Supreme Court of Alabama Decisions 2015

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Aliant Bank v. Carter  
Date: December 31, 2015
Docket Number: 1140023

Justia Opinion Summary: Aliant Bank appealed the entry of an injunction against it by the Shelby Circuit Court enjoining it from interfering with a contract for the sale of real property between Kimberly and Kerry Carter, on the one hand, and…

Johnson v. Reddoch  
Date: December 18, 2015
Docket Number: 1121481

Justia Opinion Summary: Jeffrey Johnson, by a through his aunt and next friend, Sue Thompson, appeals from the Mobile Circuit Court's dismissal of his action against Jim Reddoch, in his official capacity as commissioner of the Alabama…

Federal Insurance Company v. Reedstrom  
Date: December 18, 2015
Docket Number: 1141153

Justia Opinion Summary: Federal Insurance Company appealed a circuit court order denying its motion to compel arbitration of the breach-of-contract claim asserted against it by Kert Reedstrom. In 2008, Reedstrom entered into a written…

Ex parte Kevin James Davis.
Date: December 18, 2015
Docket Number: 1150072
City of Pike Road v. City of Montgomery  
Date: December 11, 2015
Docket Number: 1140487

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Pike Road appealed a circuit court judgment holding that a manufacturing facility owned and operated by Dow Corning Alabama, Inc., located in Mt. Meigs, an unincorporated part of Montgomery County, was within…

Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority v. Wilson et al.  
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: 1131177

Justia Opinion Summary: The Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority ("ACIFA") and its ex officio vice president Kim Thomas appealed a judgment entered on a jury verdict awarding $5 million in compensatory damages to Albert Wilson,…

Howard v. Cullman County  
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: 1140748

Justia Opinion Summary: Michael Howard appealed the grant of summary judgment entered against him in the action he commenced on behalf of himself and all other similarly situated taxpayers in Cullman County against Cullman County and its…

Ex parte Harold Smith.
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: 1140877
Ex parte Benjamin Howlet.
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: 1150062
Marshall Dean Smith v. City of Atmore
Date: November 25, 2015
Docket Number: 1130167
Ex parte Montgomery County Department of Human Resources.
Date: November 25, 2015
Docket Number: 1141295
Ex parte J.B., a minor, by and through J.T., guardian ad litem.
Date: November 25, 2015
Docket Number: 1141310
Ex parte J.C. and R.C.
Date: November 25, 2015
Docket Number: 1150071
Kirkley v. Phillips  
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Numbers: 1130812, 1130850

Justia Opinion Summary: These appeals before the Supreme Court were the result of a family dispute that occurred following the death of Mr. B.J. Kirkley in 2011, concerning his will and his interest in Kirkley LLC.Karen Ann Kribel Kirkley,…

Phillips v. Kirkley
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Number: 1130850
U.S. Bank National Ass'n v. Shepherd  
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Numbers: 1140376, 1140450

Justia Opinion Summary: U.S. Bank National Association ("USB"), successor in interest to Bank of America, N.A., which was the successor by merger to LaSalle Bank, National Association, as trustee for Structured Asset Investment Loan Trust,…

Bank of America, N.A. v. Shepherd
Date: November 20, 2015
Docket Number: 1140450
Brookwood Medical Center v. Borden  
Date: November 13, 2015
Docket Number: 1131284

Justia Opinion Summary: Dr. Thomas A. Staner, a board-certified neurosurgeon and neurologist, performed a lumbar laminectomy on Wilfred Borden at Brookwood Medical Center. Two days later, he complained of excruciating pain in his lower back and…

Ex parte Riverfront, LLC.  
Date: November 6, 2015
Docket Number: 1131061

Justia Opinion Summary: This case first went before the Alabama Supreme Court in "Ex parte Riverfront, LLC," (129 So. 3d 1008 (Ala. 2013)("Riverfront I")). In Riverfront I, Riverfront and Fish Market Restaurants, Inc. had entered into a lease…

Ex parte Michael Brandon Kelley.  
Date: November 6, 2015
Docket Number: 1131451

Justia Opinion Summary: Michael Kelley petitioned for certiorari review of a Court of Criminal Appeals' decision to affirm the trial court's judgment sentencing Kelley to death for his convictions for two counts of capital murder, and for…

Ross v. Marion  
Date: November 6, 2015
Docket Numbers: 1140604, 1140605, 1140606

Justia Opinion Summary: Anita Marion sued Noland Hospital Birmingham, LLC, and Noland Health Services, Inc. (collectively, "Noland"), Walter R. Ross, Jr., M.D., and Bernis Simmons, M.D., seeking damages resulting from the death of her husband,…

