Ala. R. Civ. P. 19(a) & Joinder of Indispensable Parties

Randolph County Commission v. Landrum, [Ms. 2190961, 2190971, June 18, 2021], ___ So. 3d ___ (Ala. Civ. App. 2021). The court (Edwards, J.; Thompson, P.J., and Moore, Hanson, and Fridy, JJ., concur) reverses the judgment of the Randolph Circuit Court declaring, after ore tenus proceedings, that an unimproved road located within Randolph County was a public, county road. The court concludes the circuit court erred by entering the judgment without first ensuring, in conformance with Ala. Code § 43-2-830(a) that all of an adjoining deceased real property owner’s heirs were joined as necessary parties in conformance with Ala. R. Civ. P. 19. Ms. **13-14. Citing [Ms. **13-14] Allbritton v. Dawkins, 19 So. 3d 241, 243-44 (Ala. Civ. App. 2009), [Ms. *15] Darby v. Presley, [Ms. 2190403, Nov. 20, 2020] __ So. 3d __, __ (Ala. Civ. App. 2020), and [Ms. *15] Hall v. Reynolds, 60 So. 3d 927, 931 (Ala. Civ. App. 2010), the court concludes “[b]ased on our precedents and Rule 19, each heir of [the deceased adjoining property owner] who inherited an interest in the property on which Road 968 is located, or such heirs’ successor in interest to the extent an heir may have subsequently died or transferred his or her interest in the property at issue, must be made a party to [this] action, if feasible.”

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