Dobyne v. State
Dobyne v. State
Opinion of the Court
On November 8, 2001, Lee Thomas Do-byne
On April 4, 2002, the State of Alabama filed a forfeiture petition regarding two parcels of real property, one 16-foot by 18-foot Sunview Champion Builder mobile home (TEN 416649), United States currency in the amount of $9,415,
The trial court placed the forfeiture case on its administrative docket in August 2003 to await the conclusion of Dobyne’s criminal trial. In September 2006, Do-byne filed a motion seeking either to have the forfeiture petition set for a hearing or to have the seized property returned. In that motion, Dobyne argued that the personal property confiscated during the search of the property owned by his father was not specifically mentioned in the forfeiture petition and, therefore, should be immediately returned. In response to Do-byne’s motion, the State filed a motion to amend the forfeiture petition to include the items of personal property that had been confiscated during the searches; those items were identified on an eight-page inventory list that the State appended to its motion to amend. Despite Dobyne’s objection, which was based upon the State’s failure to timely institute forfeiture proceedings regarding those items as required by § 20-2-93(c), see Reach v. State, 530 So.2d 40, 41 (Ala. 1988) (“a forfeiture proceeding not ‘instituted promptly” is ineffectual”), the trial court permitted the amendment. Because neither Marvin Dobyne nor Katherine Dobyne had answered the State’s petition, the State sought and received default judgments against each of them.
The State then filed a motion for a summary judgment as to Dobyne, to which it appended as exhibits five audiotapes of certain recorded conversations between Dobyne and Heard, partial transcriptions of those audiotapes, and the transcript of the criminal proceedings against Dobyne. Dobyne failed to respond to the summary-judgment motion, and the trial court entered a summary judgment in favor of the State. Dobyne appeals, arguing first that the trial court erred in allowing the State to amend the forfeiture petition, and, secondly, that the State did not prove that the property at issue was connected in any
Although the State does not raise this issue, we first consider whether Do-byne has standing to appeal from the trial court’s judgment insofar as it orders that certain items of property be forfeited. See Ex parte Fort James Operating Co., 871 So.2d 51, 54 (Ala. 2003) (noticing lack of standing ex mero motu); and State v. Property at 2018 Rainbow Drive, 740 So.2d 1025, 1028 (Ala. 1999) (indicating that standing is a jurisdictional prerequisite). “Standing ... turns on ‘whether the party has been injured in fact and whether the injury is to a legally protected right.’ Romer v. Board of County Comm’rs of the County of Pueblo, 956 P.2d 566, 581 (Colo. 1998) (Kourlis, J. dissenting).” Property at 2018 Rainbow Drive, 740 So.2d at 1027. We must determine, then, whether Dobyne has suffered an injury to a legally protected right in regard to each item of property that was ordered to be forfeited.
The evidence presented by the State indicated that Dobyne, in his criminal trial, disclaimed any interest in the two parcels of real property and the mobile home; Dobyne testified that that property was owned by his father, Marvin. The State, in fact, alleged that the real property was owned by Marvin. In addition, Dobyne testified that the personal property seized from the residences owned by his father, i.e., the personal property listed in the eight-page inventory appended to the motion to amend the State’s forfeiture petition, was also owned either by his father or, perhaps, by other persons who had left items in the residences. As noted earlier, the State’s petition alleged that Marvin Dobyne owned the Hyundai Excel automobile and that Katherine Dobyne owned the Buick Electra automobile. Therefore, based on the evidence presented in support of the State’s summary-judgment motion, Dobyne does not have an ownership interest in the two parcels of real property, the mobile home, the personal property listed on the eight-page inventory, the Hyundai Excel automobile, or the Buick Electra automobile.
The currency that was the subject of the forfeiture proceeding consisted of three separate amounts: $5,000 that
We now review the summary judgment forfeiting the currency and the automobiles owned by Dobyne. We review a summary judgment de novo; we apply the same standard as was applied in the trial court. A motion for a summary judgment is to be granted when no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Rule 56(c)(3), Ala. R. Civ. P. A party moving for a summary judgment must make a prima facie showing “that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that [it] is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Rule 56(c)(3); see Lee v. City of Gadsden, 592 So.2d 1036, 1038 (Ala. 1992). If the movant meets this burden, “the burden then shifts to the nonmovant to rebut the movant’s prima facie showing by ‘substantial evidence.’ ” Lee, 592 So.2d at 1038 (footnote omitted). “[SJubstantial evidence is evidence of such weight and quality that fair-minded persons in the exercise of impartial judgment can reasonably infer the existence of the fact sought to be proved.” West v. Founders Life Assurance Co. of Florida, 547 So.2d 870, 871 (Ala. 1989); see Ala.Code 1975, § 12-21-12(d). Furthermore, when reviewing a summary judgment, the appellate court must view all the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmovant and must entertain all reasonable inferences from the evidence that a jury would be entitled to draw. See Nationwide Prop. & Cas. Co. v. DPF Architects, P.C., 792 So.2d 369, 372 (Ala. 2000); and Fuqua v. Ingersoll-Rand Co., 591 So.2d 486, 487 (Ala. 1991).
