Ex parte Oasis Legal Finance, LLC
(
In re: James Marquez v. GNS & Associates, Inc., Oasis Legal Finance,
LLC, et al, [Ms. 1170431, Mar. 22, 2018] __ So. 3d __ (Ala. 2018). The Supreme Court
denies a petition for writ of mandamus filed by Oasis Legal Finance, LLC,
a foreign limited liability corporation not qualified to do business in
the State of Alabama, which sought an order directing the Mobile Circuit
Court to enforce an outbound forum selection clause. Plaintiffs alleged
Oasis's so-called "purchase agreements," whereby it offered
cash advances to financially vulnerable Alabamians with workers' compensation
claims, were prohibited by §§ 25-5-231 and 25-5-86(2), Ala.
Code 1975, parts of the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act which characterize
such activities as a crime. Plaintiffs invoked § 10A-1-7.21(a), Alabama's
"door-closing statute," which commands that a non-qualified
foreign corporation "may not maintain any action, suit,
or proceeding
in any court of this State...." The Court (Stuart, C.J., and Bolin,
Parker, Shaw, Main, Wise, and Bryan, JJ., concur; Sellers and Mendheim,
JJ, dissent) denied the petition for writ of mandamus, without opinion,
and dismissed Oasis's emergency motion for stay as moot.