Anita Marion v. Bernis Simmons, M.D.
Date: November 6, 2015
Docket Number: 1140606
Mid-Continent Casualty Company v. Advantage Medical Electronics, LLC  
Date: November 6, 2015
Docket Number: 1140908

Justia Opinion Summary: Mid-Continent Casualty Company appealed a circuit court judgment declaring that it had a duty to defend its named insured, Advantage Medical Electronics, LLC, in a pending legal action against Advantage. This case…

Ex parte Gary Paul Schreiner.
Date: November 6, 2015
Docket Number: 1140934
Ex parte W. F., W.L.C., and R. J. J.  
Date: October 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1131472

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners R.J.J., W.L.C., and W.F. were convicted of hunting after dark, hunting from a public road, and hunting with the aid of an automobile. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed their convictions by an unpublished…

Ex parte E.S.  
Date: October 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1140889

Justia Opinion Summary: B.O.S. ("husband") and E.S. ("wife") began living together in 2005. They had one child together, a daughter, B.T.S., born in 2006. The couple married in 2007. The husband, the wife, and the child lived in a residence…

Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. v. Jones  
Date: October 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1140893

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. and Robert Shackelford, appealed the Circuit Court's order denying, in part, their motion to compel arbitration of the claims asserted against them by the plaintiffs Paul…

Limon v. Sandlin  
Date: October 23, 2015
Docket Number: 1140544

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Evangeline and Eladio Limon appealed the trial court's dismissal of their claims against defendants William Ellis Ogburn, Sr. ("Bill"), Sandra Sandlin, and William Ogburn ("Will"). The plaintiffs' daughter…

Riverstone Development Co., Inc. v. Garrett & Associates Appraisals, Inc.  
Date: October 23, 2015
Docket Number: 1140555

Justia Opinion Summary: Riverstone Development Co., Inc. sued Garrett & Associates Appraisals, Inc. ("G&A Appraisals"), asserting negligence, wantonness, and conspiracy claims stemming from a July 2010 appraisal G&A Appraisals conducted on…

Advisory Opinion No. 391
Date: October 1, 2015
Docket Number: 391
Kruse v. Vanderbilt Minerals, LLC  
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1121382

Justia Opinion Summary: Frank Kruse, administrator ad litem for the estate of Dansby W. Sanders, appealed the grant of summary judgment entered by the Mobile Circuit Court in favor of R.T. Vanderbilt Company, Inc., now known as Vanderbilt…

Ex parte Kristopher Vanderwall.  
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Numbers: 1130036, 1130041

Justia Opinion Summary: On November 12, 2009, M.C. had an appointment to for physical therapy at Tallassee Rehabilitation, P.C. She was referred to Tallahassee Rehab by her physician for treatment of back pain. M.C. was seen by Kristopher…

Kristopher Vanderwall v. M.C.
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1130041
Ex parte Christopher Eric Dalton.  
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1130197

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Christopher Dalton pled guilty to two counts of attempted murder, one count of breaking and entering an automobile, and one count of misdemeanor theft. Dalton was sentenced to 2 terms of 30 years' imprisonment…

Horwitz v. Kirby  
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1130246

Justia Opinion Summary: Kelly Horwitz and Cason Kirby were both candidates in the August 27, 2013, election for District 4 of the Tuscaloosa Board of Education. Kirby was certified as the winner of the election. The certified vote totals were…

Diversicare Leasing Corp. v. Hubbard  
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1131027

Justia Opinion Summary: Diversicare Leasing Corp. d/b/a Canterbury Healthcare Facility ("Canterbury") appealed an order denying its motion seeking to compel arbitration of a wrongful-death claim filed by Betty Hubbard, as the personal…

Century Tel of Alabama, LLC v. Dothan/Houston Cty Comm. Dist.  
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1131313

Justia Opinion Summary: Dothan/Houston County Communications District and Ozark/Dale County E-911, Inc. ("the districts"), sued Century Tel of Alabama, LLC ("CTA"), and Qwest Communications Company, LLC (collectively, "the defendants"),…

Ex parte Ronald Hampton, et al.  
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1140341

Justia Opinion Summary: Brenda Franks was a former nontenured employee of the Choctaw County Public School System. Before the 2008-2009 school year, Franks had been employed as a full-time counselor in the school system for three years when her…

Johnson v. City of Mobile  
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1140433

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved Barbara Johnson's claim against the City of Mobile in which she alleged retaliation based on several complaints and lawsuits she filed against the City under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the…

Ex parte Richard Talbott et al.  
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1140596

