Bayou La Batre Housing Authority Trial Pushed to 2027 After Judge’s Family Emergency

The civil trial accusing former Bayou La Batre Housing Authority Director Virginia Huddleston and her partner Daryl Wilson of misusing public assets has been delayed to 2027, while their federal suit against Sheriff Paul Burch is set for 2028.

By James Bullard

October 30, 2026 · 7:24 am 5 min read

A civil trial involving the former director of the Bayou La Batre Housing Authority has been delayed until 2027.

BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. — The long-running Bayou La Batre Housing Authority civil case involving the agency’s former director and her partner will not go to trial until 2027 after the Mobile County Circuit judge assigned to the case became unavailable because of a family emergency, pushing a legal fight that began in 2020 closer to seven years.

Attorney John G. Scherf, who represents former Housing Authority Director Virginia Huddleston and her partner, Daryl Wilson, said he and his clients arrived ready for trial on Oct. 19, only to learn that Circuit Judge Wesley Pipes would not be available.

No new trial date has been set. Scherf said the case could be rescheduled sometime between January and March 2027.

What the civil case alleges

In the state civil case, Huddleston and Wilson are accused of breaching fiduciary duties at the Bayou La Batre Housing Authority, misusing public assets and unjustly enriching themselves through employment contracts and retirement benefits. Through their attorney, the couple are contesting the allegations, and none of the claims has been proven in court.

Scherf said he and his clients will be prepared to fight the allegations at trial whenever the case is rescheduled.

The claims in the case involve several civil legal concepts:

Breach of fiduciary duty. People who manage an organization’s money or property on its behalf – such as an agency director – owe it a duty of loyalty and care. A breach claim alleges that the person failed to act in the organization’s best interest.
Misuse of public assets. Because a housing authority is a public body, its funds and property are public resources that must be used for authorized purposes.
Unjust enrichment. This claim asks a court to require someone to return money or benefits that it would be unfair for them to keep, even without a formal contract violation.

Unlike a criminal case, a civil case does not carry the possibility of jail time. The question at trial is whether the claims are proven by the civil standard of proof, and if so, what money or other relief should be awarded.

How the dispute began

The litigation traces back to a 2020 criminal investigation into the Housing Authority. That investigation began after accusations of financial impropriety involving the authority’s 99-unit Safe Harbor housing development.

In October 2020, Mobile County sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant at Huddleston and Wilson’s home. At the time, Paul Burch – now the Mobile County sheriff – was commander of the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit and was also serving on the Housing Authority’s board.

Criminal theft allegations against the couple were later dismissed. Since then, Huddleston and Wilson have claimed that critical evidence collected during the search of their home, including records and financial documents, has gone missing.

A separate federal lawsuit set for 2028

Scherf said the delay in the state case will not affect a separate federal civil rights lawsuit that Huddleston and Wilson filed against Burch and several other current and former public officials.

That lawsuit accuses Burch and the Housing Authority board of malicious prosecution, false arrest and other violations stemming from the 2020 criminal investigation and the search of the couple’s home. Burch and several Housing Authority officials have filed counterclaims against Huddleston and Wilson in the federal case. The claims on both sides are allegations that have not been decided by a court.

An Oct. 14 order set the federal case on this schedule:

Jan. 11, 2028: Pretrial conference
Jan. 31, 2028: Jury selection
February 2028: Trial expected to begin

Federal civil rights lawsuits against state and local officials are commonly brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law that allows people to sue government officials who they claim violated their constitutional rights while acting in an official capacity. Claims of false arrest and malicious prosecution are typically tied to the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. Officials sued under the law often raise defenses such as qualified immunity, which can shield government employees from personal liability in some circumstances.

Why civil cases can take years

Cases like these often move slowly. Civil litigation typically involves months or years of discovery, in which both sides exchange documents, take depositions and question witnesses under oath. Pretrial motions, including requests to dismiss claims or decide them without a trial, can add more time. When related cases are pending in both state and federal court, as they are here, the parties may also be juggling two separate schedules.

Court calendars add another layer. When a trial date is lost – whether because of a scheduling conflict, an illness or, as in this case, a judge’s family emergency – the case generally must be fit back onto a docket that is already filled with other civil and criminal matters. That is why a trial that was ready to begin in October may not be reset until early the following year.

About the Bayou La Batre Housing Authority

Public housing authorities in Alabama are local public agencies created under state law to provide affordable housing for low-income families, older adults and people with disabilities. They are governed by appointed boards of commissioners and receive much of their funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Boards hire an executive director to run day-to-day operations and are responsible for overseeing the agency’s finances and properties.

Bayou La Batre is a small coastal city in south Mobile County known for its commercial fishing, seafood processing and shipbuilding industries. The Housing Authority’s Safe Harbor development, the 99-unit complex at the center of the original financial impropriety accusations, is part of the city’s affordable housing stock.

What happens next

The parties in the state case are waiting for the Mobile County Circuit Court to issue a new trial date, which Scherf expects to fall between January and March 2027. Until then, the claims against Huddleston and Wilson remain unresolved.

The federal lawsuit will continue on its own track toward a pretrial conference in January 2028 and a trial expected in February 2028.