Elite Bail Bonding Co. v. State

827 So. 2d 823, 2002 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 106, 2002 WL 227952
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedFebruary 15, 2002
Docket2000957
StatusPublished

This text of 827 So. 2d 823 (Elite Bail Bonding Co. v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Elite Bail Bonding Co. v. State, 827 So. 2d 823, 2002 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 106, 2002 WL 227952 (Ala. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

YATES, Presiding Judge.

Elite Bail Bonding Company, Inc. (“Elite”), appeals from the trial court’s refusal to set aside a $30,000 forfeiture judgment against the bonding company.

On March 20, 2001, the Jefferson Circuit Court entered a judgment in Elite’s de novo appeal from the district court’s judgment in its bond-forfeiture case. The circuit court’s order states, in pertinent part:

“On July 6, 1999, [Elite] signed a consolidated appearance bond for [the defendant]. [The defendant] was charged with fraudulent use of a credit card in the District Court of Jefferson County.... Elite listed its address on the bond as Post Office Box 134, Gunters-ville, Alabama 35976.
“The following is a synopsis of the actions taken in the criminal case, DC 1999-7505:
“7-27-99 [The defendant] was to appear in court. [The defendant] failed to appear.
“7-28-99 Notice of the conditional forfeiture was issued and returned ‘Not Jefferson County.’ Notice was to be served on Elite at P.O. Box 134, Gun-tersville, AL 35976. This was the address Elite placed on the bond.
“8-05-99 Notice of conditional forfeiture was reissued and the notice returned ‘Do Not Serve Post Office Box.’ Notice was to be served on Elite at P.O. Box 134, Guntersville, AL 35976. This was the address Elite placed on the bond.
“9-07-99 There was a forfeiture hearing set but was rescheduled for October 19,1999.
“10-19-99 A conditional judgment was issued.
“10-20-99 An execution was issued. “12-07-99 The forfeiture was set aside and the execution was recalled.
“1-13-00 A conditional judgment was issued and execution was issued. “2-10-00 The execution was set aside. A notice of conditional forfeiture was issued.
“2-16-00 The notice of conditional forfeiture was served on Elite.
“3-16-00 There was a hearing on the forfeiture.
[[Image here]]
[825]*825“8-28-00 A conditional judgment was issued.
“9-26-00 The conditional judgment was made final and execution was issued.
“Elite is now before the court attempting to set aside the final judgment of $30,000 based on [its] having executed the bond as surety. Elite argues that the notice of conditional forfeiture against it as required by § 15-13-134, Ala.Code 1975, was not complied with and it should be discharged from all liability of the bail and the conditional judgment should be set aside under the provisions of § 15-13-136, Ala.Code 1975.
“It is the responsibility of a surety on a bail bond to notify the Clerk, in writing, of the address for service of notices. The address provided by the surety on the bond form executed by the defendant and surety is considered written notice to the Clerk where notice should be given. § 15-13-133, AIa.Code 1975.
“[Elite’s] Exhibit # 1 contains a copy of the consolidated appearance bond for [the defendant]. [Elite] placed its stamp on the bond as surety and the address is Post Office Box 134, Gunters-ville, Alabama 35976. The notice that was sent on July 28, 1999, was sent to the same address that was placed on the bond by Elite. The notice was returned ‘Not Found’ on [July 29, 1999], The notice was reissued on August 5, 1999, to the same post office box address given by Elite. The notice was returned, ‘Do Not Serve Post Office Box.’ On September 7, 1999, notice of a bond forfeiture docket was sent to Elite at its post office box, Guntersville, Alabama. A second notice of conditional forfeiture was issued on February 10th and served on Elite at the post office box address in
Guntersville, Alabama on February 16, 2000.
“The court finds from the evidence that the notices were served within the times required by law at the address that was provided by Elite to the Clerk.
“Therefore, it is ordered that a judgment be entered against [the defendant], [Elite], and ... for $30,000 plus the cost of court.”

On May 3,' 2001, the trial court denied Elite’s postjudgment motion.

Elite appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in that it misapplied the law in entering a judgment of $30,000 in favor of the State. Specifically, Elite argues that a notice of conditional forfeiture must be received by the bonding company within 90 days of its issuance; otherwise, it says, the liability under the bond is dischargea-ble. Elite further asserts that because the company did not receive notice within the 90-day period, the $30,000 judgment against the company is due to be reversed.

The dispositive issues before this court are whether the court clerk complied with the notice requirements in its service of process to Elite and whether Elite provided a sufficient address for service. The relevant statutes governing bail-forfeiture proceedings are contained in Article 6 of the Alabama Bail Reform Act of 1993, §§ 15-13-131 through-136, Ala.Code 1975.

Section 15-13-131 states:

“(a) When a defendant fails to appear in court as required by the undertaking of bail and no sufficient excuse has been provided to the court prior to the hearing, the court shall order a conditional forfeiture and show cause order against . the defendant and the sureties of the bail. The court shall notify defendant and sureties of the order as set out in this article. The , defendant or sureties, or both, shall file a written response [826]*826with the clerk of the court within 28 days of the date of service of the notice why the bond should not be forfeited. If a written response is filed within the time allowed and the court is of the opinion the written response is sufficient, the court shall set aside the conditional forfeiture.... ”

(Emphasis added.) Section 15-13-132 states:

“A notice of the rendition of the judgment set forth in Section 15-13-131 shall be issued by the clerk of the court and served according to the terms as established in this article within 90 days of the court’s conditional forfeiture order to the defendant and sureties.

(Emphasis added.) Section 15-13-133 states:

“It shall be the sole responsibility of any defendant or surety on bail to notify in writing the clerk of any court to which bail is returnable of the proper address for any service or notices and if the address is changed, then a new written notice is required by the defendant or sureties. Any address provided on the bond form executed by the defendant or sureties shall be the mñtten notice to the clerk.”

(Emphasis added.) Section 15-13-134 states:

“A conditional forfeiture notice may be served by any law enforcement officer, at the law enforcement office in the same manner as a summons in a civil action, except that service may not be by publication. At the law enforcement officer’s discretion and expense, the notice may be served by certified mail, requiring a signed receipt or some equivalent thereof.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Bay Town Bonding, Inc. v. State of Alabama
Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 2026

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
827 So. 2d 823, 2002 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 106, 2002 WL 227952, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/elite-bail-bonding-co-v-state-alacivapp-2002.