Deupree v. Wooten, Boyett, Thornton, Carpenter & O'Brien
Deupree v. Wooten, Boyett, Thornton, Carpenter & O'Brien
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal from a grant of summary judgment.
The law firm of Wooten, Boyett, Thornton, Carpenter & O’Brien (Wooten, Boyett), the plaintiff-appellee, filed an action on December 16, 1985 in the Circuit Court of
The pertinent facts were outlined by the court in its final judgment.
“In November or December, 1983, the defendant, James L. (Skip) Deupree, Jr., approached 0. Stanley Thornton, a partner in the law.firm of Wooten, Boyett, Thornton, Carpenter & O’Brien, the plaintiff in this case. The defendant personally requested that Mr. Thornton provide certain legal services for the defendant and various entities through which the defendant did business, one of these entities being the Bay Development Corporation. The plaintiff undertook to represent the Bay Development Corporation and the defendant in various items of litigation. A portion of this litigation was pending in the State of Florida, and the plaintiff retained the services of a Law Firm in the State of Florida to assist in this litigation. The plaintiff submitted various interim statements for services rendered for a period beginning December 15, 1983, through September 18, 1984, and again for services rendered by the plaintiff and the Florida Law Firm retained by the plaintiff for a period beginning December 29, 1983, and through August 17, 1984. These statements submitted to the defendant were paid. It is undisputed that the exhibit attached to the plaintiffs affidavit reflecting various statements issued by the plaintiff for services rendered and being in the sum of $7,752.93, is unpaid. There is no allegation disputing the reasonableness, necessity or the quality of the plaintiff’s services.”
The only issue presented to us on appeal is whether the court erred in finding no genuine issue of material fact and thereby granting summary judgment. Deupree contends on appeal that his statement made in the supporting affidavit for his motion for summary judgment constitutes a dispute of a material fact. His affidavit is as follows: “Affiant is not personally, nor individually liable to, nor indebted for any sums claimed by Plaintiff.” We disagree.
Rule 56, Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, allows a trial court to grant summary judgment upon the motion of either party when it determines that no genuine issue of a material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Silk v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 437 So.2d 112 (Ala. 1983). The initial burden of proving the nonexistence of a disputed fact rests on the moving party. Osborn v. Johns, 468 So.2d 103 (Ala. 1985).
“If there is a scintilla of evidence supporting the nonmoving party’s position, the entry of a summary judgment is inappropriate. Dixon v. Hill, 456 So.2d 313 (Ala.Civ.App. 1984). However, the nonmoving party may not rest upon the mere denials of his pleadings when a motion for summary judgment is made and properly supported. Cook v. Northland Insurance Co., 406 So.2d 972 (Ala.Civ.App. 1981). Moreover, the nonmov-ing party must present, in response to proof in support of a summary judgment motion showing that a material issue of fact does not exist, admissible proof showing a factual conflict. Ray v. Montgomery, 399 So.2d 230 (Ala. 1980). Additionally, the evidence offered in response to the motion must be more than a mere verification of the allegations contained in the pleadings. Whatley v. Cardinal Pest Control, 388 So.2d 529 (Ala. 1980).”
Casey v. Covington County Bank, 485 So. 2d 1169 (Ala.Civ.App. 1986).
In the present case, Wooten, Boyett supported its motion by affidavit and accompa
AFFIRMED.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.