Court: Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama; July 13, 2018; Alabama; State Appellate Court
Sandra Vincent and Orderick Vincent's appeal of a summary judgment from the Dallas Circuit Court in favor of Kondaur Capital Corporation regarding an ejectment action is deemed untimely and thus subject to dismissal. Kondaur foreclosed on a property purchased by the Vincents, secured by a mortgage held by Kondaur, which it acquired at a foreclosure sale on December 6, 2013. Following the Vincents' refusal to vacate, Kondaur initiated an ejectment action on March 14, 2014. The Vincents contested Kondaur's title and filed counterclaims for fraud and breach of contract, alleging false representations about the foreclosure process and obligations outlined in the mortgage and loan-modification documents.
On January 29, 2016, Kondaur filed a motion for summary judgment, substantiating its legal title and the Vincents' unlawful occupancy. The Vincents, appearing pro se, did not provide their own evidentiary submissions but claimed they could demonstrate fraud and wrongful foreclosure. A hearing on the summary judgment took place on September 29, 2016, but no transcript exists. The trial court granted the summary judgment on March 15, 2017, directing the Vincents to vacate the property within five days.
The Vincents had until April 14, 2017, to file a postjudgment motion but did not do so until May 11, 2017, which was 57 days post-judgment. This late filing of what they termed an "emergency motion to set aside judgment" was considered untimely, resulting in the trial court lacking jurisdiction to address the matter further.
The trial court's orders concerning the Vincents' motions to set aside the judgment and requests for a new trial and mediation were deemed void due to the court's loss of jurisdiction to address those motions. The Vincents' postjudgment motion did not present valid grounds for setting aside the judgment under Rule 60(b) of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure. The court emphasized that it evaluates the substance of motions rather than their titles to determine their classification. The Vincents contended that the summary judgment did not address their counterclaims against Kondaur, claiming the judgment was not final; however, the court found the summary judgment implicitly denied those claims, thus rendering the judgment final. By awarding possession of the property to Kondaur, the trial court effectively determined that the foreclosure was not fraudulent or a breach of contract. Consequently, the judgment from March 15, 2017, was final and appealable. The Vincents' appeal notice, filed on November 28, 2017, was untimely, as it exceeded the 42-day period following the final judgment. Timely filing of an appeal is jurisdictional, and since the Vincents failed to do so, their appeal was dismissed. Additionally, a motion filed on June 23, 2017, referenced new evidence but did not specify it, and the Vincents' arguments on appeal focused solely on the summary judgment, waiving any claims related to the new evidence. Their case was subsequently transferred to the appellate court by the supreme court.
