Question of whether the Court erred in granting an increased award of attorney’s fees.

Couple divorced in 2005. Children and child support awarded to father with mother awarded visitation. In 2008, the mother filed a petition to temporarily suspend child support obligation due to lost employment. Child support was reduced.

In 2010, father filed a petition to modify child support and an award of attorney’s fees due to mother’s increase in income. Child support was increased and mother was ordered to pay unpaid medical and extracurricular expenses. Father was awarded attorney’s fees.

Post Judgment motions were filed resulting in a decrease in the child support and an increase in the award of attorney’s fees to the father based on his contempt motion. The mother appealed.

The Appeals Court agreed that the Court could not award attorney’s fees to the bather on the basis of his contempt motion since the mother was not found to be in contempt. Case was remanded for trial court to enter a new judgment omitting an award of a fee for contempt motion.

Reversal.

Question of whether defendant was a “special employer” under the Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act.

Fluor Maintenance Services, Inc. (FMS) entered into a “labor broker agreement” with Southern Company Services, Inc. (SCS) to perform construction services at a Mobile plant owned by Alabama Power Company (APC).

Under agreement, FMS was to provide temporary labor, etc. to perform construction services. FMS was also required to obtain workers’ compensation insurance. SCS was to directly supervise work performed and pay FMS a per-person, hourly rate.

Casey Lewis (CL) was hired by FMS and signed “Project Security Rules for Labor Broker Employees” (Rules) which specified FMS as his employer.

CL was injured in 2008 and filed suit against FMS; Tool-Smith Company who owned, repaired and maintained the equipment CL was injured on; and SCS.

SCS was dismissed and CL amended his complaint to include APC. CL settled his WC claim with FMS. APC filed a summary judgment motion arguing that APC was a “special employer” and that CL’s exclusive remedy was for WC benefits. Trial court granted the motion and CL appealed.

Factors to be considered to determine if APC was a “special employer” include:

(a) whether CL made a contract of hire, express or implied with APC;

(b) whether work being done was APC’s;

(c) whether APC had the right to control details of the work.

Court stated that whether or not SCS acted as APC’s agent was not relevant. It was not shown that CL knew that by signing “Rules” he was entering into an employment contract with APC - “it cannot be said that Lewis deliberately consented to an employment relationship with APC.” Court held that there was insufficient evidence as to the existence of an implied contract of employment with APC.

Judgment was reversed.

Terwilliger v. Terwilliger
20 ALW 44-5
In the Court of Civil Appeals
(Affirmation of Court’s Decision to Decline Jurisdiction)

Question of whether Alabama or Texas was a convenient forum

Parties married in 2004 and had three (3) children. In 2009, mother moves to Texas with children. Mother files divorce action in Alabama, but dismisses it. In 2010, father files a divorce action in Alabama and mother is served. Shortly after service, mother files action in Texas.

Upon learning about Texas action, the AL judge contacted TX judge regarding jurisdictional issues. Alabama judge then entered a notice stating that since AL was not the home state of the children, the Court declined to exercise jurisdiction since TX was the “more appropriate and convenient forum.”

Father appealed based on financial circumstances along – mother made more than he did. The Court of Appeals found that the record supported the State Court’s decision – oldest child was enrolled in TX school, children were active in TX church and family members lived near by.

Judgment affirmed.

Question of whether the Court erred when it applied the McLendon standard to its determination of custody as opposed to the standard set in Ex parte Terry, 494 So.2d 628 (Ala. 1986).

In 2007, the custody of a child was awarded to a maternal relative. Child’s father was identified in 2009. Paternity was established and father was required to pay child support. Father sought custody. In 02/11, Father was awarded visitation, but the custody claim was denied.

Father argued that the Court erred by not treating his petition as dispute between parent and nonparent subject to standard set in Terry which states that a “natural parent has presumptive right to the custody of a child against a nonparent” and that right exists until parent “voluntarily forfeits custody of the child or a judgment awards custody of the child to a nonparent.”

Father claims he never forfeited his right to custody and that previous dependency judgment did not apply to him because he was not a party to the action.

Court found that the child support judgment “effectively adjudicated the respective custody rights of the father” and that the juvenile court correctly applied the McLendon standard.

Judgment affirmed.

A 31-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for sex crimes against three children below 12 years of age. The crimes occurred in 2007. The man, Tony Edward Coyle was arrested in November 2009, and in August 2011, he pleaded guilty to the charges.

Coyle was sentenced to 15 years in prison on one count of first degree sexual abuse and 10 years for attempted sexual abuse of a child and enticing a child. According to the Alabama Attorney General's Office, the man was given the entire 15-year sentence because of the nature of the crimes and the victims’ ages. Coyle will neither be eligible for parole nor any reduction of his prison sentence

Sex crimes are some of the most terrifying crimes a person can be accused of. Alabama sex crime laws, especially those that involve children, are some of the strictest in the country.

In Alabama, a person who has been convicted of a class A felony offense involving a child, like first-degree rape or sodomy, could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. Class B felony offenses including second-degree sodomy and rape, and sexual abuse of a child below 12, can result in a prison sentence of at least 10 years. Additionally, when a person is convicted of a felony sex crime involving a child, there may be an additional penalty of at least 10 years of supervision after release from prison.

