Supreme Court of Alabama Decisions 2014
Date: December 31, 2014
Docket Number: 1110472
Justia Opinion Summary: Tonya Denson, a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama ("the ERSA"), and Venius Turner, a member of the Teachers' Retirement System of Alabama ("the TRSA"), brought this action on behalf of themselves,…
Date: December 19, 2014
Docket Number: 1110738
Justia Opinion Summary: Alabama Mutual Insurance Corporation ("AMIC") appealed the trial court's order certifying a class in the action filed by the City of Vernon and a class of similarly situated entities that had purchased uninsured…
Date: December 19, 2014
Docket Number: 1130035
Justia Opinion Summary: Travelers Home and Marine Insurance Company ("Travelers") appealed the grant of summary judgment in favor of Dianne and Martin Gray in the Grays' action arising from injuries Dianne suffered as the result of a…
Date: December 19, 2014
Docket Number: 1130437
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed an order that dismissed a forfeiture action that sought condemnation of certain devices, currency and other property. In 2011, the State executed a search warrant and seized the devices, currency and…
Date: December 19, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1130999, 1131000, 1131001
Justia Opinion Summary: Edwin B. Lumpkin, Jr. appealed several Circuit Court orders dismissing three cases he had initiated challenging property-tax assessments made by the Jefferson County Board of Equalization and Adjustments. Lumpkin owned…
Date: December 19, 2014
Docket Number: 1131094
Justia Opinion Summary: The Water Works Board of the City of Birmingham ("the Board") petitions for a writ of mandamus to direct the Jefferson Circuit Court to vacate its order granting the motion filed by the Alabama Surface Mining Commission…
Date: December 19, 2014
Docket Number: 1131175
Date: December 12, 2014
Docket Number: 1130758
Justia Opinion Summary: Sarah Grimes appealed the grant of summary judgment in favor of Kristen Saban in Grimes's civil action against Saban seeking damages for assault and battery. The skirmish arose after a night of drinking in Saban's…
Date: December 12, 2014
Docket Number: 1130840
Justia Opinion Summary: One of the defendants in this case, Robert Bosch LLC, petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Etowah Circuit Court to vacate or, in the alternative, to amend the provisions of its order granting…
Date: December 12, 2014
Docket Number: 1131150
Justia Opinion Summary: C.B. Grant, the administrator of the estate of Phillip Frazier, filed a wrongful-death action. Mitarazza Davis, Frazier's widow, moved to intervene in the lawsuit, alleging that Grant had secured his appointment as…
Date: December 12, 2014
Docket Number: 1131216
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants William Mudd, John Whitaker, Phillip Luke, and David Wells, and the law firm in which they were members, Whitaker, Mudd, Simms, Luke, & Wells, LLC ("WMSLW") petitioned for a writ of mandamus to direct the…
Date: December 12, 2014
Docket Number: 1131279
Date: December 12, 2014
Docket Number: 1131321
Date: December 5, 2014
Docket Number: 1120848
Justia Opinion Summary: Korie Saylor appealed the grant of summary judgment denying her claim for an elective share of the estate of her deceased husband, Woodie Saylor. Woodie and Korie married in October 2005. Woodie died in May 2011. In…
Date: December 5, 2014
Docket Number: 1121415
Date: December 5, 2014
Docket Number: 1121415
Justia Opinion Summary: Victor Deng and DM Technology & Energy, Inc. ("DM") appealed a judgment based on a jury's verdict in favor of Clarence "Buddy" Scroggins and Complete Lighting Source, Inc. ("Complete Lighting"), on their claims against…
Date: December 5, 2014
Docket Number: 1130604
Justia Opinion Summary: Corner Stone Funeral Chapel, Inc. appealed a judgment ordering a receiver to transfer the assets of a cemetery business to MVMG, LLC, its competitor. Mountain View Memory Gardens & Mausoleum, Inc. owned a cemetery in…
Date: December 5, 2014
Docket Number: 1130805
Justia Opinion Summary: Progressive Direct Insurance Company petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Wilcox Circuit Court to vacate its order denying Progressive's motion to transfer this action from the Wilcox…
Date: December 5, 2014
Docket Number: 1131152
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Linda Manning petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Macon Circuit Court to vacate its order denying her motion to transfer this action to the Montgomery Circuit Court and to enter an…
Date: November 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1130184
Justia Opinion Summary: The Alabama Supreme Court consolidated cases that arose out of an action brought by Guy Willis against three defendants: Alaska Bush Adventures, LLC ("Alaska Bush") and Hugh and Ryan Krank (collectively, the defendants).…
Date: November 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1130480
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Paint Rock Turn, LLC purchased a sod farm and related farm equipment. To partially finance the purchase, Paint Rock borrowed $1,706,250 from First Jackson Bank. The loan was secured by a mortgage on the sod farm…
Date: November 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1130986
Justia Opinion Summary: Raymond Adams petitioned for a writ of mandamus to direct the Autauga Circuit Court: (1) to remove Clifford Wayne Cleveland II ("Chip" or "Chip Cleveland") as coexecutor of the estate of Clifford Wayne Cleveland; (2) to…
Date: November 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1131078
Justia Opinion Summary: Tender Care Veterinary Hospital, Inc. ("TCVH"), appealed the grant of summary judgment entered in favor of First Tuskegee Bank on breach-of-fiduciary-duty and fraud claims stemming from a construction loan TCVH received…
