Terry L. Butts

In Allstar Homes, Inc. v. Waters, the plaintiff Rex Waters sued the mobile home seller Allstar and its agents for misrepresentation, breach of contract, breach of warranty, and violation of federal law after allegedly being induced to accept a higher interest rate and receiving a defective used unit instead of a new one. Allstar moved to compel arbitration under a clause in the purchase contract that covered disputes arising from the contract or its validity. The trial court denied the motion and ordered further proceedings to determine the validity of the arbitration clause itself. The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed, holding that under the Federal Arbitration Act and Prima Paint Corp. v. Flood & Conklin Mfg. Co., a court may first resolve challenges specifically to the making of the arbitration agreement before ordering arbitration.

procedurebusiness & regulatory

The case involved Cecil and Sue Horton suing Alfa Life Insurance Corporation for fraud, alleging that its agent made misrepresentations to induce them to buy unnecessary life insurance policies that replaced their existing whole life coverage without their knowledge, using the policies' cash values to pay premiums. During discovery, the Hortons sought the full names and addresses of the agent's Alabama clients over the prior 10 years to demonstrate a pattern and practice of similar misconduct supporting their punitive damages claim, but the trial court limited production to every fourth name on the list. The Alabama Supreme Court granted the Hortons' petition for a writ of mandamus, ordering full disclosure of the client list. The court reasoned that the discovery request was closely tailored to the alleged fraud, would not be oppressive or burdensome to produce, and was necessary for plaintiffs seeking punitive damages to show the reprehensibility of the defendant's conduct under the standards from BMW of North America v. Gore.

proceduretorts & liability

Jimmy Davis, Jr. was convicted of capital murder during a robbery and sentenced to death by an Alabama trial court, with the jury recommending death by an 11-1 vote. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed after remands to address sentencing order issues and the prosecution's peremptory strikes of black jurors. On certiorari, the Alabama Supreme Court reviewed claims of error in the guilt and sentencing phases, including the trial court's use of juvenile adjudications to negate a mitigating factor of no significant criminal history. The court held that any such error was harmless because Davis's adult convictions, including a prior robbery felony, independently supported the same conclusion, and it found no other reversible or plain error in the record.

criminal lawprocedurecivil rights

The case involved Allen and Margaret Brislin suing Dennis Mortimer and Bradley and Associates for intentional, reckless, and innocent fraud; deceit; negligence; and fraudulent suppression after purchasing two retail stores based on allegedly inaccurate gross sales figures in a confidential business report prepared by Mortimer. The trial court entered summary judgment for the defendants, which the Court of Civil Appeals affirmed without opinion. The Alabama Supreme Court reversed, holding that the Brislins had presented substantial evidence creating genuine issues of material fact regarding their claims, including that they reasonably relied on the financial representations despite disclaimers in the purchase agreement, as the agreement itself stated that statements in delivered documents were representations and warranties, and Mortimer had assured the figures were conservative.

torts & liabilityprocedurebusiness & regulatory

This case involved a challenge to the results of a 1996 municipal election for city council district four in Bay Minette, Alabama, between incumbent John C. Cox, Jr., and challenger Regina R. Taylor. After the trial court counted nonabsentee votes as favoring Taylor by three but upheld four contested absentee ballots for Cox based on their notarized or witnessed signatures, it declared Cox the winner by one vote. Taylor appealed, arguing that the absentee ballots were invalid under Ala. Code § 17-10-4 because the voters had not personally signed the ballot applications. The Alabama Supreme Court held that the statute's plain language requires each applicant to manually sign the application form, with no exceptions noted for the voters at issue, and therefore reversed the trial court's ruling on the validity of those ballots and remanded for further proceedings.

electionsprocedure

Mary Catherine Colburn sued Winn Dixie and its pharmacist Robert Hagan for negligence and wantonness, claiming Hagan improperly substituted Fiorinal #3 (which contained codeine) for her prescribed Sedapap despite her known codeine allergy, causing her to suffer anaphylactic shock requiring emergency treatment. The jury returned a general verdict for Colburn awarding $130,000 in damages, and the trial court entered judgment on that verdict. The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed the portion of the judgment imposing liability but remanded for the trial court to make written findings on the excessiveness of any punitive portion of the award under the Hammond and Green Oil factors, because the general verdict did not separate compensatory and punitive damages and the record lacked the required analysis.

torts & liabilityhealthcare