William Parker, Jr., Ramona D. Hall, and the Estate of Roberta W. Parker, deceased v. The Bank of New York Mellon, as Trustee for CWABS, Inc., Asset-Backed Certificates, Series 2005-17, and Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., No. SC-2025-0169, 2026 WL 1355996 (CV-22-900165) Ala. May 15, 2026). The Court (Wise, J., Stewart, C.J., and Sellers, Cook, and Parker, JJ., concur) reverses and remands with instructions the decision of the Shelby Circuit Court, holding actions filed against persons deceased at the time of filing are void ab initio.
William Parker, Sr. (“William”) and his wife, Roberta W. Parker (“Roberta”), owned a house in Hoover as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. William and Roberta had a son, Parker. In November 2005, William and Roberta refinanced their home with Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. as lender. On February 23, 2012, the mortgage was assigned to Bank of New York Mellon (“BONY”). *2. On July 16, 2017, Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. (“SPS”) became the servicer of the loan.
William passed away on January 23, 2012. Parker subsequently moved in with Roberta, who passed away on January 25, 2019. *3. Parker inherited the property and lived there with Ramona D. Hall (“Hall”) after they married. Parker paid the mortgage after his mother died. SPS sent a default notice to Roberta in February 2020 and Parker informed SPS his mother was deceased. *3. On July 2, 2020, the Shelby County Probate Court appointed Parker as the Personal Representative of the estate of Roberta and Parker became the successor in interest to his parents’ property. Id.
BONY foreclosed on the property but Parker and Hall remained. On March 23, 2022, BONY filed an ejectment complaint against Parker’s deceased parents, William and Roberta and certain fictitious defendants. *4. On July 14, 2022, Parker and Hall filed an answer and counterclaim against BONY and SPS. Id. On October 3, 2022, Parker and Hall filed a motion seeking to “either add the estate as a party to the counterclaim or, alternatively, to substitute the estate for Roberta as a party to the action.” Id. On October 5, 2022, Parker, Hall, and the estate filed an amended answer and counterclaims. *5. On October 24, 2022, the trial court substituted the estate for Roberta as a party.*5.
On August 23, 2023, BONY and SPS filed a motion for defendants to deposit funds monthly for the loan, taxes, and insurance, which defendants opposed. *5. On September 6, 2024, BONY filed a second amended complaint with requests for both possession of the property and mense profits and a motion for summary judgment. *6. The trial court granted the motion for summary judgment and defendants appealed.
The Court did not decide this case on the merits; instead, the Court determines the circuit court did not have subject-matter jurisdiction over the case because BONY sued deceased individuals despite knowledge that Parker was named the successor in interest of the subject property. Because BONY’s lawsuit was void ab initio, the circuit court did not have jurisdiction to hear any of the above-described motions. *11-12. See Maclin v. Congo, 106 So. 3d 405 (Ala. Civ. App. 2012) (holding suits filed against a person deceased at the time of filing are “a nullity and do not invoke the trial court’s jurisdiction.” Id. at 408). The Court reverses the action with instructions to vacate its order and dismiss the action without prejudice.