Title 6 — Title 6

Care Providers; Testimony of Health Care Providers as Specialists. (a) This section and Sections 6-5-548 and 6-5-549 shall be known and may be cited as The Alabama Medical Liability Act of 1996. (b) The Legislature of the State of Alabama finds and declares that a crisis continue…

Care Provider. There is hereby created a cause of action for damages for malicious prosecution on the grounds that the party instituting a civil action for injury or damages whether in contract or in tort against a health care provider based on a breach of the standard of care kn…

Discovery. In any action for injury, damages, or wrongful death, whether in contract or in tort, against a health care provider for breach of the standard of care, whether resulting from acts or omissions in providing health care, or the hiring, training, supervision, retention, …

This article applies to all actions against health care providers based on acts or omissions accruing after June 11, 1987, and as to such causes of action, shall supersede any inconsistent provision of law. History: (Acts 1987, No. 87-189, p. 261, §13.)

It is hereby declared by the Legislature of the State of Alabama that a crisis threatens the delivery of legal service to the people of Alabama and that the quality of legal services which should be made available to the citizens of this state is in jeopardy. It is the declared i…

This article may be cited and known as “The Alabama Legal Services Liability Act.” History: (Acts 1988, No. 88-262, p. 406, §2.)

For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section: (1) LEGAL SERVICE LIABILITY ACTION. Any action against a legal service provider in which it is alleged that some injury or damage was caused in whole or in…

There shall be only one form and cause of action against legal service providers in courts in the State of Alabama and it shall be known as the legal service liability action and shall have the meaning as defined herein. History: (Acts 1988, No. 88-262, p. 406, §4.)

(a) All legal service liability actions against a legal service provider must be commenced within two years after the act or omission or failure giving rise to the claim, and not afterwards; provided, that if the cause of action is not discovered and could not reasonably have bee…

(a) After a legal service provider has rendered services, or failed to render services, to a client out of which a claim has arisen, the parties thereto may agree to settle such dispute by arbitration. Such agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties. Any such agreeme…

Advance Payments in Excess of Award Not Repayable. (a) In all legal service liability actions, any advance payment made by the defendant or his insurer to or for the plaintiff, or any other person, may not be construed as an admission of liability for injuries or damages suffered…

All rules of evidence and procedures heretofore in effect in civil actions in the State of Alabama are hereby preserved, unless specifically changed in this article, in all civil actions covered by this article. History: (Acts 1988, No. 88-262, p. 406, §8.)

(a) Evidence of action taken by a legal service provider in an effort to comply with any provision or any official opinion or interpretation of the rules of professional conduct shall be admissible only in defense of a legal service liability action and the same shall be availabl…

(a) If the liability to damages of a legal services provider is dependent in whole or in part upon the resolution of a underlying action, the outcome of which is either in doubt or could have been affected by the alleged breach of the legal services provider standards of care, th…

In any action for injury or damages or wrongful death, whether in contract or in tort, against a legal service provider, the plaintiff shall have the burden of proving that the legal service provider breached the applicable standard of care. The applicable standard of care shall …

This article applies to all actions against legal service providers based on acts or omissions accruing after April 12, 1988, and, as to such causes of action, shall supersede any inconsistent provision of law. History: (Acts 1988, No. 88-262, p. 406, §12.)

(a) Any person, firm, or corporation injured or damaged by an unlawful trust, combine, or monopoly, or its effect, direct or indirect, may, in each instance of such injury or damage, recover the sum of $500 and all actual damages from any person, firm, or corporation creating, op…

For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them herein, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: (1) UTILITY. Any public or private utility, any telephone company, or telephone business, and any ut…

Any person who knowingly: (1) Connects any tube, pipe, wire, or other instrument with any meter, device, or other instrument used for conducting utility services in such a manner as to permit the use of said utility services without the same passing through a meter or other instr…

The damages shall be three times the estimated loss of revenue, plus the cost of the repair or replacement of equipment necessitated by violation of this article and all other costs and expenses, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, incurred by the utility resulting from a viol…

Conviction under Section 13A-8-10, as amended or under any other criminal statute punishing theft of utility services or tampering with utility meters or facilities or diversion of utility services shall conclusively establish the liability of the person convicted for the damages…

In determining estimated lost revenue for the purposes of this article, if data is not available from which the lost revenue can be computed the court shall estimate such loss based on usage at the premises involved, or at comparable other premises, during a similar time period p…

For purposes of this article and for purposes of Sections 40-8-1 and 40-21-50 as amended, the terms “utilities” and “public utility,” as applied to telecommunications, “telephone company,” and “telephone business” mean the provisioning of local exchange services. History: (Acts 1…

The Legislature hereby finds, determines, and declares that the production of agricultural and aquacultural food products and commodities constitute an important and significant portion of the state economy and that it is imperative to protect the vitality of the agricultural and…

As used in this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) DISPARAGEMENT. The dissemination to the public in any manner of false information that a perishable food product or commodity is not safe for human consumption. The information shall be deemed to be fal…

Any person who produces, markets, or sells a perishable food product or commodity, and suffers damage as a result of another person’s disparagement of perishable food products or commodities has a cause of action for damages and for any other relief a court of competent jurisdict…

It is no defense under this article that the actor did not intend, or was unaware of, the act charged. History: (Acts 1993, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 93-892, p. 175, §4.)

