B.S.H., as mother and next friend of F.W.H., a minor v. Grady Scott Humphryes

── B.S.H., as mother and next friend of F.W.H., a minor v. Grady Scott Humphryes ── Court: Supreme Court of Alabama Date: April 17, 2026 Author: Greg Cook Category: General Rel: April 17, 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 printed in Southern Reporter. SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA OCTOBER TERM, 2025-2026 _________________________ SC-2025-0902 _________________________ B.S.H., as mother and next friend of F.W.H., a deceased minor v. Grady Scott Humphryes Appeal from Jefferson Circuit Court, Bessemer Division (CV-19-900855) COOK, Justice. B.S.H. and Grady Scott Humphryes, a divorced couple, shared joint SC-2025-0902 custody of their son, F.W.H., a minor.1 Tragedy struck in September 2019 when F.W.H., while in the care of his father Grady, meandered over to a neighbor's house, gained access to her swimming pool, and drowned. Following F.W.H.'s death, B.S.H., as F.W.H.'s mother and next friend, sued both Grady and his neighbor, Jessica June Carmichael, in the Bessemer Division of the Jefferson Circuit Court, for the wrongful death of her son. See § 6-5-391, Ala. Code 1975. Grady also filed a cross- claim against Carmichael for wrongful death. Carmichael then settled the claims and interpleaded the funds with the trial court to determine how much each parent was owed. The trial court then dismissed all the claims against Carmichael with prejudice. B.S.H. received her half of the funds, but, after Grady pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide, she moved the court to give her all the funds. According to B.S.H., under Alabama law, Grady could not receive funds from a death that he had caused. The trial court found that Alabama law did not preclude Grady's recovery and that he was entitled to the other half of the settlement 1We refer to the parties as they have referred to themselves in both the trial court and on appeal. 2 SC-2025-0902 funds. B.S.H. has now appealed. However, as explained below, her appeal is not from a final judgment and must be dismissed. Facts and Procedural History After their divorce, B.S.H. and Grady shared joint custody of their son, F.W.H. On September 29, 2019, F.W.H. was visiting his father, Grady, at his home in Hueytown. At some point that day, F.W.H. wandered over to Carmichael's property, where he gained access to her swimming pool. F.W.H. was later found unresponsive in the pool, and, two days later, he died. On October 2, 2019, B.S.H. sued both Grady and Carmichael in the trial court. In her complaint, she alleged that both Grady and Carmichael were liable for the death of F.W.H. under § 6-5-391, which provides a cause of action for the wrongful death of a minor. Grady filed a cross- claim against Carmichael under the same statute. Because authorities were conducting an investigation into Grady regarding his son's death, Grady moved the trial court to stay the proceedings pending the outcome of that investigation. The trial court granted that motion on June 1, 2020. Later that month, Carmichael reached an agreement with B.S.H. 3 SC-2025-0902 and Grady to settle the case for $100,000 in return for releasing Carmichael from all claims against her. However, because B.S.H. and Grady had not agreed on an allocation of the settlement funds between them, Carmichael moved to interplead the funds with the trial court. The trial court granted the motion, accepted the funds, and dismissed all the claims