Date: November 21, 2014
Docket Number: 1130388
Justia Opinion Summary: The Houston County Economic Development Authority ("HEDA") appealed a judgment condemning 691 allegedly illegal gambling devices, $288,657.68 in cash, and various documents allegedly related to illegal gambling. The…
Date: November 21, 2014
Docket Number: 1130851
Justia Opinion Summary: Mark Trenier appealed a trial court's grant summary judgment in favor of the City of Prichard and its mayor, Troy Ephriam. This appeal involved a dispute over the interpretation of section 11-43C-38(a), Ala. Code 1975,…
Date: November 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1130219
Justia Opinion Summary: Regions Bank appealed a trial court's order denying its motion to compel arbitration in its dispute with Jerry Neighbors. Neighbors obtained a home loan from Regions in 1999. As part of the loan application, Neighbors…
Date: November 7, 2014
Docket Number: 1130342
Justia Opinion Summary: Joanne Anderson sued Jackson Hospital and Clinic, Inc., Dr. Stephen K. Kwan, and Dr. Kwan's practice group, Capital Cardio-Thoracic, P.C. asserting medical-malpractice claims against them. The trial court granted a…
Date: October 31, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1131282, 1131282
Date: October 31, 2014
Docket Number: 1131412
Date: October 31, 2014
Docket Number: 1131440
Date: October 24, 2014
Docket Number: 1130098
Justia Opinion Summary: At a March 1, 2011 foreclosure sale, Thomas Curtain, Sr. purchased a parcel of real property in Mountain Brook, for $295,000. The foreclosed mortgagors were Charles and Concetta Givianpour, Cameron Givianpour's parents.…
Date: October 24, 2014
Docket Number: 1130150
Justia Opinion Summary: America's Home Place, Inc. ("AHP") appealed a Circuit Court order denying AHP's motion to compel arbitration of the claims brought by the plaintiff below, Gregory Rampey. In August 2012, Rampey and AHP entered into a…
Date: October 24, 2014
Docket Number: 1130539
Date: October 24, 2014
Docket Number: 1131418
Date: October 17, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1130385, 1130403
Justia Opinion Summary: Bessie Kirksey appealed a probate court order vacating its order discharging Kirksey as administrator ad litem of the estate of Kirksey's sister, Willie Mae Graves, deceased. Iris Johnson, Darryl Thomas, Dorothy…
Date: October 17, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1130537, 1130538
Justia Opinion Summary: Jeffrey Wright and Myron Allenstein filed separate complaints against A-1 Exterminating Company, Inc.; Terry Buchanan; Edward Wrenn; and David Wrenn (collectively, "A-1"). In the complaints, plaintiffs alleged that, on…
Date: October 17, 2014
Docket Number: 1130698
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999, Cooper and Robert L. Flowers formed C&F Enterprises, LLC. C&F owned a parcel of property in Huntsville, upon which it built a shopping center known as College Plaza. Pursuant to an "Amended and Restated…
Date: October 17, 2014
Docket Number: 1130902
Justia Opinion Summary: Steven Kraselsky, personal representative of the estate of his deceased mother Marcia Kraselsky, sued Dr. Calderwood and Dr. Calderwood's employer, Huntsville Clinic, alleging that Marcia died as a result of Dr.…
Date: September 30, 2014
Docket Number: 1100872
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Baldwin Mutual Insurance Company (BMIC) filed an "Application for Temporary Restraining Order, Motion for a Preliminary Injunction and Complaint for Declaratory Judgment" against 122 individuals who were insured…
Date: September 30, 2014
Docket Number: 1121181
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert E. Anderson, M.D. and Selma Doctors Clinic, PC, d/b/a Selma Doctors Clinic ("SDC") petitioned for a writ of mandamus to direct the Circuit Court to vacate its order granting plaintiff Barbara Craig's Rule 60(b),…
Date: September 30, 2014
Docket Number: 1121301
Justia Opinion Summary: Madeline Nelson and 25 other individuals formerly employed as nontenured teachers or probationary classified employees in the Mobile County Public School System appealed the dismissal of their action against the members…
Date: September 30, 2014
Docket Number: 1121390
Justia Opinion Summary: The State of Alabama petitioned for a writ of mandamus to direct the Pike Circuit Court to vacate its order granting Andre Ellis's motion for a new trial. Ellis was convicted on two counts of first degree rape, and…
Date: September 30, 2014
Docket Number: 1121462
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted certiorari review to address whether a juvenile court may exercise jurisdiction over a termination-of-parental-rights claim when the grounds for the termination did not involve a child alleged…
Date: September 30, 2014
Docket Number: 1130040
Justia Opinion Summary: Troy Bank sued Citizens Bank seeking to recover damages Troy Bank claimed to have suffered as a result of a check encoding error made by Citizens Bank. Troy Bank alleged that it was entitled to recover damages under…
Date: September 30, 2014
Docket Number: 1130214
Justia Opinion Summary: In May 2005, Autrey Nichols purchased a Yanmar model 2210BD tractor from Northside Motors, LLC. The Yanmar tractor came equipped with a front-end loader and a "bush hog" attachment. The Yanmar tractor did not have a…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1111554
Justia Opinion Summary: The State Comptroller, Thomas L. White, Jr., appealed a preliminary injunction entered in response to an action for declaratory and injunctive relief brought by Karen John, the Alabama Education Association ("the AEA"),…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1120302
