USA – ALABAMA Law and Practice Contributed by: Adam J. Sigman, Crystal H. Walls, Nathan Stotser, Katie Sinclair and Courtney Bradshaw, Dentons
cured, the landlord may file an unlawful detainer action, notice of which must be posted at the leased premises. The tenant then has 14 days from the posting of notice to file an answer. Assuming the tenant does not answer, the land - lord may file for a writ of execution with the district court for the county where the leased premises are located, which will be issued to the county sheriff, and it may take several weeks to actually serve and evict the tenant. In total, the process can take several months or longer, based on the case’s specific circum - stances; see Section 6-6-310 to -353. 6.22 Termination by a Third Party Pursuant to its terms, a lease may be terminated by a third party in the case of condemnation or foreclosure on the part of a lender that pre-dated the lease. In the event that the leased premises are condemned, “the lessee is entitled to share in the total award only in proportion to [its] inter - est” (State Highway Department v Lawford, 611 So 2d 285, 288 (Alabama 1992)); and, if the fee owner is satisfied with the award for its interest in the property, but the leasehold owner is not, the circuit court can order a separate trial for the leaseholder on appeal (State v SouthTrust Bank of Baldwin City, 634 So 2d 561, 563-564 (Alabama Civil Appeal 1994)). Payment is based on the fair market value of the leasehold interest. 6.23 Remedies/Damages for Breach An Alabama landlord may only accelerate rent in a commercial lease if the lease expressly per - mits this. A landlord may only pursue self-help to retake possession of the premises after a default if the lease permits re-entry on default. Alabama law does not impose on a landlord a duty to miti - gate damages in the absence of an express obli - gation in the lease to do so (Bowdoin Square, LLC v Winn-Dixie Montgomery, Inc, 873 So 2d
1091 (Alabama 2003)). The typical form of an eviction proceeding involving commercial leases is an action for an unlawful detainer. See Section 35-9-1 to -100 and Section 6-6-310 to -353. 7. Construction 7.1 Common Structures Used to Price Construction Projects The type of pricing structure used for projects depends on several factors, including: • the current economic climate; • the owner’s desires; • financing concerns; and • public entity status. In commercial construction projects, there are typically more guaranteed maximum or fixed- price contracts than open-ended cost-plus contracts, while fixed-price contracts are used almost exclusively in the public works sector. 7.2 Assigning Responsibility for the Design and Construction of a Project Alabama law requires a registered architect to sign off on plans for the design and construc - tion of a project (Section 34-2-32). For projects of USD50,000 or more, a contractor must be licensed by the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (Section 34-8-9). If there are engineering requirements, a licensed engineer must be consulted and approve the plans. In addition, most trades are required to be licensed by their respective governing author - ity, such as plumbers/gas fitters and electrical contractors (Sections 34-37-1 and 34-36-1 et seq). The project’s owner will typically employ an architect and engineer to work with a general contractor to conceptualise the project; the gen -
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