Alabama Code Section 6-6-280 is the state’s ejectment statute. It gives a property owner two ways to sue someone who occupies their land without a right to be there: a traditional ejectment action, or the simpler “action in the nature of ejectment” that nearly everyone uses today.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 6 Chapter 6 Article 7 Section 6-6-280 – Election to Proceed by Action of Ejectment or Action in Nature of Ejectment; Proceedings Upon Action in Nature of Ejectment Under the simplified version, the complaint is sufficient if it states that the plaintiff possessed the property or holds legal title to it, describes the land clearly, and alleges that the defendant entered and unlawfully withholds it. A successful plaintiff recovers the land plus mesne profits and damages for any waste or injury up to the verdict.
When 6-6-280 Applies Instead of an Eviction
Ejectment and eviction are not interchangeable, and filing the wrong one wastes months. Eviction (unlawful detainer) applies to a landlord-tenant relationship: a tenant who violated a lease or stayed past its term. Ejectment under 6-6-280 applies when there is no landlord-tenant relationship at all.
The common scenarios are a former owner who refuses to leave after a foreclosure, a relative who moved in without any lease, a squatter, or someone occupying land under a deed that turns out to be defective. Because these cases put title itself in play, they involve heavier documentation and move more slowly than a standard eviction. A court will dismiss an eviction case where no landlord-tenant relationship exists, so if ownership is the real question, 6-6-280 is the vehicle.
What the Complaint Must Allege
The streamlined procedure under 6-6-280 strips away the old procedural fictions of a recited lease and ouster by a fictional ejector. What remains is short but specific. The complaint must state that the plaintiff either possessed the property or holds legal title, provide a clear description of the land, and allege that the defendant entered and unlawfully withholds it.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 6 Chapter 6 Article 7 Section 6-6-280 – Election to Proceed by Action of Ejectment or Action in Nature of Ejectment; Proceedings Upon Action in Nature of Ejectment
The land description is where cases stumble. “The Smith property on Highway 31” will not hold up. Use the legal description from the deed, with metes and bounds or lot and block numbers.
The complaint must be filed in the name of the real owner or the person entitled to possession. That holds true even if the plaintiff bought the property from a seller who was not in possession at the time of the sale, which forecloses a defense argument that sometimes surfaces later.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 6 Chapter 6 Article 7 Section 6-6-280 – Election to Proceed by Action of Ejectment or Action in Nature of Ejectment; Proceedings Upon Action in Nature of Ejectment Actions involving state-owned land, school lands, or university property must be filed in the name of the State of Alabama.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 6 Chapter 6 Article 7 Section 6-6-281 – Recovery of Lands by or in Name of State
These actions are filed in circuit court, which handles civil matters involving real property title.
What the Plaintiff Can Recover
Section 6-6-280 allows recovery of mesne profits, which represent the rental value or income the property would have generated during the wrongful occupation.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 6 Chapter 6 Article 7 Section 6-6-280 – Election to Proceed by Action of Ejectment or Action in Nature of Ejectment; Proceedings Upon Action in Nature of Ejectment The plaintiff can also recover damages for waste or any other injury to the land, calculated up to the time of the verdict.
Mesne profits stop at the verdict, but the money remedy does not. Under Section 6-6-293, the plaintiff can also recover damages for rent of the property from the date of judgment until the defendant actually surrenders possession. That fills the gap when a defendant lingers for weeks or months while enforcement plays out, collected through a separate action or against any bond the defendant posted.
All non-contract money judgments in Alabama carry post-judgment interest at 7.5% per year, applied from the date of judgment until paid.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 8 Chapter 8 Section 8-8-10 – Interest on Money Judgments and Decrees On a sizeable damages award, that interest alone creates real pressure to pay promptly.
One note on default judgments: if the defendant never responds, the default operates as an admission that the plaintiff holds title. But the plaintiff still has to prove the defendant was actually in possession when the suit was filed in order to recover costs. Document the defendant’s physical presence on the property before filing.
Defenses the Occupant Can Raise
Ejectment defendants have more tools than most people expect. Several specific defenses exist beyond simply denying the plaintiff’s ownership claim.
Disclaiming Possession
Under Section 6-6-284, a defendant can disclaim possession of all or part of the property.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 6 Chapter 6 Article 7 Section 6-6-284 – Disclaimer of Possession by Defendant If the defendant disclaims and raises nothing else, the plaintiff can take judgment immediately. But if the plaintiff contests the disclaimer and a jury sides with the plaintiff, that finding is treated as a full admission of the defendant’s possession, lease, entry, and ouster. Disclaim only if you genuinely are not on the property.