Justia Opinion Summary: First United Security Bank and its wholly owned subsidiary, Paty Holdings, LLC (collectively, "the bank"), brought suit to recover excess funds received by Tuscaloosa County from the tax sale of real estate owned by…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1120563
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1121006, 1121014, 1121038, 1121039
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue in these four appeals was whether the $100,000 statutory cap of 11-47-190, Ala. Code 1975, applied when a peace officer, acting outside his employment, was sued in the officer's individual capacity. After…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1121121
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1121140
Justia Opinion Summary: Tommy Sundy petitioned for a writ of mandamus to direct the circuit court to dismiss third-party claims asserted against him by accounting firm Frost Cummings Tidwell Group, LLC ("FCT"). Adams Produce Company, Inc.…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1121417
Justia Opinion Summary: The Practice-Monroeville, P.C., is a medical-practice group located in Monroeville. Allscripts Healthcare, LLC, based in North Carolina with no Alabama offices, sells health-care software to health-care providers.…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1121479
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a two-day trial in May 2013, a Bullock County jury returned a $450,000 verdict in favor of Michael Shepherd on a breach-of-warranty claim he asserted against Barko Hydraulics, LLC. Shepherd purchased a Barko…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1121480
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1130271
Justia Opinion Summary: In an unpublished order, the Court of Criminal Appeals issued a writ of mandamus directing the trial court in the underlying case to "bar" the prosecution of respondent Margie Kelley, who had been indicted for three…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1130378
Justia Opinion Summary: Jean S. Gray appealed two circuit court orders in an action filed against Larry Bain and Sharon Johnston in which Gray sought a judgment declaring that she owned a parcel of land and an injunction preventing Bain and…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1130393
Justia Opinion Summary: Alabama Rivers Alliance and Friends of Hurricane Creek (collectively, "ARA") petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Civil Appeals' decision reversing the trial court's decision to…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1130440
Justia Opinion Summary: Sara Crossfield appealed the grant of summary judgment in favor of the Limestone County Commission in her action to reverse the Commission's decision to vacate a portion of Dogwood Flats Road in Limestone County. In…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1130503
Justia Opinion Summary: Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Company ("Penn National") was sued by Jacob Walker, an employee of its named insured, seeking underinsured-motorist ("UIM") benefits following an automobile accident. After…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1130587, 1130884
Justia Opinion Summary: The decedent died in Monroe County in Spring, 2013. She had three adult children who survived her: Alice Harper-Taylor, William C. Harper, and James R. Harper. The decedent's husband died in 2002. Alice filed in Monroe…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1130650
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1130738
Justia Opinion Summary: The Jackson County Board of Education petitioned for a writ of mandamus to direct the Circuit Court to enter an order dismissing the complaint of D.C. Pruett Contracting Company, Inc. on the ground of sovereign immunity.…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1130820
Justia Opinion Summary: Electric Insurance Company petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Circuit Court to allow Electric, an uninsured-motorist insurer, to "opt out" of the trial of the underlying case. The issue…
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1130946
Date: September 26, 2014
Docket Number: 1131202
Date: September 19, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1111422, 1111449, 1111526, 1121455, 1130054
Justia Opinion Summary: In consolidated appeals and petition for a writ of mandamus arose out of litigation stemming from the alleged breach of a lease agreement, which litigation was originally initiated by the lessor, Goodall-Brown…
Date: September 19, 2014
Docket Number: 1121099
Justia Opinion Summary: Kevin Towles was convicted of capital murder for killing his son, Geontae Glass, who was under the age of 14 when he was killed. The jury recommended the death sentence, and the trial court sentenced Towles to death. The…
Date: September 19, 2014
Docket Number: 1130486
Justia Opinion Summary: Edward "Tiger" Ferguson, V. appealed a probate court's judgment awarding an omitted-spouse share of his stepfather's estate to Katina Critopoulos. Dimitrios Critopoulos (the decedent) died in 2012. The decedent had no…
Date: September 19, 2014
Docket Number: 1130530
Justia Opinion Summary: David Childers and Robert DeShawn Childers ("Shawn") appealed the Circuit Court's judgment quieting title in a certain piece of real property, on which is situated a house, in Leroy Darby. The trial court admitted into…
Date: September 19, 2014
Docket Number: 1130573
Justia Opinion Summary: S.C., the maternal grandmother, petitioned the Juvenile Court to intervene and to grant her custody of S.D.A., who was 19 months old at the time of trial, and R.D.A., who was 9 months old at the time of trial, both of…
Date: September 19, 2014
