Ex parte Birmingham Airport Authority, [Ms. 1170592, Sept. 28, 2018] __ So. 3d __ (Ala. 2018). The Court (Parker, J.; and Stuart, C.J., and Bolin, Main, Wise, Bryan, Sellers, and Mendheim, JJ., concur) grants a petition for a writ of mandamus filed by the Birmingham Airport Authority, which sought an order reversing the Jefferson Circuit Court's order denying a motion to dismiss a wantonness claim despite the prohibition of § 4-3-47, Ala. Code 1975, prohibiting actions in tort against airport authorities like the Birmingham Airport Authority. Relying upon an analysis of the plain language of § 4-3-47(2), the Court concludes it must enforce the statute as written and give the words of the statute the ordinary plain meaning to give effect to the intent of the Legislature. Ms. *7-9, citing Ex parte Ankrom, 152 So. 3d 397, 409-10 (Ala. 2013). Applying this rule, the Court concludes "[t]he plain language of § 4-3-47(2) is clear: an authority may be sued in civil actions, 'excepting actions in tort.'" (Ms. *11 (underlined emphasis in original)).
