Alabama Demand Letter

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Alabama's Deceptive Trade Practices Act requires a written demand communicated at least 15 days before a consumer (or, for pyramid-scheme or seller-assisted-marketing-plan violations, any other person) files suit for damages, sent by placing it in the mail or otherwise (certified or registered mail is not required), identifying the claimant and reasonably describing the unfair or deceptive act and the injury suffered (Ala. Code Section 8-19-10(a), (e)). This demand requirement does not apply if the respondent keeps no place of business or assets in Alabama.

2. 2

   If the recipient of your ADTPA demand makes a written tender of settlement within 15 days that you reject, they may later present that tender and an affidavit of rejection to the court; if the court finds the tender enough to cover your actual damages, you cannot recover additional damages, attorney's fees, or costs (Ala. Code Section 8-19-10(e)).

3. 3

   A consumer (or, for pyramid-scheme or seller-assisted-marketing-plan violations, any other person) who proves an ADTPA violation may recover actual damages or $100, whichever is greater, plus up to three times actual damages if the court exercises its discretion to award it, considering the amount of damages, how often the conduct occurred, how many people were affected, and whether it was intentional; a prevailing plaintiff also recovers a reasonable attorney's fee (Ala. Code Section 8-19-10(a)).

4. 4

   No Alabama statute conditions recovering attorney's fees on presenting your claim before suing; outside a contractual fee clause or a specific fee-shifting statute, such as the ADTPA fee award or the worthless-check civil action described below, Alabama follows the American Rule, so each side generally pays its own attorney's fees on an ordinary contract or account claim.

5. 5

   If your claim involves a worthless check, Alabama Code Section 6-5-285 gives you a civil right of action against the person who unlawfully made, uttered, or delivered it, for compensatory and punitive damages, including a reasonable attorney's fee, in an amount the court or jury sets, with no fixed multiplier or cap, and the action must be commenced within one year of the unlawful act. No pre-suit demand is required for this civil claim, though a separate written notice under Alabama's bad-check statute follows its own required form under Section 13A-9-13.2, which this letter does not reproduce.

6. 6

   Alabama gives written and oral contract claims the same six-year period to sue (Ala. Code Section 6-2-34(4), (9)); a claim on an open or unliquidated account gets three years (Section 6-2-37(1)), and a negligence-based property damage claim gets two years (Section 6-2-38(l)). Interest on a debt without a written contract runs at 6 percent a year, and a written contract may run up to 8 percent a year, counted from the day payment was due, not from the date of your demand (Ala. Code Sections 8-8-1, 8-8-8).

7. 7

   Apart from the statutory worthless-check notice form under Section 13A-9-13.2, which itself warns of referral for criminal prosecution, a demand letter must never threaten arrest, jail, or criminal prosecution to collect a civil debt; doing so may implicate Alabama's extortion statute, which makes it unlawful to knowingly obtain property by threat with intent to deprive the owner of it (Ala. Code Section 13A-8-13). Alabama's Small Claims Division of the District Court hears claims up to $6,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and unlike many states allows a party to appear with or without an attorney (Section 12-12-31).

Alabama Requirements for Demand Letter

• ADTPA 15-Day Pre-Suit Demand

  Alabama's Deceptive Trade Practices Act requires a written demand communicated at least 15 days before filing suit for damages, identifying the claimant and reasonably describing the unfair or deceptive act and the injury suffered (Ala. Code Section 8-19-10(a), (e)). This requirement does not apply if the respondent keeps no place of business or assets in Alabama.

• ADTPA Demand Has No Mandated Delivery Method

  The ADTPA demand statute does not require certified or registered mail; it requires only that the written demand be communicated at least 15 days before suit by placing it in the mail or otherwise (Ala. Code Section 8-19-10(e)). Sending it by a method that proves delivery still protects the sender if the 15-day period is later disputed.

• Respondent's 15-Day Tender-of-Settlement Defense

  A respondent who receives an ADTPA demand and, within 15 days, makes a written tender of settlement that the claimant rejects may present that tender and an affidavit of rejection to the court; a tender the court finds sufficient to cover the claimant's actual damages blocks any award of additional damages, attorney's fees, or costs (Ala. Code Section 8-19-10(e)).

• ADTPA Damages Floor and Discretionary Treble

  A consumer (or, for pyramid-scheme or seller-assisted-marketing-plan violations, any other person) who proves an ADTPA violation may recover actual damages or $100, whichever is greater, plus up to three times actual damages if the court exercises its discretion, considering the amount of damages, the frequency of the conduct, how many people were affected, and whether the conduct was intentional; a prevailing plaintiff also recovers a reasonable attorney's fee (Ala. Code Section 8-19-10(a)).

• No General Attorney's-Fee Presentment Statute

  No Alabama statute conditions recovering attorney's fees on presenting a claim before suit; outside a contractual fee clause or a specific fee-shifting statute such as the ADTPA or the worthless-check civil action, Alabama follows the American Rule, so each side generally bears its own fees on an ordinary contract or account claim.

• Worthless Check Civil Action Has No Fixed Cap

  Alabama Code Section 6-5-285 gives the holder of a worthless check a civil right of action against the person who unlawfully made, uttered, or delivered it, for compensatory and punitive damages, including a reasonable attorney's fee, in an amount the court or jury sets, with no fixed multiplier or dollar cap; the action must be commenced within one year of the unlawful act, and no pre-suit demand is required for it.

• Separate Statutory Notice Form for a Bad Check

  Ala. Code Section 13A-9-13.2 prescribes its own required written notice, delivered by certified or registered mail, giving the recipient 10 days from receipt to pay before the holder may pursue referral for criminal prosecution. That notice has mandated content and form that an ordinary demand letter does not satisfy, so a sender who wants its protections must use the statute's own form rather than this letter.

• Interest Runs From the Due Date, Not the Demand

  Alabama Code Section 8-8-8 accrues interest on a contract debt from the day payment was due, not from the date of a demand letter; Section 8-8-1 sets the rate at 6 percent a year absent a written contract and up to 8 percent a year on a written-contract obligation.

• Small Claims Limit and Attorneys Allowed

  Alabama's Small Claims Division of the District Court hears claims up to $6,000, exclusive of interest and costs (Ala. Code Section 12-12-31(a)); unlike many states, a party may appear with or without an attorney (Section 12-12-31(b)), though an award of attorney's fees there requires the party to be attorney-represented (Section 12-12-31(c)).