Docket Number: 1130659
Justia Opinion Summary: On May 10, 2013, CAG MLG, L.L.C. sued Bart Smelley and Smelley Family Investments, L.L.C., alleging six counts of misrepresentation and/or fraud and a single count of unjust enrichment. Smelley responded with a motion to…
Date: September 19, 2014
Docket Number: 1130890
Justia Opinion Summary: Brandy Matthews and Joshua Taylor Matthews were married in 2004. In 2011, Brandy died as a result of gunshot wounds inflicted by Joshua. Brandy's death was determined to be a homicide. On the same date, Joshua died as a…
Date: September 12, 2014
Docket Number: 1120010
Date: September 12, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1120114, 1120010
Justia Opinion Summary: In case no. 1120010, CVS Caremark Corporation; American International Group, Inc.; National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA; AIG Technical Services, Inc.; and American International Specialty Lines…
Date: September 12, 2014
Docket Number: 1130742
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners B2K Systems, LLC, a Delaware limited-liability company; Ingenuity International, LLC, a foreign corporation; and Robert A. Przybysz, sought a writ of mandamus seeking enforcement of an outbound…
Date: September 12, 2014
Docket Number: 1130813
Date: September 12, 2014
Docket Number: 1130913
Date: September 12, 2014
Docket Number: 1130985
Date: September 5, 2014
Docket Number: 1130490
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 1121399
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 1121414
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 1130194
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 1130302
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Elizabeth Morton, a resident of Greene County, and Annie Watkins, a resident of Jefferson County, were involved in a motor-vehicle collision in Jefferson County. Watkins was treated at a hospital in Jefferson…
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 1130324
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners-defendants Lt. Harvey Ruffin, a correctional officer at the Bullock Correctional Facility; Sgt. Shelton Patterson, a correctional officer; Sandra Giles, the deputy warden of the facility; and Kenneth Jones,…
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 1130571
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 1130611
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Supreme Court's review centered on the Court of Criminal Appeals' decision ordering the Limestone Circuit Court to set bail for Joel Moyers. Moyers was charged with a capital…
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 1130915
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 1130921
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 1131005
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 1131077
Date: August 29, 2014
Docket Number: 1131136
Date: August 15, 2014
Docket Number: 1121380
Justia Opinion Summary: Andrew J. Gentry III ("Drew Gentry") appealed a circuit court judgment dismissing his claims against Daniel Lindsey, Sr., Jackson Thornton & Co., P.C. ("Jackson Thornton"), Daniel Lindsey, Jr., Justin M. Parnell ("Matt…
Date: August 15, 2014
Docket Number: 1130609
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Franklin Stephens appealed a circuit court order granting an injunction to plaintiff Hazel Colley. Franklin is nephew to Sara Dees and Colley. In late 2011, Dees was residing at Troy Health and Rehabilitation…
Date: August 8, 2014
Docket Number: 1130838
Date: August 1, 2014
Docket Number: 1120292
Justia Opinion Summary: Frank Gillis, M.D. appealed a $5,000,000 judgment entered on a jury verdict against him in favor of Joey Frazier, as executor of the estate of his mother, Florine Bryant, in a wrongful-death/medical-malpractice case.…
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 1121291
Justia Opinion Summary: Tiffin Motorhomes, Inc. sued Edgetech I.G.,Inc., n/k/a Quanex I.G. Systems, Inc.; Quanex Building Products Corporation; Thompson I.G., LLC, and RDM Consulting, LLC; and Wynne Enterprises, Inc. Edgetech filed a motion to…
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1110057, 1110104
Justia Opinion Summary: A series of appeals before the Alabama Supreme Court involved a challenge to the disposition of the estate of A.V. Campbell, Sr., who died in 1977. He had at least four children: A.V. Campbell, Jr., William J. Campbell,…
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Number: 1130051
Justia Opinion Summary: The Boys and Girls Clubs of South Alabama, Inc. ("BGCSA"), sought a writ of mandamus to order the Baldwin Circuit Court to dismiss a declaratory-judgment action filed against it and The Community Foundation of South…
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Number: 1130053
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Number: 1130811
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Number: 1130811
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Number: 1110423
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Number: 1121443
Justia Opinion Summary: Larry Webber petitioned for a writ of mandamus to direct the circuit court to vacate his order denying his motion to dismiss an action filed against him by Donald Sherrod, Helen Sherrod, and State Farm Fire and Casualty…
Date: June 20, 2014
Docket Number: 1121134
Justia Opinion Summary: O.S. and J.A.S. petitioned for a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Civil Appeals' decision affirming the judgment of the circuit court in favor of E.S. setting aside a final judgment of adoption by the Probate…
Date: June 20, 2014
Docket Number: 1130110
Justia Opinion Summary: International Refining & Manufacturing Co. d/b/a IRMCO, among others, and GE Betz, Inc., among others, separately sought mandamus relief from the trial court's denial of a motion for summary judgment and a motion to…