Justia Opinion Summary: Before 2010, Azin Agah was employed at the University of South Alabama ("USA") as a professor engaged in scientific research. Agah's position was a tenure-track professorship. In early 2010, USA's vice president for…

Ex parte David Paul Pittman.
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1141190
Ex parte S.C.
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1141195
Ex parte Juan Oziel Rios.
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1141213
Advisory Opinion No. 392
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 392
Sentinel Insurance Company, Ltd. v. Alabama Municipal Insurance Corp.  
Date: September 25, 2015
Docket Number: 1130841

Justia Opinion Summary: Sentinel Insurance Company, Limited appealed a declaratory judgment entered in favor of Alabama Municipal Insurance Corporation ("AMIC") in this dispute between Sentinel and AMIC over which insurance company was…

Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority v. Wilson  
Date: September 25, 2015
Docket Number: 1131177

Justia Opinion Summary: The Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority ("ACIFA") and its ex officio vice president Kim Thomas appealed a judgment entered on a jury verdict awarding $5 million in compensatory damages to Albert Wilson,…

Ex parte Jerry Newby and Alfa Mutual Insurance Company.  
Date: September 25, 2015
Docket Number: 1140315

Justia Opinion Summary: This case was, "[i]n short, ... an insurance bad faith failure to defend/indemnify/settle case arising out of several underlying lawsuits, which in turn arose out of the [respondents'] operation and financing of a dairy…

Ex parte State of Alabama.  
Date: September 25, 2015
Docket Number: 1140768

Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Alabama Supreme Court's review centered on the propriety of a probation revocation hearing. The State moved to revoke the probation of Carless Wagner based on allegations that he…

Ex parte James H. Suggs et al.
Date: September 25, 2015
Docket Number: 1140986
State of Alabama ex rel. Allison, v. Farris  
Date: September 18, 2015
Docket Number: 1140034

Justia Opinion Summary: The State of Alabama, on behalf of Rick Allison, Probate Judge of Walker County, appealed a Walker Circuit Court judgment entered in favor of Jill Farris, the county administrator for Walker County. By statute, Judge…

Cooper v. Ziegler  
Date: September 18, 2015
Docket Number: 1140303

Justia Opinion Summary: John R. Cooper, in his official capacity as director of the Alabama Department of Transportation ("ALDOT"), appealed a Circuit Court's December 16, 2014, order enjoining him from prohibiting Eddie Ziegler, Lisa Ziegler…

Ex parte E.L.  
Date: September 18, 2015
Docket Number: 1140595

Justia Opinion Summary: The Alabama Supreme Court granted review of this case filed by E.L. seeking review of a Court of Civil Appeals decision to affirm a family court order insofar as that judgment recognized and gave effect to an adoption…

Chen v. Russell Realty, LLC  
Date: September 18, 2015
Docket Number: 1140651

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Yan Chen, who had a business interest in a restaurant, entered into a 10-year lease agreement with Russell Realty, LLC, and MRT, LLC. The property to be leased was located in Greenville. The lease agreement was…

Butler v. Butler  
Date: September 18, 2015
Docket Number: 1140683

Justia Opinion Summary: Larry Butler, individually and as executor of the Estate of Elizabeth S. Butler, appealed a circuit court judgment declaring void the will of Elizabeth S. Butler executed in October 2012, and setting aside the Probate…

Ex parte Lee Carroll Brooker.
Date: September 11, 2015
Docket Number: 1141160
Bonedaddy's of Lee Branch, LLC v. City of Birmingham  
Date: September 4, 2015
Docket Number: 1131338

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Birmingham sued "Bonedaddy's of Lee Branch" for failing to pay its business-license taxes, occupational taxes, interest, penalties and fees for multiple years since the business' formation in 2007. The City…

Ex parte Jason Dean Tulley.  
Date: September 4, 2015
Docket Number: 1140049

Justia Opinion Summary: Jason Tulley was convicted of carrying a pistol on premises not his own in violation of a Jacksonville city ordinance. The Alabama Supreme Court granted certiorari review to determine whether by charging him under…

Ex parte J.D.A.
Date: September 4, 2015
Docket Number: 1140915
Ex parte Corderious McLellan.
Date: September 4, 2015
Docket Number: 1141027
Ex parte John Lambert.  
Date: August 28, 2015
Docket Number: 1130071

Justia Opinion Summary: The Escambia County Board of Education terminated the employment of John Lambert, a tenured teacher, as the band director at Flomaton High School for leaving a pistol in his school office, which was locked. During the…

Ex parte Jimmy Walker.  
Date: August 28, 2015
Docket Number: 1131448

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jimmy Walker petitioned for mandamus relief following the circuit court's denial of his motion for summary judgment. While plaintiff Jeremy Deason was was incarcerated, he participated in a Department of…

