A bitter legal fight that has divided leaders of a small Alabama town, pitting two mayors against each other is over for now.

The winner is Lipscomb Mayor Tanja Baldwin.

Jefferson County Circuit Judge David Hobdy ended months of wrangling over who has the authority to hire a city attorney for Lipscomb, a town of 2,000 people just west of Bessemer. The ruling settles a months-long feud between Baldwin and the Lipscomb City Council, which had hired Tarrant Mayor Wayman Newton to represent the city. Newton is also a lawyer.

Hobdy on Wednesday ruled that Lipscomb’s previous longtime attorney, Lucien Blankenship, remains city attorney, at least until this fall. Hodby set a hearing for Sept. 3 to hear additional arguments. The hearing will occur after the city’s August elections for mayor and

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