Dobyne argues that the State failed to prove that the $1,415 seized from his person upon his arrest and that the $5,000 in bribe money was subject to forfeiture because, he asserts, the State presented no evidence that linked the currency to any violation of the State’s controlled-substances laws. The State presented evidence indicating that the $5,000 Dobyne used to bribe Heard to “watch his back” was intended to be “used ... to facilitate [a] violation of [the] law of this state concerning controlled substances.” § 20-2-93(a)(4). Dobyne failed to present any evidence indicating that a genuine issue of material fact existed regarding his intent to bribe Heard. Thus, we affirm the judgment insofar as it orders the forfeiture of the $5,000 in bribe money to the State.
However, when we consider whether the State presented evidence demonstrating that the $1,415 seized from Dobyne’s person was connected to drug activity, we reach the opposite conclusion. In its brief to this court, the State makes the general assertion that it met its burden of demonstrating that “the seized property was used or derived from [Dobyne’s] controlled substance violations” based on the
Dobyne further argues that the State failed to prove that five of the vehicles it seized when it executed the search warrant on Marvin Dobyne’s property were linked in any way to a violation of the State’s controlled-substances laws.
“In order to obtain the forfeiture of a vehicle pursuant to § 20-2-93(a)(5), Ala. Code 1975, the State must establish that the vehicle has been ‘used, or ... intended for use, to transport, or in any manner to facilitate the transportation, sale, receipt, possession, or concealment’ of a controlled substance. ‘ “ ‘Under § 20-2-93 the State must establish a prima facie case for the seizure, condemnation, and forfeiture of the property.... The statute is penal in nature and, as such, should be strictly construed.’ ” ’ Ex parte McConathy, 911 So.2d 677, 681 (Ala. 2005) (quoting Holloway v. State ex rel. Whetstone, 772 So.2d [475,] 476 [ (Ala.Civ.App. 2000) ], quoting in turn State v. Smith, 578 So.2d 1374, 1376 (Ala.Civ.App. 1991)). To justify the forfeiture of a vehicle, the trier of fact must be reasonably satisfied that the vehicle was used to illegally transport or to facilitate the transportation, sale, receipt, possession, or concealment of a controlled substance. Ex parte Dorough, 773 So.2d 1001, 1003 (Ala. 2000).”
Kuykendall v. State, 955 So.2d 442, 444-15 (Ala.Civ.App. 2006).
Although there is certainly some testimony in the transcript of Dobyne’s criminal trial that indicated that Dobyne had
In conclusion, because Dobyne lacks standing to complain about the forfeiture of certain items, we dismiss the appeal insofar as it relates to the forfeiture of the two parcels of real property, the mobile home, the $3,000 in currency seized from the toolbox located behind the mobile home, the personal property identified on the eight-page inventory list, the 1993 Hyundai Excel automobile, and the 1983 Buick Electra automobile. We affirm the trial court’s summary judgment insofar as it forfeited the $5,000 in bribe money. However, in light of the State’s failure to present evidence of a link between Do-byne’s illegal-drug activities, on the one hand, and the $1,415 in currency seized from his person during his arrest, the 1987 Chevrolet Camaro automobile, the 1985 Chevrolet Astro van, the 1999 Pontiac Grand Am automobile, the 1995 Chevrolet truck, and the 1986 Nissan truck, on the other hand, we must reverse the trial court’s judgment insofar as it forfeits those items and remand the cause to the trial court for further proceedings.
APPEAL DISMISSED IN PART; AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; AND REMANDED.
. The last name of the appellant and of certain members of his family is sometimes spelled in the record "Dobine.'' In his notice of appeal, the appellant spelled his last name “Dobyne”; therefore, in this opinion, we refer to the appellant and to certain members of his family by spelling their last name “Dobyne.”
. Although the State's forfeiture complaint sought to condemn "U.S. Currency in the sum of Ten Thousand, Four Hundred, Fifteen and no/100 ($10,415.00),” the actual amount of the money seized — $3,000 seized during the search of the residences, $1,415 seized from Dobyne's person at the time of his arrest, and $5,000 in bribes Dobyne paid to Heard — totals $9,415.
. We note that Dobyne phrases large portions of his argument as if he were presenting an argument on behalf of his father (and perhaps his sister); however, as a pro se litigant, Do-byne is prohibited from representing the interests of his father (or his sister) on appeal, because doing so violates the statute prohibiting the unauthorized practice of law, Ala. Code 1975, § 34-3-6. See Godwin v. State ex rel. McKnight, 784 So.2d 1014, 1015 (Ala. 2000) (“Although the law allows [a person] to file complaints pro se, it does not allow him to file a complaint on behalf of anyone else ...."); and Ex parte Ghafary, 738 So.2d 778, 779 (Ala. 1998) (“However, [the constitutional right to represent oneself] does not extend to the representation of interests other than those of the pro se litigant.”).
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