Ex parte State of Alabama.
Date: August 28, 2015
Docket Number: 1131496
Troy Health and Rehabilitation Center v. McFarland  
Date: August 28, 2015
Docket Number: 1140090

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, 74-year-old Garnell Wilcoxon lived alone. He suffered a stroke, awoke on the floor of his bedroom covered in sweat, feeling sore and with no memory of how he got there. Wilcoxon was admitted to the Troy Regional…

Ex parte B.M.
Date: August 28, 2015
Docket Number: 1140414
Alabama v. Biddle  
Date: August 28, 2015
Docket Number: 1140603

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1993, Michael Biddle was convicted in South Carolina of a lewd act upon a child, a violation of S.C. Code 16-15-140. He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment; his sentence was suspended and he was ordered to serve…

Ex parte Ricky Dean Butler.
Date: August 28, 2015
Docket Number: 1140933
Ex parte Christopher Anthony Floyd.  
Date: August 21, 2015
Docket Number: 1130527

Justia Opinion Summary: Christopher Floyd was convicted of capital murder in 2005 for the death of Waylon Crawford, for which he was sentenced to death. The Alabama Supreme Court granted certiorari review of Floyd's appeal to determine whether…

Ex parte T.N. and C.N.
Date: August 21, 2015
Docket Number: 1140913
Rogers v. Hansen  
Date: August 14, 2015
Docket Number: 1140257

Justia Opinion Summary: Gerri Rogers appealed a Probate Court order removing her as the personal representative of the estate of Ilse Martha Nagel. Appellee Sigrid Hansen argued that Rogers's appeal should have been dismissed because dismissed…

Branch Banking & Trust Company v. Nichols  
Date: July 10, 2015
Docket Number: 1130631

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Branch Banking & Trust Company ("BB&T"), Rusty Winfree, and Todd Fullington appealed a circuit court judgment entered in favor of Rex Nichols ("Sonny") and Claudene Nichols on the Nicholses' claims against…

Ex parte Cornell L. Tatum, Sr., et al.
Date: July 10, 2015
Docket Number: 1131368
Ex parte State of Alabama.  
Date: July 10, 2015
Docket Number: 1140635

Justia Opinion Summary: The Alabama Supreme Court issued a writ of certiorari to address the State's request that it overrule "Ex parte J.A.P.," (853 So. 2d 280 (Ala. 2002)), the controlling precedent applied by the Court of Criminal Appeals in…

Ex parte David Eugene Davis.
Date: June 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1131171
Alfa Life Insurance Corp. v. Reese  
Date: June 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1140053

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Wanchetta Reese, individually and as owner and beneficiary of the life-insurance policy issued on the life of her husband Lee Reese, filed a complaint in the Etowah Circuit Court against the defendants, Alfa…

Ex parte Knox.  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 1131207

Justia Opinion Summary: In August 2011, Teddy Knox was driving along Interstate 59 in Fort Payne. Officer Matt Wilson of the Fort Payne Police Department stopped Knox's vehicle for improper lane use. During the stop, Officer Wilson became…

American Bankers Ins. Co. of Florida v. Tellis  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Numbers: 1131244, 1131245, 1131264, 1131384, 1131514

Justia Opinion Summary: Gladys Tellis, Sherry Bronson, Gwendolyn Moody, Nadine Ivy, and Uneeda Trammell (collectively, "the policyholders") initiated separate actions against American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, asserting generally…

American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida v. Sherry Bronson
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 1131245
American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida v. Gwendolyn Moody
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 1131264
American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida v. Nadine Ivy
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 1131384
Ex parte Barze.  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 1131394

Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiff in the underlying case, Brian Barze, sought a writ of mandamus to direct the Jefferson Circuit Court to set aside an order sealing a motion to stay filed by one of the defendants, James Holbrook. Barze…

American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida v. Uneeda Trammell
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 1131514
Ex parte Jackie Burton.
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 1140135
Southeast Construction L.L.C. v. WAR Construction, Inc.  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 1140212

Justia Opinion Summary: Southeast Construction, L.L.C. ("SEC"), appealed a circuit court order that found WAR Construction, Inc., had provided SEC with certain releases as previously ordered by the circuit court and that SEC was accordingly now…

Ex parte Duerr.  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 1140294

Justia Opinion Summary: The father Andrew Duerr and mother Anne Marie Duerr were married in 1989, and had four children. The parties divorced in 2003. In October 2011, the father filed a petition to terminate alimony and to modify child support…

