Ala. Code
Code of Alabama

Ala. Code § 6-6-591 (2026)

Right of Action and Venue - Usurpation, Etc., of Office or Franchise, Etc.

✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
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(a) An action may be commenced in the name of the state against the party offending in the following cases:

(1) When any person usurps, intrudes into or unlawfully holds or exercises any public office, civil or military, any franchise, any profession requiring a license, certificate, or other legal authorization within this state or any office in a corporation created by the authority of this state;

(2) When any public officer, civil or military, has done or suffered any act by which, under the law, he forfeits his office; or

(3) When any association, or number of persons, acts within this state as a corporation without being duly incorporated.

(b) The judge of the circuit court may direct the action to be commenced when he believes that any of the acts specified in subsection (a) of this section can be proved and it is necessary for the public good, or it may be commenced without the direction of such judge on the information of any person giving security for the costs of the action, to be approved by the clerk of the court in which the action is brought.

(c) An action under this section must be commenced in the circuit court of the county in which the acts are done or suffered or, if to try the right to a corporate office, in the circuit court of the county in which the corporation has its principal office or, if it has no principal office, in any county in which it does business.

(Code 1852, §§2654-2656; Code 1867, §§3082-3084; Code 1876, §§3422-3424; Code 1886, §§3170, 3171; Code 1896, §§3420-3422; Code 1907, §§5453-5455; Code 1923, §§9932-9934; Code 1940, T. 7, §§1136-1138.)

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 16 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1985–2026 · leading case: Riley v. Hughes, 17 So. 3d 643 (Ala. 2009).
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Riley v. Hughes, 17 So. 3d 643 (Ala. 2009). · cites it 4× “Both parties describe this action as governed by the Declaratory Judgment Act.”
Ex Parte Sierra Club, 674 So. 2d 54 (Ala. 1995). · cites it 6× “In Alabama, actions for the writ of quo warranto may be brought by private citizens pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 6-6-591. Rouse v. Wiley, 440 So.”
Wynn Ex Rel. Alabama v. Philip Morris Inc., 51 F. Supp. 2d 1232 (N.D. Ala. 1999). · cites it 4× “In that complaint, the plaintiff restates his claim against the defendants, seeking as relief the revocation of the defendants’ certificates of authority to do business within the State under § 6-6-591. 10 As grounds *1237 for the relief, the plaintiff asserts that the…”
In re Jefferson Cnty., 484 B.R. 427 (Bankr. N.D. Ala. 2012). · cites it 2× “” Ala. Code § 6-6-591 . In Alabama, quo war-ranto is not an appropriate device to challenge actions taken by an official who properly holds his office.”
Tyson v. Jones, 60 So. 3d 831 (Ala. 2010). · cites it 2× “2009), this Court stated: "[T]he exclusive remedy to determine whether a party is usurping a public office is a quo warranto action pursuant to § 6-6-591, Ala.Code 1975, and not an action seeking a declaratory judgment.”
Davis v. Reynolds, 592 So. 2d 546 (Ala. 1991). · cites it 2× “Ala. Code 1975, § 6-6-591. What is especially disturbing about the majority's opinion is that it states that insofar as an election contest is concerned, it makes no difference when a candidate files the required forms regarding the naming of a principal campaign committee so…”
Ex Parte Shelby Cnty., 516 So. 2d 525 (Ala. 1987). “Code 1975, § 6-6-590, or, alternatively, § 6-6-591. Several defendants filed motions to transfer the case to Jefferson County Circuit Court due to a lack of jurisdiction and/or improper venue.”
Barbara Moore, Vanessa Reed, & Christine Burrell v. State of Alabama ex rel. Mayor Robin Sims, as informant (Ala. 2026). · cites it 10× “) Summarizing § 6-6-591, this Court has stated: "Under the plain meaning of § 6-6-591, there are only two alternative methods for commencing a quo warranto action: (1) at the direction of a circuit-court judge or (2) without the direction of a circuit-court judge on the…”
State of Alabama v. Scully (S.D. Ala. 2024). · cites it 4× “Berger, as relator for the State of Alabama, demands a Writ of Quo Warranto pursuant to Ala. Code § 6-6-591 for Judge Scully to “vacate his unlawfully held seat” (doc.”
Sharon Smith Gartrell v. Edward Conant Gartrell, Jr. (Appeal from Madison Circuit Court: DR-21-900713.80). (Ala. Civ. App. 2024). · cites it 3× “Code 1975, reasoned: "Under the plain meaning of § 6-6-591, there are only two alternative methods for commencing a quo warranto action: (1) at the direction of a circuit-court judge or (2) without the direction of a circuit-court judge on the information of any person giving…”
Tiara Young Hudson v. Kay Ivey, in her Off. capacity as Governor of Alabama Patrick Tuten, in his Off. capacity as appointee to a circuit-court judgeship in the Twenty-Third Jud. Circuit & Tom Parker, in his Off. capacity as Chair of the Jud. Resources Allocation Comm'n (Ala. 2023). · cites it 2× “"[T]he exclusive remedy to determine whether a party is usurping a public office is a quo warranto action pursuant to § 6-6-591, Ala. Code 1975, and not an action seeking a declaratory judgment.”
John C. Brown v. State of Alabama ex rel. Deanna Ceasor, as informant (Appeal from Jefferson Circuit Court: CV-23-901937). (Ala. 2024). · cites it 2× “Thus, at the determinative time, she sufficiently alleged that she had suffered a particularized injury and had standing to bring a quo warranto action under § 6-6-591(a)-(b), Ala. Code 1975. But at some point during these proceedings, Ceasor moved out of Tarrant, which meant…”
Show all 16 citing cases →
— Ala. Code § 6-6-591(a) — 1 case
John C. Brown v. State of Alabama ex rel. Deanna Ceasor, as informant (Appeal from Jefferson Circuit Court: CV-23-901937). (Ala. 2024). “Thus, at the determinative time, she sufficiently alleged that she had suffered a particularized injury and had standing to bring a quo warranto action under § 6-6-591(a)-(b), Ala. Code 1975. But at some point during these proceedings, Ceasor moved out of Tarrant, which meant…”
— Ala. Code § 6-6-591(a)(l) — 1 case
Tyson v. Jones, 60 So. 3d 831 (Ala. 2010). “2009), this Court stated: "[T]he exclusive remedy to determine whether a party is usurping a public office is a quo warranto action pursuant to § 6-6-591, Ala.Code 1975, and not an action seeking a declaratory judgment.”
— Ala. Code § 6-6-591(b) — 2 cases
Barbara Moore, Vanessa Reed, & Christine Burrell v. State of Alabama ex rel. Mayor Robin Sims, as informant (Ala. 2026). “) Summarizing § 6-6-591, this Court has stated: "Under the plain meaning of § 6-6-591, there are only two alternative methods for commencing a quo warranto action: (1) at the direction of a circuit-court judge or (2) without the direction of a circuit-court judge on the…”
John C. Brown v. State of Alabama ex rel. Deanna Ceasor, as informant (Appeal from Jefferson Circuit Court: CV-23-901937). (Ala. 2024). “Thus, at the determinative time, she sufficiently alleged that she had suffered a particularized injury and had standing to bring a quo warranto action under § 6-6-591(a)-(b), Ala. Code 1975. But at some point during these proceedings, Ceasor moved out of Tarrant, which meant…”
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