Supreme Court of Alabama

The court dismissed the appeal because the order denying the amended Rule 60(b) motion was not a final judgment. The trial court had expressly reserved unresolved issues concerning the property's legal description and the corresponding purchase price, so the proceedings had not ended and appellate jurisdiction was…

The Supreme Court of Alabama reversed a Jefferson Circuit Court order directing the complete demolition of a dilapidated nine-building apartment complex and assessing the demolition costs against the property's mortgagee, Lima One Capital, LLC.

The court dismissed Ivy's appeal because the trial court's default judgment reserved damages for later determination and was therefore interlocutory and nonfinal. The trial court's statement that Ivy's motion to compel arbitration was moot did not convert the judgment into an immediately appealable order denying…

The Supreme Court of Alabama granted the Escambia County Commission and five county commissioners a writ of mandamus directing the Escambia Circuit Court to dismiss the Floyds' claims against them.

The court held that the Jefferson Circuit Court retained subject-matter jurisdiction to consider a mandamus petition challenging an administrative order issued by the Jefferson Probate Court.

The Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed the Cullman Circuit Court's dismissal of pro se litigant Dalton Banks's slander action on res judicata grounds, holding that Banks waived appellate review by failing to challenge the preclusion rationale in his opening brief.

The court held that discovery-sharing provisions are not categorically prohibited by Rule 26 and may be included in a protective order when appropriately limited. It concluded that the trial court did not clearly exceed its discretion by allowing sharing in specific existing cases involving materially identical…

The Supreme Court of Alabama granted the association's petition for a writ of mandamus and directed the Greene Circuit Court to vacate its stay of the association's declaratory-judgment action, but only to the extent the association seeks a determination of its present duty to defend the Greene County Commission…

The court affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction against Alabama's regulation of electronic nicotine-delivery products. It held that the plaintiffs had standing because enforcement threatened concrete economic and enforcement-related injuries, but concluded that they had not shown a reasonable likelihood of…

The court granted the City's mandamus petition and directed the circuit court to enter summary judgment for the City on municipal-immunity grounds. The City made a prima facie showing that it lacked actual or constructive notice of the road defect, while Stoudmire's remaining evidence was either inadmissible…

The court granted the consolidated mandamus petitions in part and directed dismissal of the plaintiffs' claims challenging the legality of Tuskegee's automated traffic-enforcement ordinance because the plaintiffs had accepted liability or failed to invoke the ordinance's review process, and later resolutions nullified…

The Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction against Alabama's regulation of electronic nicotine delivery systems. It held that the plaintiffs had standing because enforcement threatened concrete economic and legal harms, but concluded that they had not shown a reasonable likelihood of…

The court held that genuine issues of material fact precluded summary judgment for Regions on Shaffer’s breach-of-contract claim. Those issues concerned the existence and terms of the change-of-control agreement, consideration, whether post-merger changes gave Shaffer good reason to resign, and whether Shaffer’s…

The Supreme Court of Alabama held that appellate review of factual findings in a cumulative-physical-stress workers' compensation case remains governed by the statutory substantial-evidence standard, even when the trial-level burden is clear and convincing evidence; appellate courts may not reweigh the evidence.

The court held that the plaintiffs failed to present substantial evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact on wantonness. Viewing the evidence most favorably to the plaintiffs, Essary's rolling stop and attempt to cross between vehicles showed, at most, negligent error in judgment, not conscious disregard of…

The court held that a defective indictment does not deprive an Alabama circuit court of subject-matter jurisdiction over a felony prosecution. Because Seymour did not challenge the indictment at trial or on direct appeal, his claim was barred under the applicable post-conviction preclusion rules.

The court denied Ocwen's petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to vacate an order compelling broad discovery and denying a protective order. It held that Ocwen failed to show both that the trial court clearly exceeded its discretion and that an ordinary appeal would be inadequate.

The court dismissed Troutman Sanders's mandamus petition as untimely because it was filed beyond the presumptively reasonable period and did not explain the delay. The court held that a motion to reconsider an interlocutory order does not operate as a Rule 59(e) motion and therefore does not toll the time for seeking…

On remand, the court applied plain-error review to the newly raised claim that executing Perkins would violate the Eighth Amendment because he was mentally retarded. It held that the trial record contained no indication that Perkins met the commonly used requirements for mental retardation, so his death sentence was…

The court held that a class action seeking refunds from the State treasury for franchise taxes collected under an invalid statutory scheme was barred by sovereign immunity and presented a subject-matter jurisdiction defect.

