(a) Any person who is held responsible for payment of a civil fine as provided herein, but who was not actually operating the involved vehicle, who timely and properly followed the procedure to transfer responsibility but is ultimately held responsible because of the person’s ownership of the vehicle, and who actually pays the civil fine, shall have a cause of action against the person who was operating the vehicle for the amount of the civil fine actually paid plus a reasonable attorney fee, without regard to the rules regarding joint and several liability, contribution, or indemnity.
Terms Used In Alabama Code 16-27A-12
Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
(b) As a condition precedent to the bringing of a civil action under subsection (a), the person held responsible for payment of the civil fine shall first make written demand on the other person for reimbursement of the civil fine, giving a minimum of 60 days to remit payment, and if reimbursement is fully made within the 60 day period then the cause of action shall be extinguished and no attorney fees or other damages shall attach to the reimbursement.