Any civil action for damages for disparagement of perishable agricultural or aquacultural food products or commodities shall be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrues. History: (Acts 1993, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 93-892, p. 175, §5.)

This article shall be construed in pari materia with all laws relating to fraud, criminal mischief, criminal tampering with property, interruption of or impairing commerce and trade, unlawful trade practices, and property damage. History: (Acts 1993, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 93-892, p.…

This article shall apply to and govern all civil class actions brought in the state courts of Alabama pursuant to Alabama Rule of Civil Procedure 23. The provisions of this article, where inconsistent with any Alabama Rule of Civil Procedure, including, but not limited to, Ala. R…

(a) No class of civil litigants shall be certified or recognized by any court of the State of Alabama unless there shall have been compliance with the procedures for certification of the class set forth in this article. (b) As soon as practicable after the commencement of an acti…

A court’s order certifying a class or refusing to certify a class action shall be appealable in the same manner as a final order to the appellate court which would otherwise have jurisdiction over the appeal from a final order in the action. Such appeal may only be filed within 4…

This article shall be called the “Volunteer Medical Professional Act.” History: (Act 2000-680, p. 1383, §2.)

The Legislature finds that the willingness of medical professionals to volunteer their services has been increasingly deterred by a perception that they put personal assets at risk in the event of tort actions seeking damages arising from their activities as volunteers. The Legis…

For purposes of this article, the following words shall have the following meanings: (1) ESTABLISHED FREE MEDICAL CLINIC. An organized community-based program providing medical care, without charge to individuals unable to pay for it, and which is limited to care that does not re…

(a) A medical professional who, in good faith, provides, without fee or compensation, medical treatment, diagnosis, advice, or nursing services as a part of the services of an established free medical clinic, shall not be liable for civil damages as a result of his or her acts or…

For the purposes of this article, the following words shall have the following meanings: (1) ASBESTOS CLAIM. Any claim, wherever or whenever made, for damages, losses, indemnification, contribution, or other relief arising out of, based on, or in any way related to asbestos, incl…

(a) The limitations in Section 6-5-682 apply to a corporation that is a successor and became a successor before January 1, 1972, or is any of that successor corporation’s successors. (b) The limitations in Section 6-5-682 do not apply to: (1) Workers’ compensation benefits paid b…

(a) Except as further limited in subsection (b), the cumulative successor asbestos- related liabilities of a corporation are limited to the fair market value of the total gross assets of the transferor determined as of the time of the merger or consolidation. The corporation does…

(a) A corporation may establish the fair market value of total gross assets for the purpose of the limitations under Section 6-5-682 through any method reasonable under the circumstances, including either of the following: (1) By reference to the going concern value of the assets…

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d), the fair market value of total gross assets at the time of a merger or consolidation shall increase annually at a rate equal to the sum of: (1) The prime rate as listed in the first edition of the Wall Street Journal publis…

This article shall apply to any civil action asserting an asbestos claim in which the trial has not commenced as of September 1, 2011. History: (Act 2011-545, p. 1001, §6.)

This article shall be known and may be cited as the Asbestos Exposure Transparency Act. History: (Act 2019-261, §1.)

For the purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) ASBESTOS ACTION. A civil action arising out of, based on, or related to the health effects of exposure to asbestos and any derivative claim made by or on behalf of a person exposed to asbestos …

(a) A plaintiff who files an asbestos action, within 45 days, shall provide all parties with an information form attested by the plaintiff, specifying the basis for each claim against each defendant and stating all of the following with specificity: (1) The exposed person’s name,…

(a) Within 60 days after the plaintiff files an asbestos action, the plaintiff shall file all available asbestos trust claims and provide the parties with all trust claim materials available to the plaintiff or his or her counsel in relation to the exposed person’s exposure to as…

(a) In an asbestos action, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that trust claim materials and trust governance documents are relevant, authentic, and admissible in evidence. A claim of privilege does not apply to trust claim materials or trust governance documents. (b) A defe…

Either parent of a minor, guardian, or a person standing in loco parentis to the minor having neither father nor mother shall have a right of action against any person who unlawfully sells or furnishes spirituous liquors to such minor and may recover such damages as the jury may …

For the purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) AWARDING AUTHORITY. If the contractor enters into a contract to construct, repair, or maintain a highway, road, bridge, or street, then the awarding authority shall be any of the following, as …

A contractor is justified ordinarily in relying upon the plans and specifications that are contained in the contract with an awarding authority. No contractor shall be held civilly liable for work performed on the project, including repairs, construction, or maintenance on behalf…