reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
AL Code § 6-1-3 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 6 - Civil Practice.|Chapter 1 - General Provisions.|Section 6-1-3 - Rules for Expedited Civil Actions Under Certain Circumstances.

Section 6-1-3Rules for expedited civil actions under certain circumstances.  (a) The Supreme Court shall adopt guidelines to promote the prompt, efficient, and cost-effective resolution of civil actions. The guidelines shall: (1) apply to civil actions in circuit courts in which the amount in controversy, inclusive of all claims for damages of any kind, whether actual or exemplary, a penalty, attorney's fees, expenses, costs, interest, or any other type of damage of any kind, does not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000); and (2) address the need for lowering discovery costs in these actions and the procedure for ensuring that these actions will be expedited in the civil justice system. (b) The Supreme Court may not adopt guidelines under this section that conflict with any of the following state laws or procedures: (1) Domestic relations and family law. (2) Property law. (3) Tax law. (Act 2012-492, p. 1437, §§1, 2.)
AL Code § 6-12-1 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 6 - Civil Practice.|Chapter 12 - Escrow Fund for Certain Tobacco Product Manufacturers.|Section 6-12-1 - Legislative Findings.

Section 6-12-1Legislative findings. The Legislature of Alabama finds as follows: (1) Cigarette smoking presents serious public health concerns to the state and to the citizens of the state. The Surgeon General has determined that smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases, and that there are hundreds of thousands of tobacco-related deaths in the United States each year. These diseases most often do not appear until many years after the person in question begins smoking. (2) Cigarette smoking also presents serious financial concerns for the state. Under certain health care programs, the state may have a legal obligation to provide medical assistance to eligible persons for health conditions associated with cigarette smoking, and those persons may have a legal entitlement to receive such medical assistance. (3) Under these programs, the state pays millions of dollars each year to provide medical assistance for these persons for health conditions associated with cigarette smoking. (4) It is the policy of the state that financial burdens imposed on the state by cigarette smoking be borne by tobacco product manufacturers rather than by the state to the extent that such manufacturers either determine to enter into a settlement with the state or are found culpable by the courts. (5) On November 23, 1998, leading United States tobacco product manufacturers entered into a settlement agreement, entitled the "Master Settlement Agreement," with the state. The Master Settlement Agreement obligates these manufacturers, in return for a release of past, present, and certain future claims against them as described therein, to pay substantial sums to the state, tied in part to their volume of sales; to fund a national foundation devoted to the interests of public health; and to make substantial changes in their advertising and marketing practices and corporate culture, with the intention of reducing underage smoking. (6) It would be contrary to the policy of the state if tobacco product manufacturers who determine not to enter into such a settlement could use a resulting cost advantage to derive large, short-term profits in the years before liability may arise without ensuring that the state will have an eventual source of recovery from them if they are proven to have acted culpably. It is thus in the interest of the state to require that such manufacturers establish a reserve fund to guarantee a source of compensation and to prevent such manufacturers from deriving large, short-term profits and then becoming judgment-proof before liability may arise. (Act 99-395, p. 652, §1.)
AL Code § 6-12-4 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 6 - Civil Practice.|Chapter 12 - Escrow Fund for Certain Tobacco Product Manufacturers.|Section 6-12-4 - Limitation on Bond Requirements in Litigation Involving Master Settlement Agreement Signatories, Successors, and Affiliates.

Section 6-12-4Limitation on bond requirements in litigation involving master settlement agreement signatories, successors, and affiliates. (a) In civil litigation under any legal theory involving a signatory, a successor of a signatory, or an affiliate of a signatory to the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, as defined in Section 6-12-2, the supersedeas bond to be furnished to stay the execution of the judgment during the entire course of appellate review shall be set in accordance with applicable laws or court rules, except that the total supersedeas bond that is required of all appellants collectively shall not exceed one hundred twenty-five million dollars ($125,000,000), regardless of the amount of the judgment. (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), if an appellee proves by a preponderance of the evidence that an appellant is dissipating assets outside the ordinary course of business to avoid payment of a judgment, a court may require the appellant to post a supersedeas bond in an amount up to the total amount of the judgment. (c) This section shall apply to all actions pending or filed on or before February 24, 2006, and to all actions filed after February 24, 2006. (Act 2006-94, p. 124, §1.)
AL Code § 6-12A-1 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 6 - Civil Practice.|Chapter 12A - Tobacco Master Settlement Complementary Legislation.|Section 6-12A-1 - Short Title.