The Supreme Court of Alabama granted The BOC Group's petition for a writ of mandamus and directed the Jefferson Circuit Court to stay the later-filed National Metals class action because it was substantially similar to the previously filed MKS class action, which raised the same challenge to BOC's hazardous-material…

The court affirmed summary judgment for AmSouth Bank and Marks on ABS's claims arising from unsuccessful negotiations for a proposed $5.2 million loan. It held that any purported loan commitment was void under the Statute of Frauds because no writing expressed consideration for the commitment, and that the bank owed…

On rehearing, the Supreme Court of Alabama withdrew its earlier opinion and restated the doctrine of State-agent immunity, confining personal-capacity immunity to five categories of conduct - formulating plans, policies, or designs; exercising judgment in administering a department or agency of government; discharging…

On certiorari, the Supreme Court of Alabama clarified the burden of proof on a summary-judgment movant, adopting Justice Houston's special concurrence in Berner v. Caldwell and holding that a movant need not submit affirmative evidence negating the nonmovant's claim but may rely on any Rule 56(c) materials showing no…

On rehearing, the Supreme Court of Alabama reversed a judgment awarding the Slades damages on bad-faith and fraud claims arising from State Farm's handling of their homeowner's claim for lightning-related damage to their home.

The court held that the defendants made a prima facie showing of a written arbitration agreement covering Bell's prior loans and a transaction involving interstate commerce, shifting the evidentiary burden to Bell.

The court upheld liability for malicious continuation of a criminal prosecution because the evidence permitted a jury to find that Delchamps proceeded recklessly and without good faith after learning that the plaintiff's alibi had not been conclusively investigated.

The Supreme Court of Alabama reversed a Shelby Circuit Court summary judgment that had declared unlawful Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative's acquisition of 100% of the stock of DeKalb County LP Gas Company and had ordered divestiture to no more than 49% of that stock.

The Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed Christopher Lee Price's capital murder conviction and death sentence, along with his first-degree robbery conviction and life-without-parole sentence, on certiorari review.

The court denied the petition for a writ of mandamus seeking review of the trial court's refusal to grant summary judgment. Mandamus was unavailable because it could not substitute for an appeal, the petitioners could have sought permission for an interlocutory appeal, and an adequate remedy by appeal would be…

The court held that, under the parties' incorporated Commercial Arbitration Rules, Phelps was the claimant and initiating party responsible for prepaying the arbitration filing fee.

Answering two questions certified by the Eleventh Circuit, the Supreme Court of Alabama held that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, a nonprofit corporation organized under Ala.

The court affirmed Williams's capital-murder convictions and death sentence, rejecting his claim that the prosecutor improperly used a post-indictment grand jury to obtain discovery and impeachment material.

The court held that the Agency's personnel manual was sufficiently specific to constitute an offer of a unilateral employment contract, which Graham could accept by continuing to work after becoming aware of its terms.

The court affirmed the capital-murder conviction and death sentence after finding no plain error in the jury-selection rulings, jury instructions, admission of the confession and exhibits, sentencing findings, or other asserted trial errors.

The court affirmed Smith's second capital-murder conviction and death sentence, holding that the trial court properly permitted reverse-Witherspoon questioning and reasonably intervened only to clarify confusing or misleading questions.

The Supreme Court of Alabama conditionally affirmed jury verdicts for two sets of insureds who bought mobile home homeowner's policies through an unlicensed dealer agent, holding the evidence sufficient to submit their misrepresentation and suppression claims and that the claims were neither time-barred nor waived…

The court held that the officer had reasonable suspicion to make an investigatory stop of Hill's vehicle based on a reliable informant's detailed report, corroborating information from other individuals, and the officer's recognition of the described automobile.

The court affirmed Slaton's capital-murder conviction and death sentence after rejecting his challenges to the admission of his statement, expert testimony, jury instructions, evidentiary chain of custody, prosecutorial argument, jury selection, and sentencing procedure.

The Supreme Court of Alabama granted certiorari to decide whether the Court of Civil Appeals applied the correct standard in reversing a trial court's refusal to transfer physical custody from the mother to the father after the mother planned to remarry and move with the child to Mississippi.