Energy and Policy Institute v. Drummond Company, Inc.; Balch & Bingham, LLP; David Roberson; and Anna Roberson…

Summary

The Supreme Court of Alabama held that the Energy and Policy Institute was entitled to intervene for the limited purpose of asserting the public's right to access and seek modification of a blanket order sealing the case file. Applying the abuse-of-discretion standard and the four-factor intervention framework, the Court concluded that EPI's delay did not independently establish untimeliness, did not unduly prejudice the parties, and was outweighed by the public's interest in access to nondiscovery judicial materials. The Court reversed the denial of intervention and remanded for further proceedings.