Section 6-12A-1Short title. This chapter may be cited as the Tobacco Master Settlement Complementary Legislation Act. (Act 2003-372, p. 1049, §2.)
AL Code § 6-12A-2 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 6 - Civil Practice.|Chapter 12A - Tobacco Master Settlement Complementary Legislation.|Section 6-12A-2 - Definitions.

Section 6-12A-2Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise indicated, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section: (1) BRAND FAMILY. All styles of cigarettes sold under the same trade mark and differentiated from one another by means of additional modifiers or descriptors, including, but not limited to, menthol, lights, kings, and 100s and includes any brand name (alone or in conjunction with any other word) trademark, logo, symbol, motto, selling message, recognizable pattern of colors, or any other indicia of product identification identical or similar to, or identifiable with, a previously known brand of cigarettes. (2) CIGARETTE. As defined under subdivision (4) of Section 6-12-2. (3) COMMISSIONER. The Commissioner for the Department of Revenue for the State of Alabama. (4) DISTRIBUTOR. A person, wherever resident or located, who purchases non-tax-paid cigarettes and stores, sells, or otherwise disposes of the cigarettes. (5) IMPORTER. As defined under subdivision (5) of Section 6-12-2. (6) MASTER SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT. The tobacco Master Settlement Agreement as defined under subdivision (6) of Section 6-12-2. (7) NON-PARTICIPATING MANUFACTURER. Any tobacco product manufacturer that is not a participating manufacturer. (8) PARTICIPATING MANUFACTURER. As defined in Section II(jj) of the Master Settlement Agreement, and all amendments thereto. (9) QUALIFIED ESCROW FUND. As defined in subdivision (7) of Section 6-12-2. (10) TOBACCO PRODUCT MANUFACTURER. As defined in subdivision (10) of Section 6-12-2. (11) UNITS SOLD. As defined in subdivision (11) of Section 6-12-2. (12) WHOLESALER. A person, firm, corporation, club, or association that is authorized to affix tax stamps to packages or other containers of cigarettes under Chapter 25 of Title 40. (Act 2003-372, p. 1049, §2; Act 2014-341, p. 1266, §1.)
AL Code § 6-12A-4 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 6 - Civil Practice.|Chapter 12A - Tobacco Master Settlement Complementary Legislation.|Section 6-12A-4 - Agent for Service of Process.

Section 6-12A-4Agent for service of process. (a) Agent for service of process required. Any non-resident or foreign non-participating manufacturer that has not registered to do business in the state as a foreign corporation or business entity, as a condition precedent to having its brand families listed or retained in the directory, shall appoint and continually engage without interruption the services of an agent in this state to act as agent for the service of process on whom all process, and any action or proceeding against it concerning or arising out of the enforcement of this chapter and Section 6-12-3, may be served in any manner authorized by law. The service shall constitute legal and valid service of process on the non-participating manufacturer. The non-participating manufacturer shall provide the name, address, phone number, and proof of the appointment and availability of their agent to and to the satisfaction of the commissioner. (b) The non-participating manufacturer shall provide notice to the commissioner 30 calendar days prior to termination of the authority of an agent and shall further provide proof to the satisfaction of the commissioner of the appointment of a new agent no less than five calendar days prior to the termination of an existing agent appointment. In the event an agent terminates an agency appointment, the non-participating manufacturer shall notify the commissioner of termination within five calendar days and shall include proof to the satisfaction of the commissioner of the appointment of a new agent. (Act 2003-372, p. 1049, §2.)
AL Code § 6-12A-6 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 6 - Civil Practice.|Chapter 12A - Tobacco Master Settlement Complementary Legislation.|Section 6-12A-6 - Penalties; Unlawful Practices.

