Holland v. Jefferson County, [Ms. SC-2024-0230, Jan. 10, 2025] __ So. 3d __ (Ala. 2025). The Court (Bryan, J.; Parker, C.J., and Shaw, Mendheim, and Mitchell, JJ., concur) reverses the Jefferson Circuit Court’s judgment dismissing Elizabeth Holland’s appeal from a condemnation order of the Jefferson Probate Court. Holland filed a timely notice of appeal but did not serve her notice of appeal on Jefferson County.
The County argued the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because of § 18-1A-283, Ala. Code 1975, providing that “[a]ny of the parties may appeal from the order of condemnation to the circuit court of the county within 30 days from the making of the order of condemnation by filing in the probate court rendering that judgment a written notice of appeal, a copy of which shall be served on the opposite party or his attorney….” The Court notes, although the County was not served, “[a] probate court employee emailed a copy of the notice of appeal to counsel for [the] County on December 27, 2021,” Ms. *3, and the County “voluntarily appeared in the circuit court to represent the County’s interests regarding the appeal, including seeking discovery. Under such circumstances, any further notice of Holland’s appeal was waived by the County.” Ms. *12.
The Court holds that “[t]he notice-of-appeal service requirement of § 18-1A-283 does not implicate a circuit court’s subject-matter jurisdiction over an appeal from a probate court’s condemnation order. This Court’s holdings in State [v. Fay, 291 Ala. 144, 279 So. 2d 126 (1973)] and State [v. Cobb, 289 Ala. 385, 267 So. 2d 795 (1972)] illustrate the circumstances under which an opposing party is regarded as having waived service of a notice of appeal filed pursuant to § 18-1A-283. Those circumstances are met in this case.” Ms. **20-21.