Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Records show Alabama steel exec Bill Upton admitted to having sex with young woman who called him "Daddy," but he still received favorable divorce order


Bill Upton, president of Vulcan Steel Products
The president of an Alabama steel company admitted to having an extramarital affair with a young woman he had raised as his daughter but still received a favorable divorce order from a private judge in Jefferson County, court documents show.

William D. "Bill" Upton Jr. is president of Vulcan Steel Products, which is based in the Birmingham suburb of Pelham. Upton sued his wife, Linda S. Upton, for divorce in 2010 and received a stunningly favorable judgment, even though he admits in court papers to having sex with Gincie Walker, a young woman the Uptons had helped raise for roughly a decade and who called Bill Upton "daddy" for years.

Bill Upton and Gincie Walker now are married and live in Mountain Brook. Linda Upton also has remarried and lives in the Shook Hill home she and Bill Upton shared for more 30 years, as he (along with significant help from Linda and her parents) built a business empire.

It's common for a wife/mother and children to receive the marital residence in a divorce, especially where the husband/father has admitted to flagrant marital misconduct. But Linda Upton lost custody of all her non-adult children--all have special needs, and she raised them from early ages--even though we can find nothing in the record to indicate she was found to be an unfit mother. Linda also wound up paying Bill Upton for his share of the marital home, even though he was the party in the much stronger financial decision--and he was the party who admitted to marital misconduct.

Why did a court, headed by private judge Gary Pate, look favorably upon Bill Upton, even though he admitted to behavior that comes close to meeting the definition of incest? Court documents describe Bill Upton as a multimillionaire, and that might have been one factor in his favor. Also, George R. Fernambucq, of the Birmingham firm Boyd Fernambucq and Dunn, represented Bill Upton. Fernambucq's name has been prominently mentioned in at least two lawsuits that allege widespread "hunting-club corruption" in Alabama divorce courts.

Did Bill Upton's association with Fernambucq help him in Jefferson County court, no matter what Upton had admitted to? It almost certainly didn't hurt.


Gincie Walker Upton
Meanwhile, Linda Upton was represented by MaryLee Abele, the same Mountain Brook attorney who could not keep Sherry Carroll Rollins from being the victim of a grotesque cheat job administered by Judge D. Al Crowson in Shelby County.

Bill Upton filed for divorce, but court documents show it was his own egregious behavior that precipitated the breakdown of the Upton marriage. A Motion for Relief from Judgement, dated March 1, 2013, includes the following language under "4. Gincie Walker is William D. Upton's girlfriend." The Q and A is taken from "Defendant's Exhibit 4, William D. Upton's Deposition, p. 64." (The Motion for Relief from Judgment can be read at the end of this post.)

Q: Is Gincie Walker the only time you've had sexual intercourse with anyone during your marriage other than Linda [Upton]?

A: [William D. Upton Jr.] Yes.

Linda Upton's Motion to Alter or Amend, filed on December 17, 2012, contains the following language. (The motion can be read at the end of this post.)

1. The Husband openly admits his infidelity with a mental patient/former sibling of the minor children, who are now constantly exposed to their father's romantic relationship with the woman and who are clearly suffering as a result of this Court's Order awarding primary custody to the husband; who has never been the primary care-giver of the children.

Why does the document refer to Gincie Walker as a "mental patient." Here's how we explained it in an earlier post:

Gincie Walker had grown up in an abusive home in Shelby County before settling into the Upton family when she was in her mid to late teens. Linda and Bill Upton have one biological son and had adopted or fostered a number of special-needs children over about a 20-year period. Court records state that Gincie Walker has multiple-personality disorder, and she was in her mid to late 20s when the affair with Bill Upton started; she now is in her early 30s.

The Uptons never officially adopted Walker, but they parented her throughout adolescence and well into early adulthood. Sources state that she was treated as, and seen as, the Uptons' daughter.

A reasonable person could conclude that Bill Upton preyed on a young female family member who had a severe mental disability. And yet, an Alabama court granted him custody of other children.

How could this happen? What were its repercussions?

We will address those questions in upcoming posts.






25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bill Upton might have lots of money, but he is one sick puppy.

Anonymous said...

The Upton divorce case originally was with Judge Batiste and was swiped out from under her nose and given to "private judge" Pate when Scott Vowell was trying to get Batiste off the bench.

"Private judge" Pate means that he takes his directions privately from Scott Vowell and other "old money" types in Mountain Brook and general legal circles.

Anonymous said...

"Play Misty for me"

Anonymous said...

Fernambucq = Full of S--t.


What a worm!

Anonymous said...

Gincie Walker was one of several children in Shelby County victimized in a sex-abuse ring that was tied to big, conservative churches (Briarwood) and was covered up by authorities for years. Her father, William Flynn Walker, finally started taking kids across state lines, and that's when feds got involved, and the whole thing blew up.

Horrible story.

legalschnauzer said...

Yes, we will be reporting about the William Flynn Walker case shortly. He's currently in federal prison.

Anonymous said...

Alabama has a history of being a divorce mill. I believe it once had a durational residency requirement of 24-hours to file into court. I know from experience that it can be done through the internet--even when I do not believe that Alacourt is licensed or authorized to operate in states outside Alabama--but the court, judges, lawyers, Judicial Inquiry Commission and others can cover it up very nicely.

In my opinion, GW is a victim and I hope she gets help. She was vulnerable and preyed upon by a man who was looking out for his own selfish interests.

