Appellate Law

Trial Court Erred By Not Setting Aside Default Where Party Missed Hearing Due to Hospitalization

Posted on July 23, 2008
In Stanfield v. Stanfield, Ms. 2061090 (Ala. Civ. App. July 18, 2008), the Court of Civil Appeals held that the trial court erred by failing to set aside a default judgment where a party missed a final hearing due to hospitalization.The default judgment was entered in this divorce proceeding after the husband's counsel withdrew and the husband missed the final hearing...

Cases Released July 18, 2008

Posted on July 18, 2008
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals:M.B.L. v. G.G.L.Marshall v. CookMorrison v. MorrisonGreener v. KilloughState Department of Revenue v. Wells Fargo Financial Acceptance Alabama, Inc., et al.ArvinMeritor v. JohnsonStanfield v. StanfieldFranklin v...

Cases Released July 11, 2008

Posted on July 11, 2008
From the Supreme Court of Alabama:Ex parte Holbert, Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Criminal Appeals; In re: Holbert v. State of AlabamaMoon v. PillionEx parte State of Alabama, Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Criminal Appeals; In re: Harris v...

Court of Civil Appeals Reaffirms that Rule 60(b) Is Not a Substitute for an Appeal

Posted on July 09, 2008
In Hobbs v. Heisey, No. 2070085, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals reiterated the appropriate uses of Rule 60(b), noting that it cannot be used as a substitute for an appeal from a final judgment. In Hobbs, the husband sought to appeal a March 2006 divorce decree...

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Cases Released on July 3, 2008

Posted on July 09, 2008
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals:Mills v. DaileyHobbs v. HeiseyR.W. v. G.W. & S. W.From the Supreme Court of Alabama:Bob Riley, et al. v. Luther S. Pate IV

"Alabama court sides with Riley in budget dispute"

Posted on July 03, 2008
In Riley v. Pate, Ms. 1071003 (Ala. July 3, 2008) , the Alabama Supreme Court held that a taxpayer did not have standing to bring suit challenging where the proceeds of the State's judgment against Exxon in the gas royalty dispute would be placed.  For more information, click on the link to the article entitled "Alabama court sides with Riley in budget dispute" from the AP via al...

Trial Court Has No Jurisdiction to "Reconsider" Denial of Post-Judgment Motion; Must Hold Hearing on Motion for Remittitur

Posted on July 01, 2008
A circuit court loses jurisdiction after denying a post-judgment motion. The court thus cannot “reconsider” its denial. Moreover, a circuit court errs by not holding a hearing on a motion to reduce a punitive award. Southeast Environmental Infrastructure, L...

"Alabama Supreme Court rules that George Bowman can serve on Jefferson County Commission through November"

Posted on July 01, 2008
In Working v. Jefferson County Election Commission, Ms. 1070850 (Ala. June 30, 2008) ,  the Alabama Supreme Court invalidated a special election to fill a vacant seat on a county commission, and instead held that the Governor's appointee should serve until the election this Fall...

Premature Post-Judgment Motion and Notice of Appeal Became Effective When Target Orders Became Final

Posted on June 30, 2008
A father filed a post-judgment motion before the circuit court entered its judgment. This motion “quickened” and became effective when the trial court did enter judgment. Similarly, the father’s premature notice of appeal became effective when his post-judgment motion was denied...

Appeal Is "Filed" When Received By Circuit Clerk -- Not When Mailed

Posted on June 30, 2008
An appeal is “filed” when the circuit clerk receives the notice of appeal, not when a party mails it. Because the clerk received the notice after the time for filing an appeal had elapsed, the appeal was late and was consequently dismissed D...

Cases Released June 27, 2008

Posted on June 27, 2008
From Alabama Court of Civil Appeals:T.T.T. v. R. H. and J.R.H.ArvinMeritor, Inc. v. HandleyW.B.G.M. v. P.S.T.C.J. v. Marion County Department of Human ResourcesMontgomery Ford Lincoln Mercury, Inc., et al. v. HallD.T. v. State of Alabama From the Supreme Court of Alabama:Southeast Environmental Infrastructure, L...

