H. Jack Mizell’s 15-year legal battle to undo a bankruptcy sale involving an Alabama radio station has ended with the US Supreme Court declining to hear his appeal. The dispute revolves around the sale of then-WRJM in 2008, which was transferred to Gulf South Communications in a bankruptcy auction. Mizell sued Citizens Bank, alleging wrongful foreclosure on the station. The case was initially dismissed by the Alabama Middle District Court, and Mizell appealed to the Eleventh Circuit federal appeals court, which upheld the ruling.
Mizell persisted and took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping to overturn the transaction. However, the Supreme Court declined to consider his appeal, leaving the previous rulings in place. The station in question, now WPHH, broadcasts to Montgomery, Alabama. Mizell’s company, Stage Door Development Inc., had become a debtor-in-possession and underwent bankruptcy proceedings.
As part of the legal proceedings, Mizell presented an offer from Styles Media Group to purchase the station for $3 million, but the transaction never closed. Mizell also faced issues with another radio station, WGEA-AM 1150 in Geneva, Alabama, which had its license revoked due to unpaid regulatory fees. Mizell argued that he couldn’t pay the fees because the IRS allegedly withheld a refund owed to his company’s president.
Despite Mizell’s persistence, the courts ruled against him, citing jurisdiction and other grounds. Mizell is considering filing a petition for rehearing but has not achieved the reconciliation he sought from the court regarding the sale of the radio station.
