Sometimes things do not work out financially like you want them to. If you are running low on funds, it can be very difficult to figure out what your priorities should be for what gets paid and what does not. If that does not work out, you can get so far behind that your property gets set for repossession. When that happens, you might try to do something about it like stopping the repossession.
In the case of Ex Parte City of Selma, the plaintiff was definitely behind on his payments. Two people from a repossession company came to his house and told him that they were there to repossess his vehicle. However, he refused their request to take the vehicle. To get them to leave his property, he called the police.
However, when the police got there, they were not interested in helping the plaintiff. Instead, they looked at the repossession paperwork, saw how far behind the payments were, and went ahead and told the repossession company employees to take the vehicle. They gave the plaintiff a chance to get his belongings out of the vehicle, but the company still took the car.
The plaintiff was not happy, and sued the city. He argued that the police officers committed misconduct when they told the repossession company to take his vehicle. The trial court denied a motion to end the case in favor of the city without a trial, and the city petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court for relief.
The Supreme Court looked at the law and held that there was no question that the officers were acting in their official capacity as “peace officers.” In fact, the court said, the officers were preventing a breach of the peace. As a result, the plaintiff had to prove that the officers failed to do their duty, or went outside their duty and acted either wrongfully or outside the law. The plaintiff, however, had put forward no evidence showing that anything like that had happened. As a result, the court decided that the city was immune from the lawsuit.
The moral of the story here is that you should always put forward the best evidence to make your case. There may have been evidence here to show that the police officers exceeded their authority, but the plaintiff did not show that was the case. You should have an experienced, knowledgeable attorney on your side to make sure that you make the best arguments. Contact INGRAM LAW LLC at (205) 303-1753.for an attorney with the experience and knowledge that can make all the difference..