Unfortunately, Alabama criminal defense attorneys often find that when a person has been accused of sex crimes, his punishment begins even before he goes on trial. A person convicted of sex crimes against children may be required to register himself in a sex offender registry, and may have severe restrictions placed on where he can live even after he has been released from prison or paroled.

An Alabama inmate on death row, whose lawyers missed the deadline to appeal his sentence, may have yet another chance after all. In a hearing, some justices of the U.S. Supreme Court strongly criticized the lawyers’ handling of their client's appeal.

Cory Maples was convicted in the murder of two men in Morgan County in 1995. He was sentenced to death. Later, a New York law firm agreed to step in and represent him for free in his appeal. In 2003, an Alabama court had rejected claims filed by his lawyers, and sent a notice to the lawyers as well as a local attorney in Alabama, setting a time limit of 42 days for appealing the order.

However, the two lawyers who had been assigned to Maples case had left the firm the previous summer. They had apparently done so without informing Maples or the court. The court sent notices to the New York law firm, but these were not passed on to other lawyers in the firm.

The situation resulted in Maples missing the deadline to file an appeal of his execution. Some Alabama criminal defense lawyers have been concerned that the Supreme Court may rule against him, going by previous cases where the court has ruled against persons who missed deadlines because of errors by their lawyers. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that any mistake made by attorneys in post-conviction proceedings must be borne by the client. However, in this case, Maples was essentially abandoned by his two lawyers, who never inform either him or the court that they were leaving the firm. In this unique case, some criminal defense attorneys in Alabama believe that the Supreme Court may actually instruct the lower court to reconsider his appeal.

Violent crime rates in Alabama have dropped significantly, mirroring a trend that Alabama criminal defense lawyers have seen around the country. This decline has been seen evident for the fourth year in a row.

According to a report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, violent crime and murder rates across the country were down 6% in 2010. Last year, there were a total of 18,056 violent crimes in Alabama. The previous year, there had been 21,194 violent crimes. That was a 15% decline. These violent crimes also comprised 273 murders and non-negligent manslaughters in 2010, a decline from 322 in 2009.

There has also been a drop in property crimes across the country for eight years in a row. Property crime rates across the country dropped by 2.7% in 2010, while in Alabama, the drop was much steeper at 5.6%.

Violent crimes can include murder, non-negligent manslaughter, aggravated assault, rape, robbery, larceny-theft, vehicle theft, and arson. Across the country, the largest decline was seen in the number of robberies reported, which declined by 10%, while the number of rape cases reported dropped by 5%. Murders and non-negligent manslaughter rates declined by about 4.2% nationally, while aggravated assault numbers declined by about 4.1%. Auto thefts fell by 7.4%, and larceny-thefts fell by 2.4%.

The decline in crime rates could be due to the fact that law-enforcement agencies are now working together with community groups to develop and implement programs that keep youths, who might otherwise be at high risk of criminal activity, occupied and out of trouble. Additionally, most crime rates tend to involve young people and this demographic now forms a much lower percentage of the population. The average age in the United States is now 36.7 years, compared to 32.9 in 1990. The recession may not have resulted in the spike in crime that law-enforcement agencies expected, because unemployment benefits and welfare programs helped keep people away from criminal activity.

Alabama's DUI laws just got tougher. Starting September 1, stricter new DUI laws went into effect in the state of Alabama, increasing penalties for persons caught driving under the influence of alcohol with a BAC level of .15 or more.

Under the old law, persons driving under the influence of alcohol with a BAC level of .08 could be arrested for DUI. However, the penalties would not increase if the BAC level was greater than .08. Under the new law, persons caught driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood-alcohol level of .15 or above, will be fined between $600 and $2,000 even it is a first time offense. Besides, the person could also be sentenced to a minimum one year in jail. Penalties will also include license suspension or revocation of the year. The bill had been sponsored by State Sen. Rusty Glover, and was signed by the governor in June this year.

What this law means for persons driving under the influence in Alabama is that the stakes are considerably higher if you're driving with more alcohol in your system. The higher the intoxication levels, the greater your need for an experienced Alabama DUI lawyer. If you're convicted of driving under the influence with a BAC level of or above .15, you could lose your license for a year or be sentenced to a year in jail. Alabama is far from the only state to have laws mandating tougher penalties for higher BAC levels. At least 41 other states have similar laws in place.

DUI convictions in Alabama also lead to other consequences like a requirement to install an ignition interlock device in your car, and increased insurance rates. These penalties will depend on whether you have previous DUI convictions on your record, or whether any injuries were involved.

Today, Mr. Joseph A. Ingram, was retained to represent Mr. Christian Hofmann, a French and Swiss Citizen. Hofmann was arrested and extradited from the Netherlands regarding his arrest for Interference with Child Custody of his daughter. Mr. Ingram, added” “I look forward to presenting all of the facts regarding this case to the court on behalf of Mr. Christian and believe that he will clear his good name.” 

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Birmingham attorney, Joseph Ingram won a substantial victory for his client in Family Law court.  Mr. Ingram's efforts lead his client to a decrease in child support payments and more visitation rights with his child.  Mr. Ingram was also able to prove that Mr. Fitzgerald had already paid the $15,000 property settlement.