Date: June 20, 2014
Docket Number: 1130301
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Mary Hall, the personal representative of the estate of Adolphus Hall, Sr., and Anaya McKinnon, the personal representative of the estate of Wanzy Lee Bowman appealed the Jefferson Circuit Court's order…
Date: June 20, 2014
Docket Number: 1130541
Justia Opinion Summary: Charles Simmons was convicted of a Class A misdemeanor. He appealed the conviction to the Lowndes Circuit Court for a trial de novo. He was convicted and appealed the circuit court's judgment to the Court of Criminal…
Date: June 20, 2014
Docket Number: 1130649
Date: June 20, 2014
Docket Number: 1130847
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 1121048
Justia Opinion Summary: Wade Tucker and Wendell Cook Testamentary Trust, on behalf of shareholders of HealthSouth Corporation brought a shareholder-derivative action against Ernst & Young, LLP ("E&Y"), asserting claims of "audit malpractice"…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 1121211
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Midfield, Officer Jason Davis, and Sgt. Otis Brown petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Jefferson Circuit Court to enter a summary judgment in their favor, based on State-agent…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 1121405
Justia Opinion Summary: The Reserve is a subdivision in Madison County that comprises four smaller communities or subdivisions. One of the subdivisions or communities within The Reserve is named Oak Grove. Each of the four plaintiffs owns a…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 1130255
Justia Opinion Summary: AutoSource Motors, LLC petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Montgomery Circuit Court: (1) to vacate its order denying AutoSource's motion to dismiss the action filed against it by Stephanie…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 1120505
Justia Opinion Summary: Elaine Dees sued Guyoungtech USA, Inc., alleging retaliatory discharge. A jury awarded Dees $1 million in compensatory damages and $2.5 million in punitive damages. The trial court denied Guyoungtech's post-trial motion…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 1121506
Justia Opinion Summary: Chase Andrew Dunn petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari review of the Court of Criminal Appeals' decision affirming the trial court's revocation of his probation. Dunn pleaded guilty to first-degree assault, and…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 1130010
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners the City of Valley Grande and its mayor, David Labbe, petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Circuit Court to vacate its order denying petitioners' motion for a summary judgment and…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 1130114
Justia Opinion Summary: The State of Alabama, the Alabama Department of Finance, and the Comptroller of the State of Alabama, nonparties to the underlying action, appealed a circuit court order denying the State's motion to intervene as of…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 1130685
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 1130740
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 1110353
Justia Opinion Summary: Mary Leila Beasley Schaeffer and the estate of Emma Glass Beasley appealed a judgment entered on a jury verdict awarding compensatory damages and punitive damages on mismanagement-of-trust and conversion claims in an…
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 1120562
Justia Opinion Summary: R.C.W. was convicted of first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, and two counts of first-degree sodomy. The trial court sentenced R.C.W., pursuant to the Habitual Felony Offender Act, to life imprisonment on the…
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 1121142
Justia Opinion Summary: Merchants Bank appealed a Circuit Court judgment in favor of Elizabeth Head on Merchants Bank's claim against her alleging breach of a promissory note. After the 2008 promissory note at issue was executed, Merchants Bank…
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 1121172
Justia Opinion Summary: James Sheffield was indicted on two counts of reckless murder for intentionally setting fire to a cushion he had placed underneath a house that caused a house to catch fire, killing two persons inside the house.…
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 1130229
Date: May 23, 2014
Docket Number: 1121097
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, a grand jury charged Lam Luong with five counts of capital murder in connection with the deaths of his four children. He was later convicted on all counts, for which he received a death sentence. The Court of…
Date: May 23, 2014
Docket Number: 1121411
Date: May 23, 2014
Docket Number: 1130080
Justia Opinion Summary: Bryant Bank appealed the grant of partial summary judgment in favor of defendants Talmage Kirkland & Company, Inc., d/b/a Kirkland & Company ("TKC"), and Quentin Ball and Jason Stoutamire, appraisers for TKC. This case…
Date: May 23, 2014
Docket Number: 1130801
Date: May 16, 2014
Docket Number: 1130618
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 1111415
Justia Opinion Summary: Alfa Life Insurance Corporation ("Alfa") and Brandon Morris, an agent for Alfa, appealed a judgment entered against them following a jury verdict for Kimberly Colza, the widow of Dante Colza. In 2010, Morris met with…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 1111415 (Appeal from Jefferson Circuit Court: CV-11-901278). Reversed And Judgment Rendered.
