In Highland Rim Investments, LLC v. Cooper, SC-2025-0599, 2026 WL 846029 (Mar. 27, 2026) the Alabama Supreme Court (Wise, JJ.; and Stewart, C.J., Shaw, Bryan, Sellers, Mendheim, Cook, McCool, and Parker, JJ., concur) addressed whether the Madison Circuit Court erred in allowing a case to proceed to trial when there were only 21 members of the venire from which the parties could strike.
The dispute arose from a failed real estate transaction between Kindra Cooper and Highland Rim Investments, LLC. Ms. *2-3. Cooper filed suit in the Madison Circuit Court asserting breach of contract and various fraud-based claims. Ms. *3. The jury awarded Cooper $7,500 on her breach of contract claim, along with $300,000 in compensatory damages and over $50,000 in punitive damages on certain misrepresentation and suppression claims. Ms. *4.
On appeal, Highland Rim and its co-defendant challenged, among other things, the jury selection process. Specifically, they argued that the trial court erred by requiring them to strike a jury from a venire containing fewer than the minimum number of competent jurors required by Ala. R. Civ. P. 47(b). Ms. *6-8. The venire initially included 24 prospective jurors, and challenges for cause reduced the number to 21. Id. The defendants objected, asserting their right to a full panel of at least 24 competent jurors, but the trial court overruled the objection and proceeded. Id.
The Court holds that parties in a civil case are entitled to strike from a list containing no fewer than 27 competent jurors (twenty-four competent jurors plus three competent jurors for each alternate juror required per Rule 47(b)). Ms. *8, (fn.2). The Court reverses the judgment entered on the jury’s verdict and remands the case for further proceedings. Ms. *11.