Melton v. Perry County Bd. of Educ.

• Decision Date: 14 February 1990
• Citation: 562 So.2d 1341
• Parties: 61 Ed. Law Rep. 392 Jerildine MELTON v. PERRY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al. Civ. 7477.
• Court: Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Page 1341

562 So.2d 1341

61 Ed. Law Rep. 392

Jerildine MELTON v. PERRY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al.

Civ. 7477.

Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama.

Feb. 14, 1990.

Rehearing Denied March 21, 1990.

Certiorari Denied May 18, 1990

Alabama Supreme Court 89-988.

Claudia H. Pearson of Longshore, Nakamura & Quinn, Birmingham, for appellant.

Robert H. Turner, Marion, for appellee.

ROBERTSON, Judge.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment granted in favor of the defendant Perry County Board of Education (Board).

On May 11, 1987, Jerildine Melton filed a complaint against the Board, alleging, inter alia, that the Board had failed to honor a settlement agreement stemming from a previous lawsuit. She sought compensatory and punitive damages. The Board filed a motion for summary judgment. After a hearing on the motion, the trial court granted summary judgment to the Board and entered a final judgment. Melton appealed.

The dispositive issue is whether granting summary judgment in favor of the Board was proper.

Rule 56, Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, provides that summary judgment is proper when the trial court determines that there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. McMullin v. AmSouth Bank, 512 So.2d 1382 (Ala.Civ.App.1987). The moving party bears the burden of proof. Jones v. Newton, 454 So.2d 1345 (Ala.1984). In this action, the original complaint was filed prior to June 11, 1987; therefore, the scintilla rule rather than the substantial evidence rule applies. Section 12-21-12, Ala.Code 1975; Brown v. Gamble, 537 So.2d 476 (Ala.1989). Additionally, the reviewing appellate court must apply the same standard utilized by the trial court when reviewing an entry of summary judgment. Southern Guaranty Ins. Co. v. First Alabama Bank, 540 So.2d 732 (Ala.1989).

Melton contends that summary judgment was improper because the Board failed to present sufficient evidence to support its motion for summary judgment.

The purpose of the motion for summary judgment is to test the sufficiency of the evidence to determine whether there exists any real issue to be tried. Once the moving party has met its burden, the nonmoving party must set forth sufficient facts showing a genuine issue for trial. The nonmoving party may not rest on the pleadings. Failure to controvert the evidence presented by the moving party leaves the trial court with no alternative but to consider the evidence uncontroverted and grant the summary judgment. Garrigan v. Hinton Beef & Provision Co., 425 So.2d 1091 (Ala.1983).

In this case, the Board's motion for summary judgment was supported by an accompanying affidavit of the superintendent of education. Attached to the affidavit were supporting documents, including the consent judgment entered in the previous lawsuit between the parties, correspondence, and a copy of the motion to withdraw filed by Melton's previous counsel. The superintendent's position was that he was familiar with...