Decisions from May 23, 2025
The Alabama Supreme Court issued its weekly release list on Friday, May 23. The opinions of interest to the Alabama business community include the following:
Ex parte Opp Health & Rehab., LLC: In this workers’ compensation case arising from a nursing home employee’s contraction of COVID in 2020, the court reversed a decision by the Court of Civil Appeals that would have permitted the employee to proceed with her claims. In the trial court, the nursing home moved for judgment on the pleadings, arguing that Alabama’s Worker’s Compensation Act did not permit recovery for injuries caused by COVID. The employee responded with one particular theory: that COVID was an “occupational disease” covered by the Act. The trial court entered judgment on the pleadings for the nursing home. On appeal to the Court of Civil Appeals, the employee presented a new argument she claimed was supported by the factual allegations of her complaint - specifically, that her injuries from COVID were “nonaccidental injuries” covered by the Act. The Court of Civil Appeals concluded that the employee could proceed with her complaint under that new theory. The Supreme Court reversed. An appellant, it said, is not allowed to appeal a dismissal of a complaint based on a theory it did not present to the trial court, so the Court of Civil Appeals should not have considered it. Eight justices joined this opinion, while the Court’s newest member—Justice Bill Lewis, who replaced Justice Jay Mitchell this week—recused.