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 1120618
Justia Opinion Summary: Southeast Construction, L.L.C. ("SEC") appealed a Circuit Court order enforcing, a previous judgment entered by that court based on an arbitration award in favor of WAR Construction, Inc ("WAR"). Upon review of the facts…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 1120957
Justia Opinion Summary: Keone Kaukawele Fuqua ("the father") filed a petition asking that the Probate Court allow him to change the legal name of his daughter from Lyvia Grace Russell to Lyvia Grace Russell-Fuqua. Megan Marie Russell ("the…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 1121185
Justia Opinion Summary: Volcano Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a Club Volcano, appealed the denial of its Rule 60(b)(4), Ala. R. Civ. P., motion to set aside the judgment entered against it in a wrongful-death action filed by Peggy Bender Rush, as…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 1121185
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 1121288
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from a contract between Roanoke Healthcare Authority (doing business as Randolph Medical Center) and Batson-Cook Company, a general contractor, to renovate the medical center, located in Roanoke.…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 1130535
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 1121010
Justia Opinion Summary: Lambert Law Firm, LLC ("Lambert"), petitions the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Circuit Court to set aside an order awarding respondent Shawn Brechbill a portion of certain funds filed with the…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 1121264
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Birmingham appealed a Court of Civil Appeals affirmance of a summary judgment in favor of plaintiff Ernest Alexander in light of the Supreme Court's decision in "Ervin v. City of Birmingham." Upon execution…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 1121365
Date: April 18, 2014
Docket Number: 1090697
Justia Opinion Summary: Larry Dunaway filed a Rule 32, Ala. R. Crim. P. petition challenging his 1997 convictions for the capital murder of his girlfriend Tressa Patterson and her 22-month-old son James. The Rule 32 court entered an order…
Date: April 18, 2014
Docket Number: 1110620
Justia Opinion Summary: Sarah Hicks petitioned the Supreme Court for review of the Court of Criminal Appeals' judgment affirming her conviction, following a guilty plea, for chemical endangerment of a child for exposing her unborn child to a…
Date: April 18, 2014
Docket Number: 1111629
Justia Opinion Summary: Don Davis, in his capacity as the Judge of Probate for Mobile County, appealed a Circuit Court's final judgment in favor of then Secretary of State Beth Chapman and the three members of the Mobile County Board of…
Date: April 18, 2014
Docket Number: 1120304
Date: April 18, 2014
Docket Number: 1130479
Date: April 18, 2014
Docket Number: 1130665
Date: April 11, 2014
Docket Number: 1120612
Justia Opinion Summary: Regions Bank, as sole trustee of the J.F.B. Lowrey Trust, appealed a circuit court order that awarded Regions $312,257.36 from the Lowrey Trust as reimbursement for attorney fees and expenses Regions incurred as trustee…
Date: April 11, 2014
Docket Number: 1121412
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Hector Laurel, M.D., Crissey Watkins, and Comprehensive Anesthesia Services, P.C. ("CAS"), sought a permissive appeal to challenge the circuit court's order denying their motions for a summary judgment.…
Date: April 11, 2014
Docket Number: 1121534
Justia Opinion Summary: Guardian Builders, LLC, and E. Wayne Tackett appealed a Circuit Court order denying their motion to vacate or modify an arbitration award entered in favor of Randy Uselton and his wife Melissa. In 2010, the Useltons sued…
Date: April 11, 2014
Docket Number: 1130017
Date: April 11, 2014
Docket Number: 1130017
Justia Opinion Summary: The Shelby County Board of Equalization petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus, or, in the alternative, a writ of prohibition, to direct the Shelby Circuit Court to dismiss as untimely an appeal filed by…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 1120636
Justia Opinion Summary: Howard Ross petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to review the judgment of the Court of Civil Appeals affirming summary judgments in favor of West Wind Condominium Association, Inc. and Joseph London…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 1120766
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1130012, 1130013
Justia Opinion Summary: Jennifer Leigh Clayton and Justin Andrew Bailey filed separate motions requesting that the trial court suppress evidence seized in a warrantless search of their apartment by law-enforcement officers in early 2011. A…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 1130031
Date: April 1, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1101313, 1101384, 1110310, 1110158, 1130598
Justia Opinion Summary: The Alabama Supreme Court focused on two appeals (case no. 1101384 and case no. 1110310) and two petitions for writs of mandamus (case no. 1101313 and case no. 1110158) filed by the State of Alabama, all challenging…
Date: March 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1120764
Date: March 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1120806
