Underwood v. Ala. State Bd. Of Educ.
Decision Date | 04 December 2009 |
Docket Number | 1071464. |
Citation | 39 So.3d 120 |
Parties | Ollie UNDERWOOD et al.v.ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION et al. |
Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
Edward Still, Birmingham; James H. Anderson of Beers, Anderson, Jackson, Patty & Fawal, P.C., Montgomery; and Nancy E. Perry and Theron Stokes, Alabama Education Association, Montgomery, for appellants.
Roger L. Bates, Tracy R. Davis, and Stephen N. Fitts III of Hand Arendall, LLC, Birmingham, for appellees.
1
The plaintiffs below, Ollie Underwood, Peggy Mobley, and Gayle Gear, appeal from a judgment in favor of the defendants below, the Alabama State Board of Education (“the Board”); Governor Bob Riley, in his official capacity as president and member of the Board; and Randy McKinney, Betty Peters, Stephanie W. Bell, Ethel H. Hall, Ella Bell, David F. Byers, Jr., Sandra Ray, and Mary Jane Caylor, in their official capacities as members of the Board, based on allegations that the notice the defendants posted before a May 10, 2007, meeting of the Board violated Alabama's Open Meetings Act.2 We hold that the issue presented by this appeal has become moot, and we dismiss the appeal.3
The plaintiffs' claims were tried pursuant to the following stipulated facts, as agreed to by the parties:
At its May 10, 2007, meeting the Board appointed Bradley Byrne as chancellor of Alabama's two-year college system. The plaintiffs then filed the underlying declaratory-judgment action and also sought a temporary restraining order, preventing Byrne from assuming the position of chancellor. On May 22, 2007, the trial court entered an order denying the plaintiffs' request for a temporary restraining order. Thereafter, following the submission of the above stipulated facts and an accompanying brief by each side to the trial court, which heard the case without a jury, on June 17, 2008, the trial court entered an order in which it identified the sole issue before it as “whether the Board's publicly posted notice with respect to a specially called Board Meeting on May 10, 2007 complied with the requirements of the Open Meetings Act.” The trial court's order answered that question in the affirmative, concluding that “the Board complied with the Open Meetings Act” and denying the plaintiffs' requested relief. The plaintiffs appealed.
Standard of Review
The plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief and included a prayer that the trial court:
The plaintiffs stipulated below that “[they are] not seeking statutory penalties for alleged violations of the Open Meetings Act but are seeking attorney fees and costs....” They state on appeal that they “seek declaratory relief, not removal of Chancellor Byrne,” 4 and that “the ultimate remedy ... will be decided by the Circuit Court upon remand.” (Plaintiff's reply brief, at p. 5.) However, as we have historically done, we examine the language of the complaint to determine the true nature of the plaintiffs' claims. See Rutley v. Country Skillet Poultry Co., 549 So.2d 82, 84 (Ala.1989) ().
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