Case Title: Barber v. COVINGTON COUNTY COM'N

Citation: 466 So. 2d 945

Docket Number: 

State: alabama

Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Date: 1985-03-01T00:00:00Z

Document:
466 So. 2d 945 (1985)
Roy P. BARBER and Carol Barber
v.
COVINGTON COUNTY COMMISSION, et al.
83-1306.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
March 1, 1985.
*946 Benton H. Persons of Murphy, Murphy, Persons and Bush, Andalusia, for appellants.
J. Fletcher Jones, Andalusia, for appellees.
SHORES, Justice.
Roy Barber and Carol Barber appeal from the circuit court's dismissal of their petition for a writ of mandamus. We affirm.
Roy Barber and his wife Carol Barber filed a petition for a writ of mandamus against the Covington County Commission and the individual members thereof, seeking to require the Commission to remove certain obstructions from, and prevent the further blocking of, a road leading to their property. The Commission filed a motion to dismiss the petition, stating that it failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. This motion was granted, and the Barbers appeal.
The Barbers alleged in the petition that the road in question has been a recognized public county road for over fifty years and provides the only access to their property. They further alleged that the road is being blocked and obstructed by Huron Anderson and that the Commission has failed to remove the obstructions, thereby denying them and the public access to their property. The Barbers also alleged that the Commission attempted to abandon the road, and they argue that, in so doing, it acted arbitrarily, capriciously, without good cause, and in violation of § 23-4-1, et seq., Ala. Code 1975.
The Barbers insist that the petition states a claim upon which relief can be granted. They argue that the Commission has general superintendence of the public roads within its jurisdiction, under § 23-1-80, Ala.Code 1975, and, pursuant to that section, has the power to reopen and maintain a public road that has been wrongfully obstructed and closed. They further argue that mandamus is proper in this case to compel the Commission to so act.
*947 The Commission contends that the exercise of its powers pursuant to § 23-1-80 is discretionary and, in the absence of an allegation of fraud, corruption, or unfair dealing in relation thereto, is not subject to judicial review. We agree.
Mandamus is a drastic and extraordinary writ to be issued only where there is (1) a clear legal right in the petitioner to the order sought; (2) an imperative duty upon the respondent to perform, accompanied by a refusal to do so; (3) the lack of another adequate remedy; and (4) properly invoked jurisdiction of the court. Martin v. Loeb & Co., 349 So. 2d 9 (Ala.1977).
Section 23-1-80, Ala.Code 1975, reads as follows:
This section confers upon the county commissions of this state the general superintendence of the public roads within their respective jurisdictions so as to render travel over the same safe and convenient. To this end, they have certain discretionary powers as enumerated in this section. In Wright v. Pickens County, 268 Ala. 50, 55, 104 So. 2d 907, 912 (1958), the Court stated:
"In the O'Rear case it is said:
In Alabama Great Southern R. Co. v. Denton, 239 Ala. 301, 305, 195 So. 218, 221 (1940), the Court stated:
In the present case, there is no allegation of fraud, corruption, or unfair dealing on the part of the Commission. In the absence of some such allegation, the Commission's exercise of the discretionary powers vested in it is not subject to judicial review by mandamus. Furthermore, mandamus is not proper where another adequate remedy exists. The obstruction of a public road, depriving the public of the use of a public convenience, is a public nuisance, and an action to abate such a nuisance may be maintained by an individual on behalf of the public, if he or she has a special interest in the road. Alabama Great Southern R. Co. v. Denton, 239 Ala. 301, 195 So. 218 (1940).
The requirements for the issuance of a writ of mandamus not having been satisfied, the petition was properly dismissed.
AFFIRMED.
TORBERT, C.J., and MADDOX, JONES and BEATTY, JJ., concur.