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Common Legal Questions in Alabama

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Auto Accident (41)

Alabama Courts & Legal Aid

Case Law Cited in Alabama

11 court decisions cited across these pages. These are provided as legal background, not as advice about any particular case.

Knight v. Alabama Power Co., 580 So. 2d 576 (Ala. 1991)

A plaintiff cannot recover in negligence where their own negligence contributed to the harm, regardless of the defendant's negligence; contributory negligence is a complete defense to negligence but not to wanton misconduct.

Cited on: Hit from behind just after changing lanes in Alabama · Two cars turning right collide when one changes lanes · Hit by a City Vehicle That Didn't Stop in Alabama: The Six-Month Claim Rule +31 more

Lafarge North America, Inc. v. Nord, 86 So. 3d 326 (Ala. 2011)

To establish contributory negligence as a matter of law the defendant must show the plaintiff knowingly placed themselves in danger and consciously appreciated it; simple heedlessness does not suffice, and it is ordinarily a jury question.

Cited on: Hit from behind just after changing lanes in Alabama · Two cars turning right collide when one changes lanes · Hit by a City Vehicle That Didn't Stop in Alabama: The Six-Month Claim Rule +31 more

Thomas v. Earnest, 72 So. 3d 580 (Ala. 2011)

A gratuitous passenger owes a duty of reasonable care for their own safety, independent of the driver's conduct and without control of the vehicle, but there is no automatic finding of contributory negligence where a rear-seat passenger fails to warn of a known danger.

Cited on: Two people hurt by a driver who ran a stop sign · When a passenger and the driver are both hurt by another car · Injured as a passenger in someone else's car

Hinkle v. Burgreen Contracting Co., 678 So. 2d 797 (Ala. Civ. App. 1996)

Where a vehicle may have changed lanes just ahead of a following driver, lookout and contributory negligence were fact questions for the jury.

Cited on: Hit from behind just after changing lanes in Alabama · Two cars turning right collide when one changes lanes

Fox v. Bartholf, 374 So. 2d 294 (Ala. 1979)

Negligence per se from a traffic statute requires that the statute protect a class including the plaintiff against the kind of harm suffered and that the defendant violated it; the court decides the first two.

Cited on: Two cars turning right collide when one changes lanes

Hayes v. Voestalpine Nortrak, Inc., 185 F. Supp. 3d 1314 (2016) — District Court, N.D. Alabama

The ADA prohibits discrimination against a qualified individual with a disability. A qualified individual is someone who can perform the essential functions of her position, with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Cited on: Workplace Accommodation Disputes and Retaliation Concerns

Hulbert v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 723 So. 2d 22 (Ala. 1998)

An employer answers for an employee driver's negligence on substantial evidence that the act was within the scope of employment: part of the job, or a benefit to the employer.

Cited on: Hit by a truck in Alabama: when the trucking company answers too

Jones Express, Inc. v. Jackson, 86 So. 3d 298 (Ala. 2010)

A carrier's liability for negligent hiring or supervision depends on its driver's own wrongful act; an irreconcilable verdict against the carrier was reversed.

Cited on: Hit by a truck in Alabama: when the trucking company answers too

Sparks v. Alabama Power Co., 679 So. 2d 678 (Ala. 1996)

A rules-of-the-road violation can go to the jury as evidence: whether it was negligent in the circumstances and whether it caused the harm.

Cited on: Two cars turning right collide when one changes lanes

State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Lambert, 291 Ala. 645, 285 So. 2d 917 (1973)

The uninsured-motorist statute covers hit-and-run drivers, so a policy requirement of physical contact with the hit-and-run vehicle is void.

Cited on: A hit-and-run in Alabama with no charges yet: what you can still do

Walker v. GuideOne Specialty Mutual Insurance Co., 834 So. 2d 769 (Ala. 2002)

A policy term requiring corroboration beyond the claimant's own testimony for a phantom-vehicle claim is void; the claimant must still prove the phantom vehicle caused the accident.

Cited on: A hit-and-run in Alabama with no charges yet: what you can still do

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