Class action settlements in the United States topped $42 billion in 2024 — the third consecutive year they surpassed the $40 billion mark. From defective products and data breaches to wage theft and environmental contamination, these cases have become one of the most powerful tools available to ordinary people holding corporations accountable. Yet most people…
Alabama is one of only four states — along with Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia — that still follows the contributory negligence doctrine. Under this rule, if an insurance company can pin even 1% of fault on you, your entire claim can be thrown out. That means being “not at fault” isn’t just a detail…
Nearly 29% of all traffic fatalities in Alabama involve an alcohol-impaired driver, and the state logs roughly 199 DUI arrests per 100,000 licensed drivers each year. If you’ve recently been charged — or someone close to you has — you’ve probably started searching for the difference between DWI vs DUI. The answer in Alabama may…
While some Alabama divorces stretch past the one-year mark, couples who agree on every major issue can walk away with a signed decree in roughly the time it takes to finish a semester of night school. Alabama’s mandatory waiting period is just 30 days — among the shortest in the nation — and when both…
An uncontested divorce in Alabama can wrap up in as little as six weeks. A contested one can consume the better part of a year — or longer. That gap represents hundreds of hours, thousands of dollars, and months of uncertainty that touch every part of daily life, from where your children sleep to how…
Alabama requires just 30 days between the filing of a divorce complaint and the earliest date a judge can sign a final decree — one of the shortest mandatory waiting periods of any state in the country. Yet the gap between that legal minimum and reality is often wide. Some couples walk away with a…
Alabama family court judges do not flip a coin when deciding which parent receives custody. Every ruling follows a structured evaluation rooted in a legal standard known as the “best interests of the child,” and the specific criteria that fall under that standard are collectively referred to as the Alabama custody factors. Yet many parents…
Alabama’s family courts process thousands of divorce cases each year, and a significant portion involve contested custody disputes where both parents believe they deserve primary placement. Judges do not make these decisions based on gut feelings or personal preference. Instead, they follow a defined set of criteria rooted in the child’s best interests, and the…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alabama consistently ranks among the top ten states in the nation for divorce rates. For thousands of Alabama residents each year, the decision to end a marriage brings an overwhelming wave of legal, financial, and personal decisions that must be addressed in a compressed timeline. A…
The man who pulled the trigger received a life sentence. The man who was outside the store when the shot was fired could soon be put to death by the state of Alabama. Charles “Sonny” Burton, now 75 years old, awaits execution for his participation in a robbery that took place more than three decades…