Ex parte Thomas.  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 1140594

Justia Opinion Summary: Inmate Charleton Thomas petitioned for postconviction relief, which the circuit court summarily dismissed. The Court of Criminal Appeals, by unpublished memorandum, affirmed the summary dismissal of Thomas's petition,…

Ex parte Alfa Mutual General Insurance Company.  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 1140642

Justia Opinion Summary: Alfa Mutual General Insurance Company ("Alfa") petitioned for a writ of mandamus to direct the Mobile Circuit Court to grant its motion seeking to realign the parties to the underlying litigation so that Alfa may "opt…

Ex parte Robert Anthony Simmons.
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 1140860
Ex parte Marvin Nikia Gaston.
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 1130469
Ex parte The Retirement Systems of Alabama et al.  
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 1140170

Justia Opinion Summary: The Retirement Systems of Alabama ("RSA"), the Teachers' Retirement System of Alabama ("TRS"), the Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan ("PEEHIP"), the Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Fund…

Ex parte Courtyard Citiflats, LLC, and Action Property Management LLC.  
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 1140264

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Courtyard Citiflats, LLC, and Action Property Management, L.L.C. (collectively, "Citiflats"), petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Circuit Court to dismiss the complaint of the…

Ex parte State of Alabama.
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 1140643
J. Don Gordon Construction, Inc. v. Brown  
Date: June 5, 2015
Docket Number: 1131129

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants below, J. Don Gordon Construction, Inc. and Western Surety Company appealed the circuit court's judgment on an arbitration award entered against them. The defendants argued that the award should have been…

Ex parte Steven Mark Morgan.
Date: June 5, 2015
Docket Number: 1131206
Westphal v. Northcutt III  
Date: June 5, 2015
Docket Number: 1140153

Justia Opinion Summary: Keith Westphal and Joyce Osborn Wilson filed suit against David Northcutt III, DMD, Bobby R. Wells, DMD, Stephen R. Stricklin, DMD, Thomas T. Willis, DMD, Sam J. Citrano, Jr., DMD, William Chesser, DMD, and Sandra Kay…

Ex parte Sergio Acosta.  
Date: June 5, 2015
Docket Number: 1140200

Justia Opinion Summary: Sergio Acosta petitioned for a writ of mandamus to direct the circuit court to vacate an order granting a motion filed by Trinity Bank to strike Acosta's jury demand with respect to all counts in Acosta's counterclaim…

Ex parte Quality Carriers, Inc.  
Date: June 5, 2015
Docket Number: 1140202

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Quality Carriers, Inc. and Bennie Hugh Orcutt filed a petition for a writ of mandamus to direct the Dallas Circuit Court to vacate its order denying their motion to transfer the underlying action to the…

Ex parte Tanya Butts.  
Date: June 5, 2015
Docket Number: 1140438

Justia Opinion Summary: Tanya Butts petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to direct the Clarke Circuit Court to stay the proceedings in the underlying civil case until a criminal case pending against her was completed. Gaines…

Ex parte Kenneth Ray Cornelius.
Date: June 5, 2015
Docket Number: 1140673
Ex parte Nicholson Manufacturing Ltd.  
Date: May 29, 2015
Docket Number: 1130411

Justia Opinion Summary: Nicholson Manufacturing Limited petitioned for a writ of mandamus to direct the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court to enter a summary judgment in its favor on the ground that Gerald Templeton's substitution of Nicholson for a…

Ex parte Christopher Floyd  
Date: May 29, 2015
Docket Number: 1130527

Justia Opinion Summary: Christopher Floyd was convicted for the 2005 murder of Waylon Crawford, for which he was sentenced to death. The Alabama Supreme Court issued a writ of certiorari to determine whether the following holdings of the Court…

Ex parte Gudel AG.  
Date: May 29, 2015
Docket Number: 1131341

Justia Opinion Summary: Gudel AG, one of several defendants to this case, petitioned for a writ of mandamus to direct the Crenshaw Circuit Court to vacate its order denying Gudel's motion to dismiss the personal-injury claims filed against it…

Ex parte University of South Alabama  
Date: May 29, 2015
Docket Numbers: 1140440, 1140441

Justia Opinion Summary: On or about August 1, 2006, the University of Southern Alabama (USA) hired Azin Agah, a cell biologist, as a tenure-track employee, to teach biochemistry and to research the abnormalities in the extracellular matrix and…

Ex parte Amber Bartlett.
Date: May 29, 2015
Docket Number: 1140441
Ex parte Fairfield Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, LLC  
Date: May 29, 2015
Docket Number: 1140454

Justia Opinion Summary: Fairfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, LLC; D&N, LLC; DTD HC, LLC; Aurora Cares, LLC (alleged to be doing business as "Tara Cares"); and Aurora Healthcare, LLC (collectively, "the defendants"), petitioned for a…

