Supreme Court of Alabama
Ex Parte Northstar Battery Company, LLC. (in Re: Apel Steel Corporation v. Js Nationwide Erectors, Inc.)
June 1, 20122012 Ala. LEXIS 73
Summary
The Alabama Supreme Court granted Northstar Battery Company's petition for a writ of mandamus, holding that Apel Steel failed to carry its burden of proving personal jurisdiction because the complaint contained no jurisdictional averments, and therefore ordered the trial court to dismiss the claims against Northstar. The Court relied on established Alabama precedent that the plaintiff bears the burden of proving jurisdiction and that, absent factual allegations, the burden does not shift to the defendant. Justice Murdock filed a concurring opinion agreeing with the result but elaborating on the procedural burden and characterizing Rule 12(b)(2) as functioning like Rule 12(b)(6).