Bernals, Inc. v. Kessler-Greystone, LLC, 70 So. 3d 315

Bernals, Inc. leased Greystone Park (suites 113-114) to Bernals under a 2005 lease; Maria E. Adan signed as sole owner and guaranteed rent.
Brentwood Properties managed Greystone Park and had authority to enforce leases and collect rents under an agency agreement with Taylor, later terminated.
Brentwood sued Bernals and Adan in 2008 for lease breaches; Brentwood was not a signatory to the lease and later assigned the case to Kessler-Greystone, LLC.
Trial court initially denied Brentwood’s standing challenge; Brentwood was substituted by Kessler in 2008; Adan and Bernals asserted various counterclaims.
A May 1, 2009 default judgment was entered against Adan for $84,271.24; Bernals later obtained a separate summary judgment for $130,029.44 against Adan and Bernals on related counts.
On appeal, the court held Brentwood lacked standing to sue and that, without standing, subject-matter jurisdiction was void; judgments were vacated and the case dismissed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Brentwood had standing to sue	Brentwood had a contractual right to enforce leases as manager.	Brentwood was not a party to the lease and had no standing.	Brentwood lacked standing; jurisdiction failed.
Whether Brentwood was a third-party beneficiary of the lease	Lease intended to benefit Brentwood as manager; thus Brentwood could sue.	Lease failed to show Brentwood as a direct intended beneficiary; no standing.	No third-party beneficiary under the lease.
Whether substitution of Kessler cured lack of standing	Kessler substituted for Brentwood to preserve the action.	Substitution cannot cure lack of subject-matter jurisdiction when original plaintiff lacked standing.	Substitution did not cure jurisdictional defect; action remains void.
Effect of lack of standing on judgments and appeal	Judgments should not be vacated due to potential meritorious claims.	Without jurisdiction, judgments are void and appeals must be dismissed.	Judgments void; case and appeal dismissed.

Cadle Co. v. Shabani, 4 So.3d 460 (Ala. 2008) (standing cannot be cured by adding a party lacking jurisdiction)
2018 Rainbow Drive, 740 So.2d 1027 (Ala. 1999) (standing requires injury in fact to a legally protected right)
Ex parte Steadman, 812 So.2d 290 (Ala. 2001) (test for third-party beneficiary requires intended direct benefit)
Redtop Market, Inc. v. State, 66 So.3d 204 (Ala. 2010) (void judgments when subject-matter jurisdiction is lacking)
Lauterbach v. Gordon, 56 So.3d 613 (Ala. 2010) (motion to set aside default judgment deemed denied after 90 days; timeliness of appeal)
Dunning v. New England Life Ins. Co., 890 So.2d 92 (Ala. 2003) (one not a party to a contract cannot sue for its breach)