I think it is interesting because I remember reading that some homosexuals who previously could not marry adopted their partner, and those who had done so were not able to later marry (being that such marriages are now legal) because it is strongly against public policy.

Money, money, money... Does Alabama allow cousin marriages? I tend to believe it is those who are concerned with preserving wealth and the bloodline. I often wonder if I am the only one who notices that the tax code seems to be written for privileged men who marry younger women in regards to 401 k and some other plans.

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Anonymous said...

I'm not sure how, but I'm betting when you get to the bottom of all this, It's going to be Obama fault!!!!

Anonymous said...

Check your facts, Gincie was Never a foster child of Mr. Upton

legalschnauzer said...

Gincie was raised by the Upton's as their daughter for roughly 10 years, but she never was adopted. If not a foster child, what do you call her? I would be glad to make a correction if foster child is not the proper term.

Anonymous said...

Bill Upton used to pose as a big-time Christian at Briarwood and some church in Mountain Brook. Looks like that was all a con.

Anonymous said...

Good to see you are exposing these scumbags, keep it up!

e.a.f. said...

What is this business of "private judges". Is this another e.g. of the privatization of the legal system? Are these judges not answerable to any one.

If a man had sex with his "foster daughter" and then is given custody of the other children he and his former wife had, isn't anyone concerned for the safety of those children. Like if he'll do it with you, he'll do it to you. Cheaters never change, but in Alabama they sure do seem to prosper.

Anonymous said...

Gincie was never living with the Uptons until she was 27 years old. She was living with her parents. The sick person here is Linda Upton. She is using a photo that she has no rights to use.

legalschnauzer said...

Gincie was living with her parents until she was 27 years old? Who are her parents, and where do they live? Why did Gincie leave them at age 27 to live with the Uptons? To be clear, Linda Upton isn't using a photo, I am. It's from a public Web site that anyone can access.

Anonymous said...

Gincie lived with her parents Dorsey and Flynn Walker until her early twenties until she was married to a guy named Chris which she had a child with. She moved in with the Uptons at 27(just 10 years ago). Anyone that knows them knows these facts. She was never in the foster system because she lived with her biological parents. She has 8 siblings that also lived with them. I don't know what pathological liar told you this completely twisted side of the story but it is totally asinine.

Anonymous said...

Please note that things may not be what they seem. I grew up with Gincie, who was an angelic girl with a secret. The secret was that her own father was sexually abusing her and her baby brothers and sisters for years. I am ashamed of myself until this day that I couldn't read between the lines that something was wrong. She coudn't tell any of us because we didn't make her feel safe enough. Her own family, I believe until this day was covering itI up just to save face. I hold myself, the church, the institution of homeschooling, and the root cause of all of this world's pain - straight up, unadulterated sin. Flynn was a sociopath, his daughter was an innocent who was not even allowed to date and was forced to live at home because " that's what nice girls do" before going into the only role meant for a woman in their cultish view - get married, have babies, and submit to their husbands . Before you take too quickly to demonizing her, please step back, take a breath, and imagine yourself in her position. I do every single day and would give anything if we could all go back to that time when we were children. She was a victim. She is a victim and sometimes that brings us to the point of doing the unthinkable - probably just to get back at her real "daddy"- who defiled her again and again and again... Oh, and then would bring the kids back downstairs and read the Bible to them. So please... Thank you for your honesty in your blogging that this was a horrible and unfair representation of legal defense for Mrs. Upton. Mr. Upton will face his God just as we ALL will one day to face retribution for the ways we have treated others in this short lifetime, but I'm begging you.... Tell the TRUTH of what happened to Gincie, her siblings, and really so many more of us who were imprisoned by a belief system that was skewed with the black hearts of human beings instead of the true actions of the cross. Please... Let Gincie be...

legalschnauzer said...

Thanks for your insights, @1:52. I disagree with your assertion that I, in any way, have "demonized" Gincie Walker. I've reported that she came from an abusive home, that she was diagnosed with a serious mental condition (which probably grew from that abuse). I have a number of other posts coming on this subject, including one specifically about William Flynn Walker. The reporting is not over.

Anonymous said...

What's the word on Linda? Has the case been updated any? She deserves so much more than how she was treated. Curious, I read a comment that Gincie was married? What happened to her marriage? Was she cheating on her husband with Bill? And how did she gain custody of their children?

Anonymous said...

Another question, It appears Gincie had siblings, did the Uptons raise them as well? What happened to her siblings?

legalschnauzer said...

I don't believe the case has been updated lately, but yes, Linda Upton certainly should be able to go back to court and get an amended divorce judgment. Pate butchered it the first time. My understanding is that Gincie was married at one point, but I'm not sure what happened with that and not sure if she was cheating on her husband at the time of her affair with Bill.

In fairness to Gincie, she has a very serious mental disorder (multiple personality disorder), so I'm not sure she even knew what she was doing, if she could tell right from wrong.

You certainly ask a good question about custody. I believe the Uptons had adopted at least one of her biological children, so I'm not sure that child was legally hers.

Yes, I understand Gincie had a number of siblings, but I don't think the Uptons raised them. I'm not sure what happened to them.

Anonymous said...

I don't want this post public. But wanted to be able to comment/message you. I know Gincie. I know her first husband. She got married because she got pregnan.t. I'm very curious as to how and why they (the Uptons) would have been able Obtain custody of her children.,

legalschnauzer said...

My private e-mail (at least I hope it's private) is rshuler3156@gmail.com.

Anonymous said...

I would like more information about this supposed sex abuse ring tied to Briarwood.