Appellate Law

Cases Released January 22, 2010

Posted on January 22, 2010
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: Jones et al. v. Hamilton Harrison v. State Department of Industrial Relations R.P.J. v. Henry County Department of Human Resources Prince v. State Department of Revenue Hull v. Hull Complete List of Cases from the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals   From the Alabama Supreme Court: Ex parte Excelsior Financial, Inc...

Cases Released January 15, 2010

Posted on January 15, 2010
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: M.H. v. W. Mosley v. Builders South, Inc. Complete List of Cases from the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals   From the Alabama Supreme Court: BMJA, LLC v. Murphy City of Graysville v. Glenn, director of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management Ex parte Campbell; Petition for Writ of Certiorari (In re: Campbell v...

Cases Released January 8, 2010

Posted on January 11, 2010
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: Murphy v. Madison City Board of Education Jackson v. Delphi Automotive Systems M.G. v. State Department of Human Resources I.S.T. v. R.W.B. James v. City of Russellville Klaeser v. Milton Parris v. Prison Health Services, Inc...

Cases Released December 30, 2009

Posted on December 31, 2009
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: L.H. v. Lee County Department of Human Resources Ex parte Wilson; Petition for Writ of Mandamus (In re: Madison County Board of Education v. Wilson) Complete List of Cases from the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals   From the Alabama Supreme Court: Certain Underwriters of Lloyd's, London, and Certain London Marketing Insurance Companies v...

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Judge Godbold Passes Away at Age 89

Posted on December 28, 2009
Legendary Circuit Court Judge John C. Godbold passed away on December 22, 2009 at age 89.  Judge Godbold was the only person ever to serve as Chief Judge of two different judicial Circuits (5th and 11th), and was the author of the seminal piece on appellate advocacy "Twenty Pages and Twenty Minutes...

Court Reviews Procedure for Appeal from Arbitration Award and Rule 60(b) Order

Posted on December 21, 2009
The Court of Civil Appeals addressed a number of specialized rules of appellate procedure in Tuscaloosa Chevrolet, Inc. v. Guyton, No. 2080590 (Ala.Civ.App. Dec 11, 2009). Tuscaloosa Chevrolet appealed from an order granting Shirley Guyton's Rule 60(b) motion for relief from a judgment on an arbitration award in favor of the dealership...

Court Grants Motion for Sanctions for Frivolous Appeal

Posted on December 21, 2009
In Walker v. Walden, No. 09-11576 (11th Cir. Nov. 18, 2009), appellants filed a motion in bankruptcy court to recover costs and fees more than 18 months after the court entered judgment for the appellants. The bankruptcy court denied the motion because it was untimely, and the appellants sought relief in the Eleventh Circuit...

Order in Which Trial Court Expressly Retained Jurisdiction Until Settlement Order Was Consummated Was Final Appealable Order Granting an Injunction

Posted on December 21, 2009
In Kappa Sigma Fraternity v. Ryan Price-Williams, the Alabama Supreme Court held that it had appellate jurisdiction even though the trial court had expressly retained jurisdiction pending the consummation of a settlement agreement. Price-Williams sued Kappa Sigma National Fraternity, a local Kappa Sigma chapter, and invidual members of the chapter for injuries he sustained in an assault at a Kappa Sigma fraternity house...

Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Discusses Law of the Case Doctrine

Posted on December 21, 2009
The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals provided a helpful discussion of the application of the law of the case doctrine in Drees v. Turner, released December 18, 2009.   The first time the Drees case had been before the Court of Civil Appeals, the plaintiff Drees argued that the trial court had erred in dismissing his action based on the doctrine of judicial immunity...

Cases Released December 18, 2009

Posted on December 21, 2009
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: Montgomery County Board of Education v. Webb Holden v. Edwards Specialties, Inc. Birmingham Board of Education v. Hawkins Drees v. Turner A.B. v. J.B. C.D.K.S. v. K.W.K. Folsom v. Stagg Run Development, LLC, et al...

Cases Released December 11, 2009

Posted on December 11, 2009
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: State Farm Fire & Casualty Company, as subrogee of JC Propellar Service v. Smith Jones v. Shannon Ex parte R.W. and D.W.; Petitions for Writ of Mandamus (In re: In the matter of K.L., a minor) T...

Party Could Appeal Denied "Motion to Dismiss" Which Sought to Compel Arbitration

Posted on December 07, 2009
 A motion to dismiss — which argued that the plaintiff had to arbitrate its claims — was effectively a motion to compel arbitration. The denial of that motion could be appealed as a matter of right. The Court of Civil Appeals erred by holding that the denied motion to dismiss would not support an appeal...

Cases Released December 4, 2009

Posted on December 04, 2009
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: Wesson v. Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P. Dunn v. Dunn Lucky v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company Ex parte Wilson; Petition for Writ of Mandamus (In re: Madison County Board of Education v. Wilson) Enriquez v. Kokomo Properties, LLC M...

Cases Released November 25, 2009

Posted on November 30, 2009
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: Franks, as president of Central Alabama Community College v. Jordan Watson v. Bowden Complete List of Cases from the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals   From the Alabama Supreme Court: Ex parte Directory Assistants, Inc...

Alabama Supreme Court Reverses Summary Judgment Where Trial Court Relied on Inadmissible Evidence

Posted on November 23, 2009
Barrett v. Radjabi-Mougadam is a reminder that documents submitted at summary judgment must be cerified or otherwise authenticated.  In Barrett, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed a summary judgment because the trial court considered documents that were not properly authenticated and that violated the best evidence rule...

