Imperial Aluminum-Scottsboro, LLC ("Imperial") contested a verdict from the Jackson Circuit Court that had favored Tyler D. Taylor, who claimed he was wrongfully terminated in retaliation for asserting a workers' compensation claim, violating § 25-5-11.1 of Ala.Code 1975. In 2011, Taylor filed a lawsuit against Imperial under the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act. Besides the workers' compensation claim, Taylor also raised allegations of retaliatory discharge and the tort of outrage. Imperial responded to Taylor's claims and later sought to separate the workers' compensation claim from the other accusations.
The trial court, however, chose to have separate trials for the issues but did not assign new case numbers. The claims of retaliatory discharge and the tort of outrage were put before a jury in 2014. Imperial tried to obtain a judgment as a matter of law for both claims, but the court only approved their request regarding the tort-of-outrage claim. Consequently, the jury decided in favor of Taylor, granting him both compensatory and punitive damages. Imperial appealed this verdict. However, since the workers' compensation claim remains undetermined and given the court's earlier decision to have separate trials without true severance, the appeal lacks a final judgment. Therefore, the appellate court lacks jurisdiction to hear the appeal, leading to its dismissal.
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