Justia Opinion Summary: Nationwide Retirement Solutions, Inc. ("NRS"), appealed a circuit court judgment awarding PEBCO,Inc. over a million dollars in attorney fees and $29,132.01 in expenses. In 2007, participants in the State of Alabama…
Date: March 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1121423
Justia Opinion Summary: J&W Enterprises, LLC ("J&W"), and Ezell Coates were defendants brought by plaintiff Angel Luis Cruz. J&W and Coates petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Clarke Circuit Court to transfer the…
Date: March 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1130314
Date: March 21, 2014
Docket Number: 1111018
Justia Opinion Summary: Kenneth Jakeman appealed the trial court's dismissal of his claims against defendants Lawrence Group Management Company, LLC, Montgomery Memorial Cemetery ("MMC"), and Judy A. Jones. Lawrence Group owned and operated…
Date: March 21, 2014
Docket Number: 1120465
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1101290
Justia Opinion Summary: Daughters Bonnie Wehle, Penny Martin, and Sharon Ann Wehle appealed a Circuit Court's order on final settlement of the estate of their father, Robert G. Wehle. In this "final order," the circuit court denied the…
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1101290
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1111359
Justia Opinion Summary: Wayne Morrow filed a permissive appeal to the Circuit Court's order denying his request for a judgment declaring that the $100,000 cap on damages in section 11-47-190, Ala. Code 1975, applied to Morrow, a municipal…
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1111359
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1120688
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1120734
Justia Opinion Summary: Criminal defendants Clement Poiroux, Lamar Osborne, Travis Blair, Christopher Raybon, Sara Hawkins, Brian Williams, Levorish Hudson, Joseph Johnson, Jr., Nicholas McNeil, and Willie Walker II, and McNeil & Stokley…
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1120965
Justia Opinion Summary: Clay Merches petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the trial court to dismiss claims against him for lack of personal jurisdiction. The underlying case concerned a missing flatbed trailer…
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1121097
Justia Opinion Summary: In February 2008, a Mobile County grand jury charged Lam Luong with five counts of capital murder in connection with the deaths of his four children. Luong killed his four children by throwing them off a bridge into…
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1121097
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1090084
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1110422
Justia Opinion Summary: The L.B. Whitfield, III Family LLC appealed a circuit court judgment that ordered the Family LLC to wind up its affairs following its dissolution on the death of its sole member and to return 22 shares of Class A voting…
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1110588
Justia Opinion Summary: Daniel Senior Living of Inverness I, LLC, d/b/a Danberry at Inverness successfully appealed to the Court of Civil Appeals a circuit court decision to affirm the issuance by the State Health Planning and Development…
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1111006
Justia Opinion Summary: The parties in this case separately petitioned the Supreme Court for review of the Court of Civil Appeals' judgment overturning an award of property from the estate of Estelle Haggerty Alexander. The decedent owned 270…
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1120338
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1120689
Justia Opinion Summary: Paul Kennamer and Dorothy Kennamer appeal an order entered by the Marshall Circuit Court compelling them to arbitrate their claims against Ford Motor Credit Company LLC and Ray Pearman Lincoln, Inc. (the dealership). The…
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1120887
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1121338
Justia Opinion Summary: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Clarke Circuit Court to vacate its order denying State Farm's motion to transfer this case to the Mobile…
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1121344
Justia Opinion Summary: Calvin Kendrick and K & D Automotive, Inc. sued the City of Montgomery, the City's employees Eddie Hill, Jr., Nathaniel Bracy, and Scott Adams, Tony's Automotive, L.L.C. and Tony's Automotive's owner Tony D. Brooks and…
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 1130406
Date: February 21, 2014
Docket Number: 1120557
Justia Opinion Summary: Inmate Victor Russo appealed a circuit court's dismissal of his action against the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC). He challenged ADOC's implementation of a policy to charge a processing fee for money orders and…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1120613
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from an accident that occurred on the Mobile River. Groton Pacific Carriers, Inc., and International Tanker Management Holding LTD. ("ITM") appealed a judgment in favor of Carl Jackson, as personal…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1120641