United States Supreme Court cuts Exxon Valdez punitive damage award

Posted on June 25, 2008
In Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, No. 07-216 (June 25, 2008), the United States Supreme Court cut the punitive damage award against Exxon arising out of the Exxon Valdez oil spill from $2.5 billion to approxinmately $500 million. Justice Souter authored the 5-3 majority opinion...

Payment of workers' compensation benefits pursuant to foreign state's statute does not toll time to bring Alabama workers' compensation claim

Posted on June 25, 2008
In Ex parte Morris, Ms. 1070384 (Ala. June 20, 2008) , in a question of first impression, the Alabama Supreme Court held that the payment of benefits pursuant to another states workers' compensation statute does not toll the time to bring an Alabama workers' compensation claim...

Alabama Supreme Court clarifies procedure for appealing decisions of an arbitrator

Posted on June 25, 2008
In Horton Homes, Inc. v. Shaner, Ms. 1061659, 1061741 (Ala. June 20, 2008), the Alabama Supreme Court attempted to clarify the procedure for appealing an arbitrator's decision.  Specifically, in its Per Curiam opinion, the Court "address[ed] two aspects of that procedure, namely: (1) the time period for filing an appeal of an arbitration award, and (2) the role of the circuit court in reviewing that arbitration award...

"Law of the case doctrine" is not inflexible and does not prevent a court from revisiting issue of jurisdiction.

Posted on June 25, 2008
In Bessemer Board of Ed. v. Tucker, Ms. 2070390 (Ala. Civ. App. June 20, 2008) , the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals addressed the application of the "law of the case" doctrine, and found that the doctrine is not inflexible.   "The doctrine directs a court's discretion; it does not limit a court's power...

Cases Released June 20, 2008

Posted on June 20, 2008
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals:Bessemer Board of Education v. TuckerT.G. v. Houston County Department of Human ResourcesWilliamson v. PruittC.D.H. and K.E.H. v. Marion County Department of Human ResourcesDean v. DeanJ.E. v. V.C.E. From the Supreme Court of Alabama:Ex parte Nathan Rodgers Construction, Inc...

"Alabama Supreme Court reverses decision in Hurricane Opal lawsuit"

Posted on June 20, 2008
In Jones v. Alfa Mutual Ins. Co., Ms. 1060179 (Ala. June 13 2008), the Alabama Supreme Court reversed a trial court's ruling that Alfa did not act in bad faith in its handling of an insurance claim arising from Hurricane Opal in October 1995.  The Supreme Court sent the case back for a trial on "abnormal" bad faith based on failure to investigate and breach of contract...

"Ala. judge OKs AstraZeneca fraud verdict"

Posted on June 20, 2008
Judge Price of the Montgomery County Circuit Court upheld the fraud verdict obtained by the State against AstraZeneca in the Medicaid drug pricing suit.  Judge Price upheld the compensatory damage award of $40 million and,  pursuant to the statutory cap on punitive damages, cut the punitive damages from $175 million to $120 million, making the total verdict $160 million...

Writ of Mandamus Vehicle for Pendente Lite Review

Posted on June 19, 2008
In Amberson v. Long, No. 2061191 Ala. Civ. App. (June 13, 2008), a mother appealed from an order modifying child custody. The father responded that “the order from which the mother appeals is a pendente lite custody order that will not support an appeal...

Specific Objection Must Immediately Follow Inadmissible Evidence

Posted on June 19, 2008
The Alabama Supreme Court reiterated that the denial of a motion in limine does not preserve an objection to evidence for appellate review. In denying the motion, the trial court signals that it will rule on the matter if it arises at trial. To obtain appellate review of an evidentiary objection at trial, the party opposing the evidence must make "a timely objection ...

