The lawsuit alleges that Madison County began charging an extra $150 for filing fees of civil court cases filed in Madison County to cover a budget shortfall in 2004. The money was supposed to be collected by the Circuit Clerk, who was and is Jane Smith, and used to help alleviate budget cuts in the district attorney's office. Nothing was wrong with this because the Clerk was instructed to do this through legislation. However, the Clerk of Court was to stop collecting this extra fee by January 1, 2006.
The problem was she never did and has been collecting the fees ever since. The money has been presumably going to the County, which they seem to have not refused.
The story behind the lawsuit has been covered by local Huntsville, Alabama reporters and journalists. See the links below for more on the story. The second link is one for a video which describes the suit in more detail than the article.
http://www.waff.com/story/22718610/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-madison-county-circuit-clerk
http://www.wsfa.com/story/22737237/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-madison-county-circuit-clerk