Section 6-12A-6Penalties; unlawful practices. (a) Revocation of stamping privileges and civil penalty. In addition to or in lieu of any other civil or criminal remedy provided by law, upon a determination that a wholesaler, distributor, or any person has violated subsection (c) of Section 6-12A-3, or any regulation adopted pursuant thereto, the commissioner may revoke or suspend the stamping privileges of any stamping agent in the manner provided by Section 40-2A-8. Each stamp affixed and each offer to sell cigarettes in violation of subsection (c) of Section 6-12A-3 shall constitute a separate violation. For each violation thereof, the commissioner may also impose a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed the greater of 500 percent of the retail value of the cigarettes sold or five thousand dollars ($5,000) upon a determination of violation of subsection (c) of Section 6-12A-3 or any regulations adopted pursuant thereto. (b) Contraband and seizure. Any cigarettes that have been sold, offered for sale, or possessed for sale in this state, or imported for personal consumption in this state in violation of subsection (c) of Section 6-12A-3 shall be deemed contraband, and the cigarettes shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture as provided under subsection (c) of Section 8-19-12; provided, however, that all such cigarettes shall be destroyed. (c) Injunction. The commissioner may seek an injunction on behalf of the state to restrain a threatened or actual violation of subsection (c) of Section 6-12A-3, or subsection (a) or (d) of Section 6-12A-5, by a wholesaler or distributor, and compel the violator to comply with these subsections. In any action brought pursuant to this section, the state shall be entitled to recover the costs of investigation, costs of the action, and reasonable attorney fees. (d) Unlawful sale and distribution. It shall be unlawful for a person to sell, distribute, acquire, hold, own, possess, transport, import, or cause to be imported cigarettes that the person knows or should know are intended for distribution or sale in the state in violation of subsection (c) of Section 6-12A-3. A violation of this subsection shall be a Class A misdemeanor. (e) Unlawful and deceptive trade practices. A person who violates subsection (c) of Section 6-12A-3 engages in an unlawful and deceptive trade practice in violation of Section 8-19-5. (Act 2003-372, p. 1049, §2.)
AL Code § 6-12A-7 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 6 - Civil Practice.|Chapter 12A - Tobacco Master Settlement Complementary Legislation.|Section 6-12A-7 - Review; Application for Permit; Rules and Regulations; Costs and Fees; Disgorgement of Profits.

Section 6-12A-7Review; application for permit; rules and regulations; costs and fees; disgorgement of profits.  (a) Notice and review of determination. A tobacco product manufacturer who does not agree with a determination by the commissioner to not list or to remove from the directory a brand family or tobacco product manufacturer shall be entitled to file a written request for review with the commissioner. The written request shall be referred to as a petition for review and shall describe any specific objections to the determination not to list or to remove from the directory a brand family or tobacco product manufacturer. (1) The petition for review and any supporting documentation, must be filed with the commissioner's office not later than 30 days after the date of the determination. (2) The commissioner shall review the petition and any supporting documentation and notify the tobacco product manufacturer of the final determination. (3) At the request of the tobacco product manufacturer, or if otherwise deemed necessary by the commissioner, a conference may be scheduled to allow the commissioner and the tobacco product manufacturer to present their respective positions. (b) Applications for stamping permits. No person shall be permitted or otherwise authorized to affix stamps to tobacco products unless they certify in writing that they will comply fully with this chapter. (c) Dates. For the year 2003: (1) The first report by wholesalers and distributors required by subsection (a) of Section 6-12A-5, shall be due 30 days after August 1, 2003. (2) The certifications by tobacco product manufacturers described in subsection (a) of Section 6-12A-3, shall be due 45 days after August 1, 2003. (3) The directory described in subsection (b) of Section 6-12A-3, shall be published or made available within 90 days after August 1, 2003. (d) Promulgation of regulations. The commissioner may promulgate regulations necessary to effectuate the implementation and administration of this chapter. (e) Recovery of costs and fees. In any action brought by the state to enforce this chapter, the state shall be entitled to recover the costs of investigation, expert witness fees, the costs of the action, and reasonable attorney fees. (f) Disgorgement of profits for violations of chapter. If a court determines that a person has violated this chapter, the court shall order any profits, gain, gross receipts, or other benefit from the violation to be disgorged and paid to the State Treasurer for deposit in the Alabama 21st Century Fund, created by Section 41-10-629. Unless otherwise expressly provided, the remedies or penalties provided by this chapter are cumulative to each other and to the remedies or penalties available under all other laws of this state. (Act 2003-372, p. 1049, §2.)
AL Code § 7-5-101 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 7 - Commercial Code.|Article 5 - Letters of Credit.|Section 7-5-101 - Short Title.

