Opinion ID: 2484942
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Trial Court's June 23, 2008, Order

Text: The Smiths contend that the trial court violated their basic right of due process in entering its June 23, 2008, judgment finding that the seizure of equipment and the enjoining of the Cowarts had been wrongful and ordering the forfeiture of the surety bond. The Smiths contend that they were provided no notice of the motion or of any hearing at which it would be considered and that this falls short of the minimum requirements for due process. They note that their previous counsel denied receiving any notice of the Cowarts' motion that led to the hearing or any notice of a setting of a hearing on the Cowarts' motion. (They also observe that the Cowarts did not serve a copy of their written motion on USF & G.) The Smiths argue that the entry of the June 23, 2008, judgment without providing notice and an opportunity to be heard when for nine years the Cowarts had given no indication that they needed relief from the writ of seizure constitutes an error of due process that requires the reversal of the trial court's final judgment. Among other things, the Smiths cite Humane Society of Marshall County v. Adams, 439 So.2d 150, 152 (Ala.1983), for the proposition that the fundamental requirement of due process is the opportunity to be heard at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner. In Adams, this Court observed: `The doctrine of the authorities is that whenever it is sought to deprive a person of his property, or to create a charge against it, preliminary to, or which may be made the basis of, taking it, the owner must have notice of the proceeding, and be afforded an opportunity to be heard as to the correctness of the assessment or charge. It matters not what the character of the proceeding may be, by virtue of which his property is to be taken, whether administrative, judicial, summary, or otherwise.' 439 So.2d at 152 (quoting Jenks v. Stump, 41 Colo. 281, 286, 93 P. 17, 19 (1907)). In the present case, the trial court set a date for a hearing on the Cowarts' motion. On June 23, 2008, the Cowarts and their counsel appeared for the hearing, but the Smiths and their counsel did not appear. The trial court heard evidence from the Cowarts. Based on the evidence presented to it in that hearing, the trial court made factual findings and entered a judgment on the merits to the effect that the Cowarts were deprived of the use of this equipment wrongfully and that they were damaged in excess of the $250,000 bond posted by the [Smiths]. As noted, the Smiths' contention is that they received no notice of the June 23, 2008, hearing, nor any opportunity to be heard regarding the issues adjudicated in it. The record supports their contention. When the Cowarts filed their written motion on June 19, 2008, just four days before the hearing, they sent a copy of the motion to an address of the Smiths' previous counsel that, in April 2003, the Smiths' counsel had informed the trial court was no longer his correct address. In the Smiths' August 4, 2008, motion to set aside the trial court's judgment, the Smiths' previous counsel represented that he never received a copy of the Cowarts' motion, and the Cowarts do not dispute this claim. Furthermore, when the trial court set a date for the hearing on the Cowarts' motion, it did not do so by order or even by entry in the case-action summary. The Smiths' previous counsel stated that he never received notice that there would be a hearing on the motion; nothing in the final judgment or other orders entered by the trial court contradicts this assertion. The trial court repeatedly stated in its April 22, 2009, order denying the Smiths' first motion to set aside the judgment that the Smiths' counsel received notice of the May 12, 2008, trial setting for the Smiths' claims, but it never stated that the record indicated that the Smiths' counsel received notice of the June 23, 2008, hearing. If the Smiths' counsel did not receive any notice  even through the case-action summary  of a hearing on the Cowarts' motion, it would not be surprising that the Smiths and their counsel failed to appear for that hearing. The Cowarts argue that the trial court orally set the date for the hearing on their motion during the May 12, 2008, hearing. Accordingly, the Cowarts argue, if the Smiths had appeared for the May 12, 2008, hearing in which the trial court dismissed the Smiths' claims against the Cowarts, the Smiths would have had notice of the June 23, 2008, hearing on the Cowarts' motion against the Smiths. Even assuming this to be true, the fact remains that the Smiths and their counsel were not present at the May 12, 2008, hearing. An appropriate effort therefore was necessary in order to provide notice to the Smiths and their counsel of the subsequent hearing on the Cowarts' motion. In sum, it is undisputed that neither the Smiths nor their counsel received advance notice of the June 23, 2008, hearing. Consequently, we reverse the trial court's final judgment insofar as it reaffirmed the June 23, 2008, order finding that the seizure of equipment and the enjoining of the Cowarts had been wrongful and accordingly ordering a forfeiture of the bond that had been posted by the Smiths.