguments in his motion to dismiss.
“Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Stipulation of Dismissal with Prejudice. GRANTED. Case DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE,” the order reads.
The lawsuit was brought by Jarrod Wayne Schulte, Amanda Beth Schulte and Valtoria Jackson against Wahl and Secretary of State Wes Allen. It alleged that Wahl did not meet Alabama’s constitutional residency requirement for lieutenant governor, citing records concerning a Tennessee driver’s license and voter registration.
Article V, Section 117 of Alabama’s Constitution requires the governor and lieutenant governor to have been resident citizens of Alabama for at least seven years immediately preceding their election.
Wahl’s campaign announced the dismissal Tuesday and described it as a significant legal victory.
“I have spent my entire life as an Alabamian. I was born here, raised here, and have maintained my residence here. My roots are in Alabama, and I have never abandoned them,” Wahl said in the release.
In his September 21 motion to dismiss, Wahl’s attorney, Bryan Taylor, argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the challenge to a political party’s nominee before the general election.
The motion separately argued that the complaint did not allege facts establishing that Wahl abandoned his Alabama domicile. It pointed to an Alabama vehicle registration and an Athens address appearing in exhibits attached to the complaint.
Wahl’s campaign emphasized those residency arguments in its release.
“From the beginning, this challenge was built on the false premise that having a second residence somehow means you lose your Alabama residency. That is simply not what our Constitution says, and it is not what Alabama law requires,” Wahl said.
The case’s conclusion follows the Alabama Supreme Court’s October 9 ruling affirming dismissal of a separate residency challenge against Republican gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville.
In that case, the justices held that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction over the challenge and that a party nominee does not hold public office for purposes of a quo warranto action. The Supreme Court did not decide whether Tuberville met the constitutional residency requirement.
Wahl said Tuesday that he intends to focus on the campaign.
“I am grateful to my legal team for presenting the facts and the law clearly before the court. This is an important victory, and I am ready to put these distractions behind us and get back to focusing on the people of Alabama and the issues that matter to their families,” he said.
“The voters chose me as the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor, and I intend to honor their trust by continuing to fight for Alabama. It’s time to move forward,” Wahl said.
