Cox v. Hughes

781 So. 2d 197, 2000 WL 1367890
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedSeptember 22, 2000
Docket1981934
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 781 So. 2d 197 (Cox v. Hughes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cox v. Hughes, 781 So. 2d 197, 2000 WL 1367890 (Ala. 2000).

Opinion

781 So.2d 197 (2000)

Matthew COX et al.
v.
Alice Gearlene Plier HUGHES et al.

1981934.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

September 22, 2000.

*198 William P. Powers III, Columbiana, for appellants.

Thomas T. Gallion III and Jamie A. Johnston of Haskell, Slaughter, Young & Gallion, L.L.C., Montgomery, for appellees.

On Application for Rehearing

COOK, Justice.

The opinion of June 30, 2000, is withdrawn, and the following is substituted therefor.

Ray Cox, Karen Cox, and Matthew Cox appeal from an adverse summary judgment in their action seeking to set aside conveyances they alleged to be fraudulent. We affirm in part; reverse in part; and remand.

This action involves an attempt by the Coxes to collect a $629,000 default judgment entered against Alice Gearlene Hughes in an earlier case. That judgment had been affirmed by this Court in Hughes v. Cox, 601 So.2d 465 (Ala.1992). To aid the reader in understanding this case, we *199 shall repeat here the pertinent facts as they were set forth in Hughes:

"In January 1986, Ray and Karen Cox purchased a house from Thomas and Judith Duke. Hughes Realty Company was the selling agent, and City Finance of Clanton financed the purchase for the Coxes. The Coxes moved into the house in February 1986 and, around June 1986, noticed standing water outside the house. The Coxes contacted a man to come to the house and clean out the septic tank; however, when the man attempted to pump out the tank, he discovered that there was, in fact, no septic tank. Instead, a 500-gallon gasoline tank had been buried in the ground. The top of the tank had rusted and water was bubbling out of the top onto the ground.
"The Coxes then discovered a large accumulation of liquid under the house. The liquid was raw sewage, and it had been seeping from under the house into their house through the walls. The man who had come to the house to clean the tank told the Coxes that the land on which their house was situated would not percolate and that, therefore, a septic tank could not be installed. There was also no sewage system, because the house was located in a rural area of Chilton County.
"The Coxes and their one-year-old son, Matthew, began developing boils on their skin while living in the house, and they continued to develop these boils after leaving the house. Mrs. Cox was pregnant at the time the boils started to develop, and the child of this pregnancy, born after the Coxes had moved out of the house, also developed the same type of boils. After seeking medical attention, the Coxes were told by their doctor that an infection of staphylococcus aureus (staph) was causing the boils on their skin. The Coxes were treated with antibiotics, and the doctor advised them to clean everything in the house with bleach. They followed the doctor's instructions; however, the boils continued. The doctor then advised them to move out of the house because he thought it very likely that the raw sewage was causing their staph infections. The Coxes left the house in June 1986 and have made no payments on the note since that time.
"On October 10, 1986, the Coxes, individually and on behalf of their son Matthew, filed a complaint against City Finance, the Dukes, and `Hughes Realty of Clanton, Alabama.' The complaint alleged negligence, wantonness, and fraud and misrepresentation with regard to the condition of the house, the condition of the soil as to whether it would percolate, and the existence of a septic tank. City Finance counterclaimed, but, after discovery and negotiations, both the claim against it and its counterclaim were dismissed by agreement of the parties. In January 1990, the claims against the Dukes were also dismissed by consent of the parties, and `Hughes Realty of Clanton, Alabama,' remained as the only defendant.
"The Coxes moved for an entry of default against Hughes Realty and, on April 3, 1990, the circuit court entered a default and scheduled a hearing on damages. The court held that hearing on May 3 and entered the following on the case action summary sheet:
"`Plaintiffs present with attorney, hearing on damages on default. Defendant['s] name amended to conform to proof & since service was had on Geraldine [sic] Hughes to reflect Defendant, Geraldine [sic] Hughes, d/b/a Hughes Realty Company. Oral order entered. Written judgment to follow.'
*200 "On June 27, 1990, the Coxes amended their complaint and substituted `Gearlene Hughes, d/b/a Hughes Realty or Hughes Realty of Clanton' for `Hughes Realty of Clanton, Alabama' as the defendant.... The court entered a default judgment against [Gearlene] Hughes on September 14, 1990, awarding $4,000 compensatory damages to Matthew Cox, through his father; $100,000 compensatory and $175,000 punitive damages to Ray Cox; and $150,000 compensatory and $200,000 punitive damages to Karen Cox.
"On September 20, 1990, Hughes filed a motion to set aside the default judgment. On November 1, the trial court held a hearing on that motion and, on December 21, 1990, entered an order denying it."

601 So.2d at 466-67 (footnotes omitted). This Court affirmed that order. Id. at 473.

The Brief of Appellees offers the following additional information regarding the businesses and relationships involved in this dispute:

"Oscar Plier, Ollie Mae Plier and Gearlene Hughes began working together in the construction business in 1961. After the death of Gearlene Hughes's husband, Wylie Jones, Jr., in 1960, Oscar Plier and Gearlene Hughes (then Gearlene Jones) started a construction business, Plier & Jones Contractors. After Mr. James Conrad Hughes and Ms. Gearlene Hughes were married, the name of the business was changed to Plier & Hughes Contractors.
"Plier-Hughes, Inc. was incorporated on August 16, 1974, to engage in the real estate business; i.e., selling, rental and construction. The original incorporators of the company were Oscar Plier, Ollie Mae Plier and Gearlene Hughes. The original officers and directors of the company were Gearlene Hughes, President; Oscar B. Plier, Vice President; and Ollie Mae Plier, secretary/treasurer."

Brief of Appellees, at vi (citations to the record omitted).

On October 25, 1995, the Coxes filed a complaint against Alice Gearlene Hughes, individually, and Alice Gearlene Hughes d/b/a Plier-Hughes, Inc. Throughout the record and the briefs, this corporation is variously called Plier-Hughes, Inc., and Plier & Hughes, Inc. For the sake of consistency, we shall hereinafter refer to it as Plier-Hughes, Inc. Also named as defendants were Oscar B. Plier, Ollie M. Plier, and Tabitha Hughes. The complaint, which was styled as a "Petition to Set Aside Fraudulent Conveyances and Transfers and Declaratory Judgment," alleged that the Coxes are "judgment creditors of the Defendant, Gearlene Hughes d/b/a Hughes Realty and Hughes Realty of Clanton," and that "Oscar B. Plier, Ollie M. Plier and Tabitha Hughes, who are the father, mother, and daughter [respectively] of ... Gearlene Hughes, ...

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Bluebook (online)
781 So. 2d 197, 2000 WL 1367890, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cox-v-hughes-ala-2000.