Ex parte Brandon Brown.  
Date: May 22, 2015
Docket Number: 1140048

Justia Opinion Summary: In April 2010, Officer Brandon Brown, a police officer with the City of Fultondale, received a be-on-the-lookout ("BOLO") from dispatch for a blue Mitsubishi automobile, the occupants of which were suspected of having…

Ex parte John William Gilam.
Date: May 22, 2015
Docket Number: 1140672
Ex parte Dixon Mills Volunteer Fire Department, Inc.  
Date: May 15, 2015
Docket Number: 1131484

Justia Opinion Summary: Dixon Mills Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. and its assistant fire chief, Louis Cass White, petitioned for a writ of mandamus to direct the Circuit Court to vacate its order denying their motion for summary judgment on…

Ex parte Terry Bland.
Date: May 15, 2015
Docket Number: 1140704
Geeslin v. On-Line Information Services, Inc.  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 1120666

Justia Opinion Summary: Kevin Geeslin filed this action challenging a "convenience fee" and "token fee" charged in connection with his on-line electronic filing of a civil action (fees assessed in addition to the statutorily defined filing fee…

IBI Group, Michigan, LLC v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 1131456

Justia Opinion Summary: IBI Group, Michigan, LLC, f/k/a Giffels, LLC ("Giffels"), appealed a circuit court order ordering it to arbitrate its claims against Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, f/k/a ThyssenKrupp Stainless USA, LLC ("OTK"), and…

Adams v. Tractor & Equipment Co., Inc.  
Date: May 1, 2015
Docket Number: 1121162

Justia Opinion Summary: Kenneth Adams appealed the grant of summary judgment in favor of Tractor & Equipment Co., Inc. ("TEC"). Adams and James "Buddy" Money are the only two members of Waste Two Energy, LLC, a company that operated two…

Branch Banking & Trust Co. v. Nichols  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 1130631

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Branch Banking & Trust Company ("BB&T"), Rusty Winfree, and Todd Fullington appealed a Circuit Court judgment in favor of Rex ("Sonny") and Claudene Nichols on the Nicholses' claims against the appellants, …

Ex parte Dental Referral Service, LLC.
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 1131411
Ex parte Amee Kozlovski, M.D.  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 1140317

Justia Opinion Summary: In November 2011, following a physical attack on his father, David Brown, Jeffery Brown was involuntarily committed by the Mobile Probate Court to Searcy Hospital, a long-termcare facility for mental illness operated by…

Steinfurth v. Ski Lodge Apartments, LLC  
Date: April 17, 2015
Docket Number: 1130832

Justia Opinion Summary: Paul R. Steinfurth and Paul C. Steinfurth (collectively, "the guarantors") appealed the denial of their postjudgment motion requesting that a judgment entered against them and in favor of Ski Lodge Apartments, LLC, be…

Freeman v. Holyfield  
Date: April 17, 2015
Docket Number: 1131370

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff James Freeman, a parolee whose earlier parole from a life sentence for murder was revoked, appealed a trial court's dismissal of his claims against the City of Birmingham; Birmingham Police Officer Dewayne…

Ex parte T. G.
Date: April 17, 2015
Docket Number: 1140122
Ex parte Shannon Cahill.
Date: April 17, 2015
Docket Number: 1140305
Ex parte Wendell Hightower.
Date: April 17, 2015
Docket Number: 1140628
Ex parte Scottsdale Insurance Company.
Date: April 17, 2015
Docket Number: 1140631
Ex parte Orrin C. Hudson.
Date: April 10, 2015
Docket Number: 1131281
Municipal Workers Compensation Fund, Inc. v. Morgan Keegan & Co.  
Date: April 3, 2015
Docket Number: 1120532

Justia Opinion Summary: Municipal Workers Compensation Fund, Inc. ("the Fund"), appealed a circuit court's order denying the Fund's motion to vacate a judgment entered on an arbitration award. The Fund entrusted the management and investment of…

Ex parte Marvin Earl Pines.
Date: April 3, 2015
Docket Number: 1130871
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., et al. v. Jacklyn McMahon
Date: March 27, 2015
Docket Number: 1121542
Crouch v. North Alabama Sand & Gravel, LLC  
Date: March 27, 2015
Docket Number: 1131086

Justia Opinion Summary: Roland and Sandra Crouch appealed the grant of summary judgment in favor of North Alabama Sand & Gravel, LLC, now operating as Alliance Sand & Gravel, LLC, and Austin Powder Company ("Austin Powder") on the Crouches'…

