State v. Brantley Land, L.L.C.

• Decision Date: 29 June 2007
• Docket Number: 1050668.
• Citation: 976 So.2d 996
• Parties: STATE of Alabama v. BRANTLEY LAND, L.L.C., et al.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

976 So.2d 996

STATE of Alabama v. BRANTLEY LAND, L.L.C., et al.

1050668.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

June 29, 2007.

Steven T. Speakman, deputy atty. gen., Auburn, for appellant.

James D. McLaughlin, Auburn, for appellees Brantley Land, L.L.C., and Links Crossing, L.L.C.

MURDOCK, Justice.

The State of Alabama appeals from an order entered by the Lee Circuit Court in an action filed by the State seeking to condemn various parcels of land for use by the Alabama Department of Transportation ("ALDOT"). The action was filed against Brantley Land, L.L.C.; Tiger Crossing, an Alabama General Partnership; Eagle Management, L.L.C.; Redd Family Partnership, L.L.L.P.; Links Crossing, L.L.C.; Spirit of Auburn, Inc.; Oline Price, as revenue commissioner of Lee County; and unknown persons owning or having an interest in the land at issue.¹ The State appeals from an order that was certified as final pursuant to Rule 54(b), Ala. R. Civ. P. We must dismiss the appeal, however, because the order does not meet the requirements to be eligible for certification under Rule 54(b).

In September 2004, the State filed an action in the Lee County Probate Court seeking to condemn the parcels of land at issue; the respective defendants either owned or had a lien on or other interest in the various parcels. The probate court entered an order partially granting and partially denying the State's condemnation application, and it appointed commissioners to assess the compensation that was due the defendants for the property it had ordered condemned. In November 2004, after receiving the commissioners' compensation report, the probate court entered an order of condemnation awarding the defendants $1,079,260. The State paid this amount into the probate court, and it appealed to the Lee Circuit Court for a trial de novo. See Ala.Code 1975, § 18-1A-283 (governing appeals from an order of condemnation) and § 18-1A-286 (governing appeals from an order denying an application for condemnation).

In March 2005, the State filed an amended complaint in the circuit court. In its complaint, the State alleged that the land it sought to condemn included several "strips of land" that "will be used for the expansion, improvement, widening, beautifying, and restoring" of Alabama Highway 29, also known as South College Street, in Auburn ("the land at issue"). The State sought fee-simple title to some of these "strips of land" and, as to the remaining land at issue, it sought "a right of way or temporary construction easement that will allow [the State] to complete its work on Highway 29."

In response to the State's amended complaint, several defendants filed an answer denying certain of the material allegations in the complaint, and alleging, among other things, that the State sought "to acquire both property or lands and interest, title, or rights broader and greater in scope than necessary for the purposes set out in the Amended Complaint." The defendants further alleged that the State's "decision ... to condemn the lands of the Defendants is arbitrary, capricious, and bears no relation to the health, safety, morals, or general welfare of the residents of the State of Alabama."²

The State filed a motion titled "Motion to Dismiss, Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, or, in the Alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment," arguing that it was entitled to a judgment as a matter of law on the issue whether the defendants could challenge the determination of ALDOT as to the necessity of the taking at issue. The State contended that § 23-1-45, Ala.Code 1975, authorized "the Director of Transportation ... to acquire the rights-of-way deemed necessary by the State Department of Transportation for the construction of a state road, ... by the exercise of the right of eminent domain in condemnation proceedings" and that, in the absence of fraud or an abuse of discretion, ALDOT's determination at to the necessity of taking a particular tract of land was not subject to judicial review.

After the State filed its motion, the parties submitted evidence and briefs to the circuit court as to the issue of the necessity of the taking. Thereafter, the circuit court held hearings on the issue and, in September 2005, it entered an order holding that as to certain portions of the land at issue the State's proposed taking "was excessive and in part unnecessary." The court concluded that "the State of Alabama can achieve the purposes set forth in the Complaint through a reduction in its fee simple taking and the granting of easements." Thereafter, the trial court set the case for trial to determine the amount of compensation the State must pay for the partial condemnation the trial court had ordered.

