Sanchez v. McKinney, 87 So. 3d 502

McKinneys contracted with Sanchez (allegedly unlicensed) to build a residence on Titus property in Elmore County.
Sanchez mortgaged the property to Regions Bank in 2007; Sanchez later executed a bond-for-title with the McKinneys.
McKinneys moved onto the property in October 2005 and have remained in possession; no closing occurred on the prior real-estate sales agreements.
September 1, 2009, Sanchez filed unlawful-detainer/ejectment complaints in Elmore Circuit Court; McKinneys answered raising lack of standing.
November 2009–February 2010, circuit court ordered McKinneys to make mortgage payments; March 2010 extended order; petitions to dismiss raised jurisdictional/standing issues; petition for mandamus granted-in-part directing dismissal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Standing to pursue ejectment	Sanchez had title and possession via deed and mortgage	Regions holds legal title; Sanchez lacks standing	Sanchez lacked standing to eject; circuit court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction
Unlawful-detainer jurisdiction	Unlawful-detainer is district-court action; circuit lacks jurisdiction	Circuit court may hear appeals from district court actions	Circuit court had no jurisdiction over unlawful-detainer; should have been in district court
Return of payments under void order	Void order requires return of payments	No authority to order return from a void proceeding	Petition denied on relief for return of payments

Cadle Co. v. Shabani, 950 So.2d 277 (Ala.2006) (standing/real-party-in-interest distinction in ejectment context)
Cadle Co. v. Shabani, 4 So.3d 460 (Ala.2008) (Cadle II; jurisdictional implications re standing and ejectment)
Ex parte BOC Group, Inc., 823 So.2d 1270 (Ala.2001) (mandamus standards; jurisdictional review)