Trehern v. Renovations Unlimited, LLC

Summary

The Alabama Supreme Court granted Renovations Unlimited, LLC’s petition for a writ of mandamus and ordered the Montgomery Circuit Court to vacate its order allowing preaction discovery under Rule 27(a), Ala. R. Civ. P. The Court held that the Treherns’ broad, knowing, and voluntary release barred their potential claims concerning the construction project, leaving them without a cognizable action for purposes of Rule 27. The Court further concluded that a general allegation of fraud in the inducement was insufficient to support preaction discovery.

Holdings

1. Absent fraud in the inducement, a supported and unambiguous release is enforceable according to its terms; because the Treherns knowingly and voluntarily released all claims relating to the home, they did not have a potentially cognizable claim against the petitioners.
2. Rule 27(a) preaction discovery is unavailable when the petitioner lacks a matter that may be cognizable in an Alabama court; the trial court therefore exceeded its discretion by ordering discovery to investigate claims already released by the Treherns.
3. Mandamus relief was proper because the petitioners demonstrated that the trial court exceeded its discretion in granting Rule 27 discovery and that the Rule 27 order should be vacated.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Treherns had a potentially cognizable claim under Rule 27(a)(1), Ala. R. Civ. P., after executing a broad, supported, and unambiguous mutual release of claims.
2. Whether the Montgomery Circuit Court exceeded its discretion by granting preaction discovery where the requested discovery was intended to determine whether the petitioners had committed fraud in inducing the release.
3. Whether the petitioners were entitled to mandamus relief from the trial court's Rule 27 discovery order.

Disposition

writ_granted