Disputed Boundary Lines
When the real dispute is about where one parcel ends and another begins, the defendant can raise this before trial. Under Section 6-6-285, the defendant may suggest to the court that the action arises from a disputed boundary line. The court then orders the county engineer or an appointed surveyor to survey and mark the boundary and file a plat with the court. The survey is admissible as evidence, and its cost is taxed as part of the case costs. This turns what is really a neighbor dispute into something a survey can resolve.
Improvements Made During Adverse Possession
Section 6-6-286 addresses one of the most financially significant defenses. If the defendant and prior holders of the estate have maintained adverse possession for at least three years before the plaintiff filed suit, the defendant can raise this on the record. If the jury then finds for the plaintiff, the jury must also determine whether the adverse possession claim is true, assess the value of any permanent improvements the defendant made, and calculate the value of the land and any damage or waste.
The consequence is significant: if the defendant’s improvement claim succeeds, no judgment is entered for the plaintiff for a full year, unless the defendant fails to pay the plaintiff the assessed land value and damages. That one-year window gives the defendant time to buy the land at its assessed value or negotiate a resolution. It protects people who built on land they genuinely believed was theirs.
Color of Title Protection
A defendant who held possession under color of title in good faith cannot be held liable for damages or rent for more than one year before the lawsuit was filed, under Section 6-6-289.5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 6 Chapter 6 Article 7 Section 6-6-289 – Liability – Person Holding Possession Under Color of Title “Color of title” means the defendant had some document that appeared to give them ownership, even though it turned out to be defective. This caps the plaintiff’s damage recovery for occupants who relied on a seemingly valid deed.
Adverse Possession as a Complete Bar
Adverse possession can defeat an ejectment claim entirely. Under Alabama law, a person who occupies land openly, exclusively, and continuously for 20 years without the owner’s permission can acquire legal title. With color of title and payment of property taxes, that period drops to 10 years. Four additional elements must be met: possession must be hostile (without the owner’s consent), actual (physically present and using the land), open and notorious (not hidden), and exclusive and continuous (not shared, not interrupted).
This defense comes up constantly in rural Alabama where families have occupied parcels for generations without formal deeds. Defendants raising it should gather property tax receipts, photographs showing occupation, and testimony from neighbors who can speak to how long and how openly the land was used.
Tenants Named as Defendants
If the person on the property claims to be a tenant of someone else, Section 6-6-288 shields the tenant from personal liability in the ejectment action, and Section 6-6-287 lets the plaintiff join the landlord as a co-defendant so the real party in interest is in the case.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 6 Chapter 6 Article 7 Section 6-6-288 – Liability – Tenant in Possession7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 6 Chapter 6 Article 7 Section 6-6-287 – Joinder of Landlord as Party Defendant
The Title Disclosure Demand
Alabama gives both sides a useful discovery tool tied directly to these actions. Under Section 6-6-283, either party can serve a written demand on the other requiring a list of the title documents they plan to rely on at trial. The receiving party has 10 days to hand over the list. Failing to do so forfeits the right to use those documents at trial.
The practical effect is that a plaintiff should be ready to identify every deed, will, tax sale certificate, or other document in their chain of title shortly after filing. Defendants should do the same. Waiting until trial to produce a critical deed after the other side demanded your title list months earlier is a losing strategy. Plaintiffs with clean chains who serve a disclosure demand promptly often push weaker defendants toward settlement.
Getting the Judgment Enforced
When the jury finds for the plaintiff, the court enters judgment for recovery of the land and whatever damages the jury assessed. Under Section 6-6-297, the plaintiff can obtain writs of possession or execution for the land, damages, and costs, and can have those writs issued repeatedly until the judgment is fully satisfied.
Enforcement runs through the local sheriff’s office. Once the court issues a writ of possession, the sheriff serves it on the defendant and provides a window to vacate. If the defendant refuses to leave, the sheriff conducts a physical removal. The court’s judgment alone does not put you back on the property; the writ does. Sheriff service costs vary by county.
Where the defendant successfully raised an improvement claim under Section 6-6-286, enforcement is delayed. No judgment can be entered for the plaintiff until one year after the verdict, giving the defendant time to pay the assessed land value and damages. Only if the defendant fails to pay within that year does the plaintiff receive judgment and the right to a writ of possession.