Summary
The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals treated Tameka Fitzpatrick's appeal from a Jefferson Circuit Court dismissal as a petition for a writ of certiorari. The court held that the statutory procedure governing appeals from the Jefferson County Personnel Board required timely filing of security for costs and that Alabama Rule of Appellate Procedure 24 did not eliminate that requirement. The petition was denied.
Court
Alabama Court of Civil Appeals
Jurisdiction
Alabama Court of Civil Appeals
Decision date
May 29, 2026
Docket number
CL-2025-1001
Disposition
writ_denied
Questions Presented
- Whether the circuit court properly dismissed Fitzpatrick's appeal from the Jefferson County Personnel Board because she failed to file security for costs within the 10-day period prescribed by the enabling act.
- Whether Rule 24(a), Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure, excused Fitzpatrick from filing security for costs because the circuit court granted her substantial-hardship request.
Holdings
- An appellant seeking review of a Jefferson County Personnel Board decision must comply with the enabling act's requirement to file approved security for costs with the circuit-court clerk within 10 days after the announcement of the personnel-board decision. Failure to do so prevents the circuit court from acquiring jurisdiction over the appeal.
- Rule 24(a), which permits a party proceeding in forma pauperis to proceed without prepayment of fees or costs or the giving of security in an appellate court, does not apply to an appeal from the Jefferson County Personnel Board to the circuit court.
- The petition for a writ of certiorari was denied because Fitzpatrick failed to demonstrate reversible error in the circuit court's dismissal and relied exclusively on an inapplicable Rule 24(a) argument.
Court Document
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