Section 7-5-101Short title. This article may be cited as Uniform Commercial Code - Letters of Credit. (Acts 1997, No. 97-702, p. 1427, §1.)
AL Code § 7-5-103 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 7 - Commercial Code.|Article 5 - Letters of Credit.|Section 7-5-103 - Scope.

Section 7-5-103Scope. (a) This article applies to letters of credit and to certain rights and obligations arising out of transactions involving letters of credit. (b) The statement of a rule in this article does not by itself require, imply, or negate application of the same or a different rule to a situation not provided for, or to a person not specified, in this article. (c) With the exception of this subsection, subsections (a) and (d), Sections 7-5-102(a)(9) and (10), and 7-5-114(d), and except to the extent prohibited in Sections 7-1-302 and 7-5-117(d), the effect of this article may be varied by agreement or by a provision stated or incorporated by reference in an undertaking. A term in a letter of credit, confirmation, advice, transfer, amendment, or cancellation generally excusing liability or generally limiting remedies for failure to perform obligations is not sufficient to vary obligations prescribed by this article. (d) Rights and obligations of an issuer to a beneficiary or a nominated person under a letter of credit are independent of the existence, performance, or nonperformance of a contract or arrangement out of which the letter of credit arises or which underlies it, including contracts or arrangements between the issuer and the applicant and between the applicant and the beneficiary. (Acts 1997, No. 97-702, p. 1427, §1; Act 2004-524, p. 1070, §2.)
AL Code § 7-5-104 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 7 - Commercial Code.|Article 5 - Letters of Credit.|Section 7-5-104 - Formal Requirements.

Section 7-5-104Formal requirements. A letter of credit, confirmation, advice, transfer, amendment, or cancellation may be issued in any form that is a record and is authenticated (i) by a signature or (ii) in accordance with the agreement of the parties or the standard practice referred to in Section 7-5-108(e). (Acts 1997, No. 97-702, p. 1427, §1.)
AL Code § 7-5-105 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 7 - Commercial Code.|Article 5 - Letters of Credit.|Section 7-5-105 - Consideration.

Section 7-5-105Consideration. Consideration is not required to issue, amend, transfer, or cancel a letter of credit, advice, or confirmation. (Acts 1997, No. 97-702, p. 1427, §1.)
AL Code § 7-5-106 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 7 - Commercial Code.|Article 5 - Letters of Credit.|Section 7-5-106 - Issuance, Amendment, Cancellation, and Duration.

Section 7-5-106Issuance, amendment, cancellation, and duration. (a) A letter of credit is issued and becomes enforceable according to its terms against the issuer when the issuer sends or otherwise transmits it to the person requested to advise or to the beneficiary. A letter of credit is revocable only if it so provides. (b) After a letter of credit is issued, rights and obligations of a beneficiary, applicant, confirmer, and issuer are not affected by an amendment or cancellation to which that person has not consented except to the extent the letter of credit provides that it is revocable or that the issuer may amend or cancel the letter of credit without that consent. (c) If there is no stated expiration date or other provision that determines its duration, a letter of credit expires one year after its stated date of issuance or, if none is stated, after the date on which it is issued. (Acts 1997, No. 97-702, p. 1427, §1.)
AL Code § 7-5-107 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 7 - Commercial Code.|Article 5 - Letters of Credit.|Section 7-5-107 - Confirmer, Nominated Person, and Adviser.