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents Reed Collar and Bonnie Collar, as the parents of Gilbert Collar, sued the University of South Alabama in connection with Gilbert's death. In October 2012, Gilbert was a student at the University. At some…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1120678
Justia Opinion Summary: In appeal no. 1120678, Michael D. Beam appealed circuit court orders in a conservatorship proceeding. In appeal no. 1120679, Michael appealed a will-contest proceeding that was then-pending in the same court. Upon review…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 1121127
Justia Opinion Summary: In late 2005 or early 2006, Corey Culverhouse began constructing a house for himself on a five-acre lot in Hartford. He obtained a policy from Alfa Mutual Insurance Company to insure the house during the remainder of the…
Date: February 7, 2014
Docket Number: 1120260
Justia Opinion Summary: Denise Scott Ricks sought to admit a self-proving will to probate. After the will was admitted, Adam Dorough, Rufus Dorough, James Dorough, Patrick Dorough, and Robert Dorough brought a will contest at Circuit Court. The…
Date: February 7, 2014
Docket Number: 1120770
Date: February 7, 2014
Docket Number: 1120904
Justia Opinion Summary: U.S. Bank National Association and U.S. Bancorp sought a writ of mandamus ordering the Jefferson Circuit Court to dismiss the malicious-prosecution case filed against them by Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc. that arose out of…
Date: February 7, 2014
Docket Number: 1121194
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Dr. Gerald Hodge and Tombigbee Healthcare Authority d/b/a Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital separately petitioned for a writ of mandamus directing the Marengo Circuit Court to dismiss the claims asserted…
Date: February 7, 2014
Docket Number: 1121220
Date: February 7, 2014
Docket Number: 1130297
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 1110703
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Alabama Psychiatric Services, P.C. ("APS"), and Managed Health Care Administration, Inc. ("MHCA"), appealed the trial court's order denying their motions for a judgment as a matter of law. Although the jury…
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 1111494
Justia Opinion Summary: The Alabama Educational Television Commission petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Jefferson Circuit Court to dismiss claims brought against them by Allan Pizzato and Pauline Howland and to…
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 1120677
Justia Opinion Summary: Shelby Land Partners, LLC and Alabaster Land Company, LLC each own a 50% undivided interest in a parcel of undeveloped real property located within the municipal limits of the City of Alabaster. At the request of Shelby…
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 1120976
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 1121223
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Deborah Voltz, Jasmin Voltz, and Princess Turner appealed a circuit court order dismissing their action against Cameron Dyess. Plaintiffs filed their complaint against Dyess alleging Dyess had negligently and…
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 1121286
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1121330, 1121341
Justia Opinion Summary: Michelin North America, Inc. ("Michelin"), petitioned the Supreme Court for writs of mandamus to direct the Mobile Circuit Court: (1) to vacate its order allowing plaintiff Betty Brown to conduct an on-site inspection of…
Date: January 17, 2014
Docket Number: 1100963
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, James Ware was convicted of first-degree rape, first-degree burglary, and first-degree robbery, for which he was sentenced as an habitual felony offender to three sentences of life imprisonment, to be served…
Date: January 17, 2014
Docket Numbers: 1110959, 1110962
Justia Opinion Summary: Dr. Ann M. Mottershaw and The Radiology Group, LLC, appealed the trial court's order granting a motion for a new trial filed by plaintiff Shannon Ledbetter, as administrator of the estate of Venoria Womack. These appeals…
Date: January 17, 2014
Docket Number: 1121407
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted certiorari to review the Court of Criminal Appeals' decision that it did not have jurisdiction to entertain Earnest Walker's appeal from the new sentence imposed for his 2006 guilty-plea…
Date: January 10, 2014
Docket Number: 1090948
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involves a dispute between Bessemer Water Service (BWS) and Lake Cyrus Development Company, Inc. (LCDC) over a contract referred to as the "1998 water agreement." In "Bessemer I," the Supreme Court concluded…
Date: January 10, 2014
Docket Number: 1120471
Justia Opinion Summary: In order to meet the 300 inhabitants required for incorporation under section 11-41-1, the petitioners included 51 people actually living in Caritas Village along with 296 people who had declared that they have…
Date: January 10, 2014
Docket Number: 1120471
Date: January 10, 2014
Docket Number: 1121284
Justia Opinion Summary: Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Company filed suit against Roger D. Allen, Homeland Vinyl Products, Inc., and Deric Miner, individually and as the personal representative of the estate of Jane Miner,…
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