TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- A judge overturned a $30 million verdict a jury awarded former Alabama assistant coach Ronnie Cottrell in his defamation lawsuit against former recruiting analyst Tom Culpepper, calling the award "severely flawed."

Circuit Judge Steven Wilson ordered a new trial in a one-page order Tuesday that said the judgment was "obviously the result of bias, prejudice and emotions."

Wilson also ruled that Cottrell's attempts to prove that the NCAA had promised to pay Culpepper's legal bills is now moot, because the $30 million verdict no longer stands.

"There is no judgment to be collected," Wilson wrote.

Attorneys for Cottrell immediately began the process of appealing the ruling to the Alabama Supreme Court.

The jury returned the judgment July 22 in Cottrell's defamation suit against Culpepper, awarding $6 million in compensatory damages and $24 million in punitive damages. The suit claimed Culpepper defamed him in part by saying he stole money from a charitable foundation and abandoned his first wife and family in Tallahassee, Fla.

Cottrell and former Tide coach Ivy Williams filed suit against Culpepper and the NCAA, claiming they were unable to find comparable employment following the NCAA's investigation and sanctions imposed against Alabama in 2002. They accused Culpepper of playing a role in that probe.

Attorney Tommy Gallion, who represented Cottrell and Williams, called Wilson's ruling "incredible" and said attorneys filed notice Tuesday that they were appealing to the Alabama Supreme Court. The attorneys also are continuing to appeal a ruling before the start of the trial that dismissed the NCAA from the lawsuit.

During the trial, Culpepper said that he turned to Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer for help.

Gallion said Wilson changed his mind on various issues in the case, including whether defense attorneys could see an agreement between Culpepper and the NCAA and over whether Williams and Cottrell were public or private figures.

Gallion said if the lawsuit is tried again he will seek to remove Wilson from hearing the case.

"I will go to U.S. Supreme Court before I walk into his court again. But I will do everything I can do to continue to pursue every bit of this until the facts come out," Gallion said.