Section 7-5-107Confirmer, nominated person, and adviser. (a) A confirmer is directly obligated on a letter of credit and has the rights and obligations of an issuer to the extent of its confirmation. The confirmer also has rights against and obligations to the issuer as if the issuer were an applicant and the confirmer had issued the letter of credit at the request and for the account of the issuer. (b) A nominated person who is not a confirmer is not obligated to honor or otherwise give value for a presentation. (c) A person requested to advise may decline to act as an adviser. An adviser that is not a confirmer is not obligated to honor or give value for a presentation. An adviser undertakes to the issuer and to the beneficiary accurately to advise the terms of the letter of credit, confirmation, amendment, or advice received by that person and undertakes to the beneficiary to check the apparent authenticity of the request to advise. Even if the advice is inaccurate, the letter of credit, confirmation, or amendment is enforceable as issued. (d) A person who notifies a transferee beneficiary of the terms of a letter of credit, confirmation, amendment, or advice has the rights and obligations of an adviser under subsection (c). The terms in the notice to the transferee beneficiary may differ from the terms in any notice to the transferor beneficiary to the extent permitted by the letter of credit, confirmation, amendment, or advice received by the person who so notifies. (Acts 1997, No. 97-702, p. 1427, §1.)
AL Code § 7-5-109 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 7 - Commercial Code.|Article 5 - Letters of Credit.|Section 7-5-109 - Fraud and Forgery.

Section 7-5-109Fraud and forgery. (a) If a presentation is made that appears on its face strictly to comply with the terms and conditions of the letter of credit, but a required document is forged or materially fraudulent, or honor of the presentation would facilitate a material fraud by the beneficiary on the issuer or applicant: (1) the issuer shall honor the presentation, if honor is demanded by (i) a nominated person who has given value in good faith and without notice of forgery or material fraud, (ii) a confirmer who has honored its confirmation in good faith, (iii) a holder in due course of a draft drawn under the letter of credit which was taken after acceptance by the issuer or nominated person, or (iv) an assignee of the issuer's or nominated person's deferred obligation that was taken for value and without notice of forgery or material fraud after the obligation was incurred by the issuer or nominated person; and (2) the issuer, acting in good faith, may honor or dishonor the presentation in any other case. (b) If an applicant claims that a required document is forged or materially fraudulent or that honor of the presentation would facilitate a material fraud by the beneficiary on the issuer or applicant, a court of competent jurisdiction may temporarily or permanently enjoin the issuer from honoring a presentation or grant similar relief against the issuer or other persons only if the court finds that: (1) the relief is not prohibited under the law applicable to an accepted draft or deferred obligation incurred by the issuer; (2) a beneficiary, issuer, or nominated person who may be adversely affected is adequately protected against loss that it may suffer because the relief is granted; (3) all of the conditions to entitle a person to the relief under the law of this state have been met; and (4) on the basis of the information submitted to the court, the applicant is more likely than not to succeed under its claim of forgery or material fraud and the person demanding honor does not qualify for protection under subsection (a)(1). (Acts 1997, No. 97-702, p. 1427, §1.)
AL Code § 7-5-110 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 7 - Commercial Code.|Article 5 - Letters of Credit.|Section 7-5-110 - Warranties.

Section 7-5-110Warranties. (a) If its presentation is honored, the beneficiary warrants: (1) to the issuer, any other person to whom presentation is made, and the applicant that there is no fraud or forgery of the kind described in Section 7-5-109(a); and (2) to the applicant that the drawing does not violate any agreement between the applicant and beneficiary or any other agreement intended by them to be augmented by the letter of credit. (b) The warranties in subsection (a) are in addition to warranties arising under Article 3, 4, 7, and 8 because of the presentation or transfer of documents covered by any of those articles. (Acts 1997, No. 97-702, p. 1427, §1.)