Ellison v. Abbott
| Citation | 337 So.2d 756 |
| Parties | Grover L. ELLISON and Arnold Brent Ellison v. Rudy ABBOTT et al. SC 1979. |
| Decision Date | 24 September 1976 |
| Court | Supreme Court of Alabama |
J. Richard Carr, Gadsden, for appellants.
Merrill, Porch, Doster & Dillon, Anniston, for appellees.
The sole issue: Is Jacksonville State University a state instrumentality and therefore immune from suit?
Plaintiff, Arnold Brent Ellison, signed a pre-enrollment application for a grant-in-aid baseball scholarship with Jacksonville State, and was awarded a scholarship; however, the scholarship was withdrawn because Ellison's application was filed late in the Commissioner's office. Ellison sued Jacksonville State, and agents for Jacksonville State, for breach of contract. Jacksonville State filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming immunity from suit under Section 14 of the Constitution of Alabama, 1901. The court granted the motion. We affirm.
Section 14 of the Constitution provides 'That the State of Alabama shall never be made a defendant in any court of law or equity.' One of the early cases applying this section to state universities is Cox v. Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama, 161 Ala. 639, 49 So. 814 (1909). It referred to two previous decisions of the Supreme Court and stated:
'The cases above referred to settle the law in this state that public institutions created by the state purely for charitable or educational purposes are a part of the state, or a mere agency of the state; that the property of such corporations is really and in fact the property of the state, and that they are not subject to suit under section 14 of the Constitution of 1901, which prohibits the state from being made a party defendant in any court of law or equity, although the charters and acts of the Legislature incorporating such institutions expressly provide that they may sue and be sued as an individual. . . .'
Another case on the same point is Denson v. Alabama Polytechnic Institute, 220 Ala. 433, 126 So. 133 (1930). In that decision the court cited the Cox case and said:
The most recent case dealing with governmental immunity of a state institution is Hutchinson v. Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama, 288 Ala. 20, 256 So.2d 281 (1972).
We conclude that ...
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Price v. University of Alabama
...has been answered in the affirmative on a number of occasions. See Massler v. Troy State Univ., 343 So.2d 1 (Ala.1977); Ellison v. Abbott, 337 So.2d 756 (Ala.1976); Rigby v. Auburn Univ., 448 So.2d 345 (Ala.1984); Harden v. Adams, 760 F.2d 1158, 1163 (11th Cir.1985). In addition, "... a sui......
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Doe v. Univ. of Ala. in Huntsville
...agency and instrumentality of the state under Alabama law) (citing Massler v. Troy State Univ., 343 So.2d 1 (Ala.1977) ); Ellison v. Abbott, 337 So.2d 756 (Ala.1976) ); see Davis v. Alabama State Univ ., 613 F.Supp. 134, 139–40 (M.D.Ala.1985) (holding that Eleventh Amendment bars suit again......
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Price v. University of Alabama, No. CV-03-CO-01790-W (AL 10/23/2003)
...has been answered in the affirmative on a number of occasions. See Massler v. Troy State Univ., 343 So. 2d 1 (Ala. 1977); Ellison v. Abbott, 337 So. 2d 756 (Ala. 1976); Rigby v. Auburn Univ., 448 So. 2d 345 (Ala. 1984); Harden v. Adams, 760 F.2d 1158, 1163 (11th Cir. 1985). In addition, ". ......
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University of South Alabama v. American Tobacco Co., 97-6680
...an agency and instrumentality of the state under Alabama law) (citing Massler v. Troy State Univ., 343 So.2d 1 (Ala.1977); Ellison v. Abbott, 337 So.2d 756 (Ala.1976)); see Davis v. Alabama State Univ., 613 F.Supp. 134, 139-40 (M.D.Ala.1985) (holding that Eleventh Amendment bars suit agains......