ORDER On April 7, 2017, the Alabama House of Representatives Judiciary Committee ("the Judiciary Committee"); Representative Mike Jones, chairman of the Judiciary Committee; Representative Jim Hill, vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee; Representative Marcel Black, ranking minority member of the Judiciary Committee; the remaining members of the Judiciary Committee; and Representative Mac McCutcheon, Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, appealed an order of the Montgomery...
MURDOCK , Justice . Dolgencorp, LLC ("Dolgencorp"), appeals from a judgment entered on a jury verdict in the amount of $100,000 in favor of Michelle Spence in her action filed in the Autauga Circuit Court seeking damages arising from her arrest for shoplifting. We reverse and remand. I. Facts The evidence at trial showed the following. On April 16, 2013, Spence went to the Dollar General discount store located on McQueen Smith Road in Prattville to purchase some paper towels, toilet paper,...
PER CURIAM . Northstar Anesthesia of Alabama, LLC ("Northstar"), and Maria Bolyard, CRNA; Parkway Medical Clinic, Inc., d/b/a Parkway Medical Center ("Parkway"); and Jeffrey Markham, M.D. ("Dr. Markham") (hereinafter collectively referred to as "the appellants"), filed three petitions for a permissive appeal, pursuant to Rule 5, Ala. R.App. P., from the Morgan Circuit Court's orders denying the appellants' motions for a summary judgment in a wrongful-death action brought by Paula B. Noble ("...
WISE , Justice . PETITION DENIED; NO OPINION. STUART, BOLIN, PARKER, SHAW, MAIN, and BRYAN, JJ., concur. MURDOCK, J., concurs specially. MURDOCK , Justice (concurring specially). I concur in the denial of the petition for the writ of mandamus. I write to explain that my concurrence does not communicate any opinion as to the merits of the issues raised in the petition regarding the trial court's order dismissing Maxwell Uhakheme's counterclaim alleging breach of contract. I concur in...
PER CURIAM . Florian Hinrichs, the plaintiff in this case, appeals from a judgment dismissing the case as to defendant General Motors of Canada, Ltd. ("GM Canada"). The trial court made the judgment final pursuant to Rule 54(b), Ala. R. Civ. P. We affirm. I. Factual Background and Procedural History On June 24, 2007, Hinrichs was riding in the front passenger seat of a 2004 GMC Sierra 1500 pickup truck ("the Sierra") that was owned and operated by his friend Daniel Vinson when they were...
MURDOCK , Justice . James Brandon Cherry appeals from a summary judgment entered against him and in favor of Pinson Termite and Pest Control, LLC ("Pinson Pest Control"), and Jerry Thomas Pinson by the Montgomery Circuit Court. We reverse and remand. I. Facts On August 29, 2011, Cherry purchased a house located on Cloverdale Road in Montgomery from Alan Osborn. The contract between Cherry and Osborn required Osborn to provide Cherry a Wood Infestation Inspection Report ("WIIR"). The rule...
MAIN , Justice . WRIT DENIED. NO OPINION. BOLIN, SHAW, and BRYAN, JJ., concur. MURDOCK, J., concurs specially. MURDOCK , Justice (concurring specially). Our cases well establish that an appellate court " may affirm a trial court's judgment on `any valid legal ground presented by the record.'" General Motors Corp. v. Stokes Chevrolet, Inc., 885 So.2d 119 , 124 (Ala.2003) (quoting Liberty Nat'l Life Ins. Co. v. University of Alabama Health Servs. Found., P.C., 881 So.2d 1013 ,...
BRYAN , Justice . The Alabama State Health Planning and Development Agency ("SHPDA") granted HealthSouth of Alabama, LLC ("HealthSouth"), a certificate of need ("CON") allowing HealthSouth to operate 17 inpatient physical-rehabilitation beds in Shelby County. In a separate proceeding, SHPDA granted another CON to HealthSouth allowing it to operate an additional 17 inpatient physical-rehabilitation beds in Shelby County. HealthSouth intended to use the two CONs to build and operate a 34-bed...
MURDOCK , Justice . South Alabama Brick Co., Inc., d/b/a Riley-Stuart Supply Co. ("SAB"), appeals from the Mobile Circuit Court's judgment in the amount of approximately $12.6 million in favor of J. Gregory Carwie, as temporary conservator of Benito Perez, who suffered catastrophic injuries when he fell through a skylight in the roof of a warehouse owned and operated by SAB. We reverse. I. Facts and Procedural History SAB is a Dothan, Alabama, based supplier of building materials,...
