Code of Alabama
Ala. Code § 8-1-170 (2026)
Contracts of Insane Person Void; Exceptions; Liability for Necessaries Furnished.
✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
Except as provided in Sections 8-1-171 and 8-1-172, and contracts of fire and tornado insurance wherein the insane person is the beneficiary, all contracts of an insane person are void; but he and his estate shall be liable for necessaries furnished him, which may be recovered upon the same proof and upon the same conditions as if furnished to an infant.
(Code 1907, §3348; Code 1923, §6824; Acts 1935, No. 224, p. 616; Code 1940, T. 9, §43.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4
cases, 2003–2013 · leading case: Serv. Corp. Intern. v. Fulmer, 883 So. 2d 621 (Ala. 2003).
Serv. Corp. Intern. v. Fulmer, 883 So. 2d 621 (Ala. 2003). “[13] In Mason , we held that a plaintiff's claim of insanity under Ala.Code 1975, § 8-1-170, as a defense to a contract was an issue for the court, and not an arbitrator, to decide.”
Belcher v. Queen, 39 So. 3d 1023 (Ala. 2009). “The petitioning children nevertheless argue that the trial court's decision voiding the December 1995 partnership agreement was correct under basic principles of contract law, which provide that incompetent minds cannot provide the assent necessary to form a contract.”
Hernandez v. Banks, 65 A.3d 59 (D.C. 2013). “1980), and Ala.Code § 8-1-170 (1975))). In some jurisdictions, whether a contract is void or voidable depends upon the degree of incapacity.”
Chris Langley Timber & Mgmt., Inc. v. Caldwell, 923 So. 2d 1094 (Ala. Civ. App. 2004). “On July 30, 2001, more than five months before the seller executed the agreement, Dr. Jackson conducted a psychological/neuropsychology evaluation of the seller.”
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