Ex parte Jimmy Williams, Jr.  
Date: March 27, 2015
Docket Number: 1131160

Justia Opinion Summary: In August 2000, when Jimmy Williams, Jr. was 15 years old, he was convicted of murder made capital because it was committed during a robbery. In accordance with the applicable law at the time of Williams's sentencing,…

Megan Marie Russell v. Keone Kaukawele Fuqua
Date: March 20, 2015
Docket Number: 1120957
Gilley v. Southern Research Institute  
Date: March 13, 2015
Docket Number: 1131238

Justia Opinion Summary: Richard M. Gilley sued his former employer, Southern Research Institute ("SRI"), seeking compensation he alleged he was owed as a result of his work leading to SRI's procurement of United States Patent No. 5,407,609. The…

Norfolk Southern Railway Company v. Goldthwaite  
Date: March 13, 2015
Docket Number: 1131375

Justia Opinion Summary: James H. Goldthwaite lived in his Birmingham house for approximately 45 years. The house was adjacent to or near property on which were actively used railroad tracks owned by Norfolk Southern. The record reflected that…

Ex parte C.E.
Date: March 13, 2015
Docket Number: 1140290
Lemley v. Wilson  
Date: March 6, 2015
Docket Number: 1130160

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Christopher Wilson was working for the City of Sumiton. Christopher and his supervisor, Michael Carr, had been sent to mow grass on Bryan Road. Tony Henderson, the driver of the City's knuckle-boom truck,…

Ex parte Alabama ex rel. Alabama Policy Institute et al.  
Date: March 3, 2015
Docket Number: 1140460

Justia Opinion Summary: The State sought emergency relief, and was granted that relief from the Alabama Supreme Court relating to the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The State, by and through the relators, contended that…

Magee v. Boyd  
Date: March 2, 2015
Docket Number: 1130987

Justia Opinion Summary: The issues presented in three appeals (consolidated for review) were ones of first impression to the Alabama Supreme Court regarding the state Accountability Act (AAA). Plaintiffs Daniel Boyd (superintendent of the…

Rachell Prince et al. v. Daniel Boyd et al.
Date: March 2, 2015
Docket Number: 1131020
Tequila Rogers et al. v. Daniel Boyd et al.
Date: March 2, 2015
Docket Number: 1131021
CVS Caremark Corporation et al. v. Lauriello et al.  
Date: February 27, 2015
Docket Number: 1120010

Justia Opinion Summary: In connection with a 1998 nationwide, securities-fraud class action initiated against MedPartners, Inc., a physician-practice-management/pharmacy-benefits-management corporation and the predecessor in interest to CVS…

Bynum v. City of Oneonta et al.  
Date: February 27, 2015
Docket Number: 1130305

Justia Opinion Summary: Glenn Bynum and Larry Gipson appealed a trial court's order holding that certain amendments to section 28-2A-1 et seq., Ala. Code 1975 (pertaining to the sale of alcoholic beverages in a municipality), were…

Johnny Lloyd Burchfield et al. v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Date: February 27, 2015
Docket Number: 1130540
Ex parte Louis Murray.
Date: February 27, 2015
Docket Number: 1131010
Ex parte Jennifer Ann Vest  
Date: February 27, 2015
Docket Number: 1131050

Justia Opinion Summary: Mother Jennifer Ann Vest (Herron) petitioned the Supreme Court to review a Court of Civil Appeals decision to affirm a the Elmore Circuit Court's order imposing on her a five-day jail sentence for contempt. The contempt…

Ex parte Gerald Van Jones.  
Date: February 27, 2015
Docket Number: 1131479

Justia Opinion Summary: Gerald Van Jones, the father, appealed a Court of Civil Appeals' decision that affirmed a trial court's order awarding postminority educational support for his son, Garrette Jones. According to the father, the Court of…

Ex parte A.P.
Date: February 27, 2015
Docket Number: 1140270
Ex parte T.G.
Date: February 27, 2015
Docket Number: 1140276
Ex parte Joe Bennett.
Date: February 27, 2015
Docket Number: 1140293
Crusoe v. Davis  
Date: February 20, 2015
Docket Number: 1130798

Justia Opinion Summary: Dorothy Crusoe and her granddaughter, Erica Boyd, by and through her mother and next friend, Latricia Witherspoon (collectively, "Crusoe"), appealed a circuit court order denying their motion for a new trial. This case…

Baldwin Mutual Ins. Co. v. McCain  
Date: February 20, 2015
Docket Number: 1131058

Justia Opinion Summary: Baldwin Mutual Insurance Company appealed a circuit court order certifying the action filed against it by Gloria McCain as a class action. McCain owned a house in Montgomery on which she held a homeowner's insurance…

