Title: Mann v. City of Tallassee
Citation: 510 So. 2d 222
Docket Number: N/A
State: Alabama
Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court
Date: June 26, 1987

510 So. 2d 222 (1987)
Tony MANN
v.
CITY OF TALLASSEE and Thomas Pollard, Individually and as Mayor of the City of Tallassee.
85-1180.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
June 26, 1987.
Mack Clayton, Alexander City, for appellant.
Steven F. Schmitt of Hornsby &amp; Schmitt, Tallassee, for appellees.
STEAGALL, Justice.
Tony Mann appeals from a summary judgment in favor of defendant/appellee City of Tallassee. We affirm.
*223 Mann was a police officer with the Tallassee police department from May 1978 until November 27, 1984. On November 26, 1984, Mann was informed that a citizen's complaint had been lodged against him individually and as a police officer, and that an investigative hearing concerning the matter was scheduled for November 28, 1984.
On November 27, 1984, the day after he was informed of the complaint, Mann tendered his resignation, which was duly accepted by the acting chief-of-police. Mann's resignation letter read as follows:
The following deposition testimony of Mann should be noted concerning his resignation:
Mann was later informed that even though he had resigned, an investigative hearing concerning the complaint would still be held as planned on November 28, 1984.
On November 28, 1984, Mann approached the mayor of Tallassee and requested that his letter of resignation be returned. The request was denied. The investigative hearing took place as scheduled. Apparently, the complaint concerned a young woman whose family had become upset, and they were alleging that Mann was driving to their house repeatedly while on duty to visit the young woman.
On December 15, 1984, a second meeting occurred to determine the outcome of the investigation. Mann was informed by the mayor of Tallassee that it would be in the best interest of Tallassee if Mann did not return to work as a police officer.
Appellant Mann filed a four-count complaint after he was informed that his letter of resignation would not be returned. The first three counts involve Code of Alabama 1975, § 11-43-180 through § 11-43-190.
Sections 11-43-180 and § 11-43-190 are here quoted:
Appellant Mann contends in the first three counts of his complaint that § 11-43-180 has been violated by the city's failure to have a civil service system for law enforcement officers and that such a failure violates his rights. One should note that for §§ 11-43-180 through -190 to be applicable to a particular municipality, that municipality must have a population of 5,000 persons or more. This is clearly stated in § 11-43-190(b). According to the 1980 federal decennial census, the city of Tallassee had a population of 4,763.
In 1982 the municipality of Carrville was annexed to Tallassee. It is undisputed that Carrville had a population of 820 prior to annexation.
While it is true that the population of Tallassee following the annexation of Carrville in 1982 might be over 5,000, that fact cannot help Mann, because this Court is bound to apply the plain meaning of the statute.
In Dumas Brothers Manufacturing Co. v. Southern Guaranty Insurance Co., 431 So. 2d 534, 536 (Ala.1983), this Court stated:
(Citing Town of Loxley v. Rosinton Water, Sewer &amp; Fire Protection Authority, Inc., 376 So. 2d 705 (Ala.1979).)
Also, in Godwin v. City Council of City of McKenzie, 449 So. 2d 1231, 1232 (Ala. 1984), this Court stated:
Further, in Chandler v. City of Lanett, 424 So. 2d 1307, 1309 (Ala.1982), this Court stated:
This Court has no choice but to give effect to the clear meaning of the statute. As of 1980, the date of the most recent federal decennial census, the Tallassee population was below 5,000. Therefore, §§ 11-43-180 through -190 are inapplicable to the city of Tallassee.
Furthermore, even if §§ 11-43-180 through -190 did apply to the city of Tallassee, that fact would not help Mann, because he voluntarily resigned on November 27, 1984. The civil service provisions of §§ 11-43-180 through -190 speak to tenure, removal, appointment, and official conduct. Appellant Mann resigned of his own free will, according to his deposition testimony. These sections do not speak to resignations. The closest action to resignation that § 11-43-180 speaks to is "removal," and it is clear from Mann's own deposition testimony that he resigned and was not removed. After exercising his free will to resign, Mann requested to withdraw his resignation. In this particular case, this is tantamount to requesting that he be rehired. Nowhere in these Code sections is it suggested that a police officer must be *225 rehired after he has voluntarily tendered his resignation.
In Hale v. City of Tuscaloosa, 449 So. 2d 1243, 1245 (Ala.1984), this Court stated:
(Citing Allen v. Whitehead, 423 So. 2d 835 (Ala.1982); Robertson v. City of Tuscaloosa, 413 So. 2d 1064 (Ala.1982); Raley v. Royal Ins. Co., 386 So. 2d 742 (Ala.1980); Rule 56(c), A.R.Civ.P.)
This Court, after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to appellant Mann, is unable to hold that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment for the city of Tallassee on the first three counts of the complaint.
The fourth count of appellant Mann's complaint alleges that his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights were violated due to the inadequacy of the city hearings. This Court finds it unnecessary to address this issue, since appellant Mann voluntarily resigned.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
JONES, ALMON, SHORES and ADAMS, JJ., concur.