BOLIN , Justice . Elmer G. Fleming, an incapacitated person, by and through his wife and guardian, Wanda A. Fleming ("Fleming"), and Jamarion Williams, a minor dependent of Rodney Williams, by and through his mother and next friend, Laquenta Dixon; Shamirey Williams, a minor dependent of Rodney Williams, by and through her mother and next friend, Latisha Sandrill Bolden; and Jacory Williams and Demond Williams, minor dependents of Rodney Williams, by and through their mother and next friend...
STUART , Justice . Hoover General Contractors — Homewood, Inc. ("HGCH"), appeals an order of the Winston Circuit Court denying HGCH's motion to compel arbitration of its dispute with Gary Key regarding work performed by HGCH on Key's house in Jasper after that house was damaged by a fire. We reverse and remand. I. On August 16, 2013, Key's house was damaged by a fire. At the time of the fire, Key held a homeowner's insurance policy issued by Trinity Universal Insurance Company providing...
MAIN , Justice . James Jordan, Sara Jordan Muschamp, and William Jordan, as representative of the estate of Emma K. Jordan, deceased (hereinafter referred to collectively as "the plaintiffs"), sued Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc. ("TJF"), in the DeKalb Circuit Court, stating the following counts: (1) misrepresentation; (2) "slander, libel, and trade infringement"; (3) fraud; (4) wantonness; (5) suppression; (6) negligence; (7) breach of contract; and (8) tortious interference with...
PER CURIAM . The State of Alabama, on relation of the Alabama Policy Institute ("API"), the Alabama Citizens Action Program ("ACAP"), and John E. Enslen, in his official capacity as Judge of Probate for Elmore County, seeks emergency and other relief from this Court relating to the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Named as respondents are Alabama Probate Judges Alan L. King (Jefferson County), Robert M. Martin (Chilton County), Tommy Ragland (Madison County), Steven L. Reed...
MAIN , Justice . I. Facts and Procedural History This is the second time these parties have been before us. The underlying facts are as follows. B.O.S. ("the husband") and E.S. ("the wife") began residing together in 2005. Their union produced a daughter, B.T.S. ("the child"), in August 2006. The couple married in March 2007. The husband, the wife, and the child lived in a residence next door to the residence of the child's paternal grandfather, O.S. ("the grandfather"), and his wife,...
STUART , Justice . Riverstone Development Co., Inc. ("Riverstone Development"), sued Garrett & Associates Appraisals, Inc. ("G & A Appraisals"), in the Madison Circuit Court, asserting negligence, wantonness, and conspiracy claims stemming from a July 2010 appraisal G & A Appraisals conducted on waterfront property Riverstone Development owned on Lake Guntersville. During the course of the eventual trial on those claims, the trial court entered a judgment as a matter of law in favor of G &...
PARKER , Justice . Barbara Johnson appeals the judgment of the Mobile Circuit Court in favor of the City of Mobile ("the City"), the circuit court's denial of Johnson's motions for a continuance and a new trial, and the award of attorney fees to the City. I. Facts and Procedural History This case involves Johnson's claim against the City alleging retaliation based on Johnson's several complaints and lawsuits filed against the City under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C....
BOLIN , Justice . 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 ("Qwest") (hereinafter collectively referred to as "the defendants"), seeking, among other things, to recover E-911 charges that the defendants were alleged to have not properly billed and collected in accordance with the Emergency Telephone Service Act, 11-98-1 et seq., Ala.Code 1975 ("the ETSA"...
BOLIN , Justice . John R. Cooper, in his official capacity as director of the Alabama Department of Transportation ("ALDOT"), appeals from the Montgomery Circuit Court's December 16, 2014, order enjoining him from prohibiting Eddie Ziegler, Lisa Ziegler Player, Jennifer Ziegler Cousins, Angela Gay Ziegler Bracknell, and Cathy Donaldson (hereinafter sometimes referred to collectively as "the Zieglers"), from obtaining legal permits to build seven to eight houses on the Zieglers' property or...
MOORE , Chief Justice . The State of Alabama, on behalf of Rick Allison, Probate Judge of Walker County, appeals from a judgment of the Walker Circuit Court in favor of Jill Farris, the county administrator for Walker County. By statute, Judge Allison, as the chief elections officer for Walker County, see 17-1-3(b), Ala.Code 1975, must publish certain voter lists and election notices (the lists and the notices are hereinafter referred to as collectively "the notices"). 17-4-1, 17-8-2,...
PARKER , Justice . 1 PETITION DENIED. NO OPINION. STUART, BOLIN, SHAW, MAIN, WISE, and BRYAN, JJ., concur. PARKER, J., concurs specially. MOORE, C.J., and MURDOCK, J., dissent. PARKER , Justice (concurring specially). I agree with this Court's decision to deny the petition for a writ of mandamus filed by Cornell L. Tatum, Sr., Charlie Hardy, and Charles Lancaster ("the petitioners"). I write specially to emphasize that a circuit court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction to apply...