The State filed a motion it styled as a "Rule 59 Motion to Alter, Amend, or Vacate the Judgment, or in the Alternative, Motion for a New Trial." The State later filed an "Amendment/Supplement" to its motion, in which it requested that the circuit court clarify certain aspects of the September 2005 order before the time for ruling on its motion would, according to the State, expire by operation of law pursuant to Rule 59.1, Ala. R.Civ. P.³

In October 2005, the State filed a motion requesting that the circuit court enter a certification pursuant to Rule 5, Ala. R.App. P., so the State might request permission to appeal as to four issues it alleged were explicitly or implicitly addressed in the September 2005 order. Contemporaneously with the filing of its motion for Rule 5 certification, the State also filed a motion requesting that the circuit court certify the September 2005 order as a final judgment pursuant to Rule 54(b), Ala. R. Civ. P.

A few days after the State filed its Rule 5 and Rule 54(b) motions, the circuit court entered an order granting the State's motion for a Rule 5 certification. Thereafter, several of the defendants filed an objection to the certification and requested that the circuit court reconsider whether Rule 5 certification was appropriate.

In November 2005, the State filed a motion requesting that the circuit court enter an order vacating its Rule 5 certification because, it said, the certification did not comply with the requirements contained in Rule 5, in that the presumptively reasonable period within which the State could file a petition for permission to appeal had expired and the State desired to make both factual and legal arguments on appeal that might not be permitted in a Rule 5 permissive appeal. Thereafter the circuit court entered an order vacating its Rule 5 certification.

In January 2006, the circuit court entered a new order, which vacated the September 2005 order. In part, the January 2006 order states: "[T]he Court hereby denies the [State's] Motion for Summary Judgment on the Issue of Necessity and the [State's] Right to Condemn." The order also states that the State's proposed taking of certain portions of the land at issue "was excessive and in part unnecessary," that the State had abused its discretion, and that "the State of Alabama can achieve the purposes set forth in the Amended Complaint through a reduction in its fee simple taking and the granting of easements." The circuit court granted the State a fee-simple interest as to certain portions of the land at issue, and, as to the remainder of the land at issue, it granted the State a permanent easement for certain purposes. The January 2006 order did not purport to address the issue of what compensation was due the defendants for the State's takings. The circuit court entered a Rule 54(b) certification as to its January 2006 order, and the State appealed.

The State raises several issues regarding whether the circuit court erred when it determined that the State was entitled to less than fee-simple title to the parcels of land at issue. As the defendants have correctly argued in their appellate brief, however, this Court cannot address the merits of the State's arguments because the circuit court erred in directing the entry of a final judgment under Rule 54(b). We therefore must dismiss the State's appeal for want of jurisdiction.

Rule 54(b), Ala. R. Civ. P., provides, in pertinent part:

"When more than one claim for relief is presented in an action, ... or when multiple parties are involved, the court may direct the entry of a final judgment as to one or more but fewer than all of the claims or parties only upon an express determination that there is no just reason for delay and upon an express direction for the entry of judgment."

(Emphasis added.)

In James v. Alabama Coalition for Equity, Inc., 713 So.2d 937 (Ala.1997), this Court stated:

"Not every order has the element of finality necessary to trigger the application of Rule 54(b). Tanner v. Alabama Power Co., 617 So.2d 656, 656 (Ala.1993) (Rule 54(b) `confers appellate jurisdiction over an order of judgment only where the trial court "has completely disposed of one of a number of claims, or one of multiple parties"' (emphasis in Tanner))."

713 So.2d at 941. As the James Court further stated, "`[o]nly a fully adjudicated whole claim against a party may be certified under Rule 54(b).'" 713 So.2d at 942 (quoting Sidag Aktiengesellschaft v. Smoked Foods Prods. Co., 813 F.2d 81, 84 (5th Cir.1987) (emphasis in Sidag)). Similarly, in Precision American Corp. v. Leasing Service Corp., 505 So.2d 380, 381 (Ala.1987), this Court held that the partial summary judgment at issue in that case did not "completely dispose[] of a claim so as to make that judgment final. Rule 54(b) does not authorize the entry of final judgment on part of a single claim."⁴

The State's condemnation action includes condemnation claims against several defendants as to their interests in several parcels of land. As to each defendant who owns or has an interest in one of the parcels at issue, the January 2006 order either purports to award the State fee-simple title to that defendant's land or purports to award the State a permanent easement over...