Skip to content
  • (205) 326-3336
  • [email protected]
  • Calls Answered 24 Hours
Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin-in
  • Home
  • About
    • Accolades and Awards
    • Careers
    • In the Community
    • Our History
    • Our People
  • Attorneys
  • Practices
    • Automotive Defects
    • Brain And Spinal Injury
    • Business Litigation Intellectual
    • Class Action and Mass Torts
    • Defective Product Injury
    • Medical Device Injury
    • Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect
    • Personal Injury And Wrongful Death
    • Pharmaceutical Drug Injury
    • Sexual Harassment
    • Trucking And Motor Vehicle Collisions
    • Toxic Chemical Exposure
    • More Practice Areas
  • Cases
    • 3M Military Earplugs Lawsuit
    • Camp Lejeune
    • CPAP
    • Juul Vape Devices Case
    • Paragard IUD Lawsuit
    • Paraquat Exposure
    • PFAS
    • Social Media
    • Talcum Powder
    • Zantac
  • News
    • Blog
    • News
    • Video Resources Page
  • Contact
Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • Accolades and Awards
    • Careers
    • In the Community
    • Our History
    • Our People
  • Attorneys
  • Practices
    • Automotive Defects
    • Brain And Spinal Injury
    • Business Litigation Intellectual
    • Class Action and Mass Torts
    • Defective Product Injury
    • Medical Device Injury
    • Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect
    • Personal Injury And Wrongful Death
    • Pharmaceutical Drug Injury
    • Sexual Harassment
    • Trucking And Motor Vehicle Collisions
    • Toxic Chemical Exposure
    • More Practice Areas
  • Cases
    • 3M Military Earplugs Lawsuit
    • Camp Lejeune
    • CPAP
    • Juul Vape Devices Case
    • Paragard IUD Lawsuit
    • Paraquat Exposure
    • PFAS
    • Social Media
    • Talcum Powder
    • Zantac
  • News
    • Blog
    • News
    • Video Resources Page
  • Contact
Search
Close
  • VIEW MENU
    • About
          • Our Mission and Vision

            Welcome to Heninger Garrison Davis law firm. We are so glad you found us. Whether you are experiencing a business dispute or have suffered a life-altering injury, our attorneys are here to help you navigate the legal system from start to finish.

          • Learn More
          • Accolades and Awards

            Many of our attorneys and the firm itself have received numerous accolades over the years.

          • View Details
    • Practice Areas
      • Brain And Spinal Injury
      • Business Litigation And Intellectual Property
      • Class Action and Mass Torts
      • Defective Product Injury
      • Insurance Disputes
      • Medical Device Injury
      • Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect
      • Personal Injury And Wrongful Death
      • Pharmaceutical Drug Injury
      • Sexual Harassment
      • Toxic Chemical Exposure
      • Trucking And Motor Vehicle Collisions
      • More Practice Areas
    • Attorneys
      • Taylor Bartlett
      • François M. Blaudeau, MD
      • William L. Bross
      • Jacqueline Knapp Burt
      • Timothy C. Davis
      • W. Lee Gresham, III
      • Anna M. Carroll
      • Stephen D. Heninger
      • W. Lewis Garrison, Jr.
      • Mark Ekonen
      • Erik S. Heninger
      • Kathryn Harrington
      • Caroline U. Hollingsworth
      • K. Stephen Jackson
      • Jeffrey P. Leonard
      • Honza J. P. Prchal
      • Christopher B. Hood
      • J. Callen Sparrow
      • Brandy L. Robertson
      • Amanda S. Williamson
      • Jeanie S. Sleadd
    • Support Team
    • Cases
      • Talcum Powder
      • 3M Military Earplugs Lawsuit
      • Camp Lejeune
      • CPAP
      • Juul Vape Devices Case
      • Mercedes Burl Walnut Wood Trim
      • Paragard IUD Lawsuit
      • Paraquat Exposure
      • PFAS
      • Social Media
      • Zantac
    • News
      • photo of exterior sign of birmingham law office
      • Practice Areas
      • News
      • BLOG
      • Video Resources Page
    • Referring Attorneys
    • View All
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
          • Alabama