Second Motion to Reconsider Does Not Toll Time for Filing Notice of Appeal

Posted on November 23, 2009
Because a second-filed postjudgment motion does not toll the time for filing a notice of appeal, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals dismissed the appeal in C & D Logging v. Willie Mobley, No. 2080659, released November 20th.   On September 26, 2008, the trial court entered a final judgment on Mobley's claims against C&D Logging...

Alabama Supreme Court May Revise Question that Eleventh Circuit Certifies for Review

Posted on November 23, 2009
When the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals certifies a question to the Alabama Supreme Court, the "'particular phrasing used in the certified question is not to restrict the [Alabama] Supreme Court's consideration of the problems involved and the issues as the Supreme Court perceives them to be in its analysis of the record certified in this case...

Cases Released November 20, 2009

Posted on November 20, 2009
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: State of Alabama v. Nguyen et al. J.F.S. III v. Mobile County Department of Human Resources C & D Logging v. Mobley Hutchenson v. Daniel Powe v. Powe Scott v. Scott Complete List of Cases from the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals   From the Alabama Supreme Court: Barrett v...

Premature Notice of Appeal Held in Abeyance Until Ripe; Date of Order Is Date It Is Entered on SJIS

Posted on November 17, 2009
Two common procedural issues - what happens when a notice of appeal is filed prematurely and what is the effective date of an order - were addressed in Landry v. Landry, [Ms. 2080171, 2080372] (Ala. Civ. App. Nov. 6, 2009).In Landry, the trial court disposed of an action involving a petition to modify child support on Sept...

Rule 60(b) Used to Review a Costs Award

Posted on November 17, 2009
In Fenison v. Birmingham Spring Service, Inc., [Ms. 2080023, 2080036] (Ala. Civ. App. Nov. 6, 2009), the Court of Civil Appeals held that a costs award could be challenged in the trial court by way of a Rule 60(b) motion, but ultimately held that the trial court exceeded its discretion by granting relief...

Cases Released November 13, 2009

Posted on November 16, 2009
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: Y.N. v. Jefferson County Department of Human Resources Ex parte Hamilton; Petition for Writ of Mandamus (In re: Hamilton v. State Department of Postsecondary Education) Complete List of Cases from the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals   From the Alabama Supreme Court: Smallwood, et al...

Consolidated Actions Maintain Separate Identities For Determining Finality of Judgment and Time to Appeal

Posted on November 16, 2009
In RJG v. SSW, [Ms. 2080509] (Ala. Civ. App. Aug. 21, 2009), the Court of Civil Appeals dismissed a portion of a father's appeal in a parental rights action as untimely.  On November 6, 2009, the Court of Civil Appeals issued a new opinion of rehearing again dismissing the appeal, explaining that the appeal was not made timely by the fact that the underlying case was part of an action that had been consolidated...

Order Which States Only That Marital Property Must Be Divided Equitably Is Not a Final Judgment For Purpose of Appeal

Posted on November 16, 2009
The Court Civil Appeals dismissed the appeal in Sims v. Sims, [Ms. 2070697] (Ala. Civ. App. Nov. 6, 2009), for lack of jurisdiction because it was an appeal of a non-final judgment.  The trial court's order stated that the marital property must be divided equitably, but did not actually divide the property...

Action to Enforce Divorce Judgment Required New Filing Fee to Vest Jurisdiction

Posted on November 10, 2009
Six years after the parties were divorced, the wife filed a motion to amend a provision in the divorce judgment that awarded her a part of the husband's retirement benefits. The Court of Civil Appeals deemed this an independent action to enforce the divorce judgment, which should have been accompanied by the appropriate filing fee...

Adoption Without Father's Consent Was Void

Posted on November 10, 2009
A stepfather adopted his wife's biological child. Because the child's father had not consented to the adoption, however, as is required by Alabama statute, the adoption judgment was void. The father's appeal from that judgment was accordingly dismissed...

Cases Released November 6, 2009

Posted on November 09, 2009
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: Fenison v. Birmingham Spring Service, Inc., et al. R.L.M.S. v. Etowah County Department of Human Resources R.J.G. v. S.S.W. Young v. Ledford Zegarelli v. Montevallo Planning and Zoning Commission Taylor v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Inc...

Cases Released October 30, 2009

Posted on October 30, 2009
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: A.S.T. v. Etowah County Department of Human Resources Progressive Specialty Insurance Company v. Kyle M.M. v. D.P. Marsh v. Smith Montgomery v. Montgomery Herring-Malbis I, LLC v. TEMCO, Inc. Dickson Campers, Inc...

Court of Civil Appeals States Standard Governing Review of Trial Court's Ruling on Motion to Vacate a Default Judgment

Posted on October 27, 2009
 In LVNV Funding, LLC v. Boyles, released last week, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals reversed the trial court's judgment denying a motion to vacate a default judgment pursuant to Rule 60(b)(4).  The case was handled by Lightfoot, Franklin & White's own Chips Pruet and Wes Gilchrist and provides a good recent statement of the standard of review governing a ruling on a motion to vacate a default judgment...

Alabama Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction Even Though Issue Was Not Raised in the Trial Court

Posted on October 27, 2009
In Johnson v. Neal, released October 23, 2009, the Alabama Supreme Court dismissed an appeal from the Macon County Circuit Court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction even though neither of the parties had raised that issue in the trial court.Homer Osborne died on July 17, 1973...

Cases Released October 23, 2009

Posted on October 26, 2009
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals: State Department of Human Resources, on behalf of J.A.S. Ford v. Stringfellow Memorial Hospital LVNV Funding, LLC v. Boyles Complete List of Cases from the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals   From the Alabama Supreme Court: Jefferson County et al...

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