Walter Energy, Inc. v. Audley Capital Advisors, LLP  
Date: February 20, 2015
Docket Number: 1131104

Justia Opinion Summary: Walter Energy, Inc., appealed a circuit court order that dismissed claims it had asserted against investor Julian Treger, his firm Audley Capital Advisors LLP, and other associated investment entities (collectively, "the…

Hilyer v. Fortier  
Date: February 20, 2015
Docket Number: 1131174

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Adam Dan Hilyer appealed the denial of his motion to set aside a default judgment entered against him and in favor of plaintiff Betti Fortier. In 2013, Hilyer was backing a tractor-trailer rig used to transport…

Ex parte John Alfred Harper.  
Date: February 13, 2015
Docket Number: 1130496

Justia Opinion Summary: John Harper, an incarcerated inmate, petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court to review the circuit court's denial of his latest motion for sentence reconsideration. Harper was convicted in 1986 of first-degree armed…

Ex parte Ruth Mary Higgins Baker.  
Date: February 13, 2015
Docket Number: 1130810

Justia Opinion Summary: Ruth Mary Higgins Baker ("Ruth") petitioned the Supreme Court for review the Court of Civil Appeals' affirmance, without an opinion, of the judgment of the Circuit Court which denied her petition to be appointed the…

Ex parte Kenneth Paul Robertson, Jr.
Date: February 13, 2015
Docket Number: 1140083
Ex parte Don Davis
Date: February 11, 2015
Docket Number: 1140456
Ex parte Peter Ferrari et al.  
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Number: 1130679

Justia Opinion Summary: Peter Ferrari was employed by DR Horton, Inc. - Birmingham as a land-acquisition manager for its Gulf Coast division. DR Horton asserted that it gave Ferrari confidential information concerning its business and…

Ex parte Howard Whited.  
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Number: 1130686

Justia Opinion Summary: Howard Carl Whited was convicted of sodomy in the first degree. The trial court sentenced Whited to 35 years' imprisonment and ordered Whited to pay $50 to the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Fund and court costs. The…

Moultrie v. Wall  
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Number: 1130697

Justia Opinion Summary: This issue this case presented for the Supreme Court's review centered on the ownership interests in and control of Autauga Automotive, LLC, a limited liability company that owned and operated a Ford Motor Company…

Peter Ferrari et al. v. D.R. Horton, Inc. - Birmingham
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Number: 1130726
Ex parte M.D. and S.W.
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Number: 1140187
Ex parte John Swain.
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Number: 1140208
Ex parte B.C.  
Date: January 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1130250

Justia Opinion Summary: The Alabama Supreme Court granted B.C.'s petition for certiorari review based on the Court's recent decision in "Ex parte L.J.," ([Ms. 1121462, September 30, 2014] So. 3d (Ala. 2014)), in which the Court held that a…

Porter v. Williamson  
Date: January 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1130282

Justia Opinion Summary: Donald Porter, Marc Porter, Porter Capital Corporation, Porter Bridge Loan Company, Inc., Lowerline Corporation, Capital Partners Leasing, Inc., and Capital Partners Leasing, LLC (referred to collectively as "the Porter…

Keith McDaniel v. William T. Ezell
Date: January 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1130372
City of Florence v. Ezell  
Date: January 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1130373

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Florence, the Civil Service Board of the City of Florence ("the CSB") and Keith McDaniel appealed separately a circuit court judgment after a jury rendered its verdict in favor of William T. Ezell. In mid…

Ex parte Lisa Hanvey.  
Date: January 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1131235

Justia Opinion Summary: The circuit court entered a judgment finding that Lisa Hanvey had suffered a compensable injury caused by her exposure to chemical fumes during the course of her employment with Madison Academy, Inc. The trial court…

Ex parte Davon Lashon Davis.
Date: January 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1140018
Ex parte R.G.
Date: January 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1140191
Ex parte D.E.
Date: January 30, 2015
Docket Number: 1140207
Dannelly Enterprises, LLC v. Palm Beach Grading, Inc.
Date: January 29, 2015
Docket Number: 1140504
Ex parte State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company.
Date: January 29, 2015
Docket Number: 1141039
Ex parte Jami L. McLendon.
Date: January 29, 2015
Docket Number: 1141134
Regions Bank v. BP P.L.C. et al.
Date: January 29, 2015
Docket Number: 1141170
Ex parte Fred Lee Bryant.
Date: January 29, 2015
Docket Number: 1150036
Ex parte A.B.C.
Date: January 29, 2015
Docket Number: 1150189
Ex parte Desi Renard King.
Date: January 16, 2015
Docket Number: 1140133
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