Cases Released June 13, 2008

Posted on June 16, 2008
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals:Daniel v. PassmoreAmberson v. LongVaughn v. VaughnB.H. v. Marion County Department of Human ResourcesWebb, et al. v. City of DemopolisHall v. HallJ.W. v. N.K.M.Hall, et al. v. North Montgomery Materials, LLC, and KatsarskyTeam America of Tennessee v...

Certiorari Available to Review "Final" Administrative Decisions Under Fair Dismissal Act

Posted on June 10, 2008
The common-law writ of certiorari is available to review administrative decisions under § 36-26-115 of Alabama’s Fair Dismissal Act, the Court of Civil Appeals held, even though that statute makes administrative decisions “final” and non-appealable...

Cases Released June 6, 2008

Posted on June 09, 2008
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals:Lewis v. WhitlockT.V. v. B.S.South Alabama Skills Training Consortium, et al. v. Ford, et al. From the Supreme Court of Alabama:Murry v. City of Abbeville

Rule 60(a) Did Not Allow Trial Court to "Amend" Non-Final Judgment

Posted on June 04, 2008
In Crutcher v. Williams, released May 30, 2008,  the Alabama Supreme Court held that Rule 60(a) did not allow the trial court to simply "amend" a putative final judgment that failed to adjudicate cross claims.  In the first installment of this medical malpractice case, the doctor defendant appealled from a judgment against him...

Three Cases Released Last Week Show the Consequences of Failing to Timely, Properly or Thoroughly Raise Legal Arguments

Posted on June 03, 2008
Three different cases released last week show the importance of raising legal arguments early, thoroughly, and often in order to have those arguments considered on appeal.    In Diggs v. Diggs, released by the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, the court refused to consider the husband's argument that the trial court erred in awarding certain property to the wife because the argument lacked citation to the record or legal authority...

Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Offers Guidance Regarding the Time for Appeal of Arbitration Awards

Posted on June 03, 2008
In Yayman v. FIA Card Services, N.A., released May 30, 2008, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals further clarified the procedure for appeal of arbitration awards.  In Yayman, the trial court entered an arbitration award on May 9, 2007 pursuant to Ala...

Cases Released May 30, 2008

Posted on June 02, 2008
From the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals:Yayman v. FIA Card Services, N.A.Diggs v. DiggsChandler v. Virciglio From the Supreme Court of Alabama:City of Huntsville v. Stove House 5, Inc.Panayiotou v. JohnsonFort James Operating Company, Inc. v. StephensCrutcher v...

Appellate courts review judgments, not grounds

Posted on May 28, 2008
In a special concurrence in Ramsey v. Ramsey, Ms. 2060661 (Ala. Civ. App. May 23, 2008), Judge Pittman provided a reminder as to the function of the appellate courts.  In his special concurrence to the opinion affirming the trial court, Judge Pittman stated that he "write[s] specially to stress that the Alabama trial court's specification of one particular ground for its decision ...

Rule 54(b) certification improper, so appeal is dismissed

Posted on May 28, 2008
The Court of Civil Appeals found that a Rule 54(b) certification was improper and thus dismissed the appeal in Owen v. Hopper, Ms. 2070016 (Ala. Civ. App, May 23, 2008) .  In a property line dispute, the Court of Civil Appeals found that the judgment on the counterclaim which was certified as final was really a defense to the underlying tort claim...

Trial court not required to hold hearing on 60(b) motion where no hearing was requested

Posted on May 28, 2008
In Kovakas v. Kovakas, Ms. 2050780, 2060228 (Ala. Civ. App. May 23, 2008), the Court of Civil Appeals rejected an argument that the trial court had erred by not holding a hearing on a Rule 60(b) motion because no hearing was requested.  "When a party fails to request a hearing, 'to deny his motiin without a hearing [is] not error...

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