Coker Bart Cleveland v. Mary Alison Armstrong

── Coker Bart Cleveland v. Mary Alison Armstrong ── Case No.: CL-2025-0331 Court: Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama Date: April 03, 2026 Author: Bowden Category: General Rel: April 3, 2026 Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0650), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is published in Southern Reporter. ALABAMA COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS OCTOBER TERM, 2025-2026 _________________________ CL-2025-0331 & CL-2025-0332 _________________________ Coker Bart Cleveland v. Mary Alison Armstrong Appeals from Calhoun Circuit Court (DR-19-900127.01 and DR-19-900127.02) BOWDEN, Judge. Coker Bart Cleveland appeals from an order of the Calhoun Circuit Court denying Cleveland's postjudgment motion to set aside a default CL-2025-0331 & CL-2025-0332 judgment that was entered in the cases underlying these appeals.1 When the default judgment was entered, however, the underlying cases were on appeal in this court. The default judgment is therefore void, and Cleveland's appeals, which ultimately seek to set aside the default judgment, does not present a justiciable controversy. Accordingly, we dismiss Cleveland's appeals with instructions. Procedural History Cleveland and Mary Alison Armstrong were divorced by a judgment entered on August 12, 2019. That judgment, among other things, awarded the parties joint custody of S.C., the parties' child. On September 21, 2022, Cleveland commenced an action to modify the custody of S.C. that was assigned case number DR-19-900127.01 ("the .01 action"). In his modification petition, Cleveland alleged that there had been a material change in circumstances since the entry of the August 12, 2019, judgment and that he could "introduce evidence that will 1The record reflects that the same default judgment was entered in both cases underlying these appeals. For simplicity, we refer to identical documents filed in the underlying cases in the singular tense when practicable. 2 CL-2025-0331 & CL-2025-0332 overcome the inherent disruptiveness caused by a change of custody of [S.C.]." Armstrong filed an answer and counterpetition to modify custody on November 16, 2022. On September 19, 2022, Chief Justice Parker of the Alabama Supreme Court appointed Judge James Malone to preside over the .01 action. On September 7, 2023, Armstrong filed a petition for a rule nisi, which commenced the action assigned case number DR-19-900127.02 ("the .02 action"). On February 14, 2024, Chief Justice Parker appointed Judge George Day, Jr., to preside over the .01 and .02 actions; Chief Justice Parker's order was entered into the record on September 4, 2025. Also on February 14, 2024, Armstrong filed a motion seeking "immediate psychological evaluation of [Cleveland]." The next day, February 15, 2024, Armstrong filed an ex parte motion seeking immediate custody of S.C. On February 20, 2024, the circuit court entered an order ("the February 20, 2024, order") that (1) required Cleveland to undergo a psychological evaluation and color-code drug testing; (2) appointed a guardian ad litem for S.C.; and (3) suspended Cleveland's "unsupervised 3 CL-2025-0331 & CL-2025-0332 visitation." The February 20, 2024, order also consolidated the .01 and .02 actions for trial and set those cases for a final hearing on September 6, 2024. On February 23, 2024, the parties reached a temporary agreement regarding the pendente lite custody of S.C., which included superv