            2224 1st Avenue North Birmingham, AL 35203

            (205) 549-4523

          • Contact Us
          • Alabama Location
          • Georgia

            2727 Paces Ferry Road SE, Suite 750, Atlanta, GA 30339

            (404) 996-0860

          • Contact Us
          • Georgia Location
          • New York

            5 Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor New York, NY 10001

            (800) 241-9779

          • Contact Us
          • New York Location

Former defendant turns plaintiff in Hyundai property litigation

Written by Jill Nolen

A former defendant in a lawsuit over the purchase prices of property for the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing of Alabama’s plant has now filed suit against the original plaintiffs, including Probate Judge Reese McKinney, in hopes of recouping some of the money he said he lost as a result of bad publicity.

Reuben Thornton Jr., former long-time chairman of the Industrial Development Board, said the accusations of fraud hurt his ability to operate his insurance business, Thornton Insurance. Thornton, who is 79, had developed the business over a span of more than 50 years.

McKinney, as a principal for a company called Southdale LLC, and several other land owners filed suit against more than a dozen different public entities and officials in 2004, arguing that the property owners were defrauded when other land owners received more money per acre for their property.

Although the civil complaints against Thornton were later dismissed, he said he was never able to completely recover from the negative press he received as a result of the lawsuit. The dismissal of the case against him may have cleared his name, Thornton said, but it’s not enough.

“That doesn’t put any money in your pocket. Certainly, we were cleared on every legal level,” Thornton said this week.

“When you make the front page of the Advertiser (accused of multiple counts of fraud), it isn’t a good thing,” Thornton also said. “Once you’re accused of something like that, people get a first impression.”

The plaintiffs in the original case claim they were defrauded because they received $4,500 an acre for their piece of the plant site in 2002, while a second group of people later received $12,000 an acre. Ultimately, the case was settled with CSX and the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, according to the plaintiff’s attorney, Stephen Heninger. The conditions of that settlement are confidential.

Hyundai, which was aggressively courted to locate in Alabama, was also originally listed as a defendant, drawing heavy criticism from public officials who said such an action would hurt the area’s ability to recruit industry.

Thornton’s lawsuit is the latest episode in a feud that has been ongoing for about a decade now, but Heninger said it basically amounts to a vindictive act. Thornton filed the lawsuit, which requests a jury trial, in late April and charges the plaintiffs with malicious prosecution, civil conspiracy and negligence.
“I feel sorry for Mr. Thornton. I think it’s misguided, wherever it’s coming from,” Heninger said. “The only way Thornton got out (of the original lawsuit) was because he had immunity.”

Heninger has already filed a motion to dismiss the civil complaint, saying the lawsuit was “an improper attempt to vex, harass and attack the defendants for pursuing their rights for redress and protection in prior litigation,” according to the motion filed in mid-May.

McKinney deferred comment to Heninger.

While Thornton is not saying the lawsuit was the sole reason his business went under, his attorney, Keith Carder, said he believes his client “suffered substantial damages to his reputation and his ability to conduct business.”

The lawsuit does not ask for a specific amount in damages, and Carder said Wednesday he was not in a position to quantify the loss his client suffered at this point.

“Beyond that, I think the court will have to decide what damages he’s entitled to,” Carder said.
Carder argues in the complaint that McKinney and co-plaintiffs Helen Kathryn Wheeler and William Newton Wheeler disregarded “the true facts” and filed a “frivolous and baseless lawsuit” against Thornton anyway.

anniversary logo for birmingham alabama best personal injury law firm
  • (205) 326-3336
  • [email protected]
  • Mon - Fri: 8 AM - 5 PM
  • HGDLAW Careers

Alabama

  • 2224 1st Avenue North
    Birmingham, AL 35203
  • (205) 326-3336

Georgia

  • 2727 Paces Ferry Road SE
    Suite 750
    Atlanta, GA 30339
  • (800) 241-9779

New York

  • 5 Penn Plaza
    23rd Floor
    New York, NY 10001
  • (800) 241-9779

HGD Law Firm © All rights reserved 2021

Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin-in