Code of Alabama
Ala. Code § 8-1-41 (2026)
Obligations Which Cannot Be Specifically Enforced.
✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
The following obligations cannot be specifically enforced:
(1) An obligation to render personal service;
(2) An obligation to employ another in personal service;
(3) An agreement to submit a controversy to arbitration;
(4) An agreement to perform an act which the party has not power lawfully to perform when required to do so;
(5) An agreement to procure the act or consent of the wife of the contracting party or of any other third persons; or
(6) An agreement, the terms of which are not sufficiently certain to make the precise act which is to be done clearly ascertainable.
(Code 1923, §6833; Code 1940, T. 9, §55.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 102
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1983–2025 · leading case: Am. Bankers Ins. Co. v. Crawford, 757 So. 2d 1125 (Ala. 1999).
Am. Bankers Ins. Co. v. Crawford, 757 So. 2d 1125 (Ala. 1999). “Code 1975, reads, in part: "§ 8-1-41. Obligations which cannot be specifically enforced.”
Sisters of Visitation v. COCHRAN PLASTERING CO. INC., 775 So. 2d 759 (Ala. 2000). “Cochran filed an action in the circuit court for an injunction to stop the arbitration proceeding, claiming that the arbitration provision is unenforceable, pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 8-1-41(3), because, it argues, the contract between it and the Sisters did not involve…”
Rogers Found. Repair, Inc. v. Powell, 748 So. 2d 869 (Ala. 1999). “See Ala.Code 1975, § 8-1-41. Because the predispute arbitration provision in this case was not part of a contract that affects interstate commerce, Alabama law, and not the FAA, governs.”
S. United Fire Ins. Co. v. Howard, 775 So. 2d 156 (Ala. 2000). “shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract.”
Homes of Legend, Inc. v. McCollough, 776 So. 2d 741 (Ala. 2000). “any applicable State or local laws, rules or regulations" (quoting the paragraph on the second page of the written warranty), enforcement of the arbitration provision is prohibited by Ala.Code 1975, § 8-1-41. [5] In addition to ruling on the motions to compel arbitration and the…”
S. Energy Homes, Inc. v. Lee, 732 So. 2d 994 (Ala. 1999). “IV, § 84, Constitution of Alabama of 1901] have on the public policy of this state? Does it restrict the legislature's power to enact provisions such as Ala.Code 1975, § 8-1-41?" I then went on to state that "[t]hese are questions to be resolved at a future date in another case…”
Jim Burke Auto., Inc. v. Beavers, 674 So. 2d 1260 (Ala. 1996). “2d 753 (1995); Ala.Code 1975, § 8-1-41(3). Jim Burke offered no evidence in the trial court indicating that the contract had any involvement in interstate commerce.”
Cavalier Mfg., Inc. v. Jackson, 823 So. 2d 1237 (Ala. 2001). “[3] Our caselaw, as well as § 8-1-41(1), Ala. Code 1975, prohibits a court from ordering enforcement of personal-service contracts, e.”
Allied-Bruce Terminix Cos., Inc. v. Dobson, 513 U.S. 265 (1995). “The Supreme Court of Alabama upheld the denial of the stay on the basis of a state statute, Ala. Code §8-1-41 (3) (1993), making written, predispute arbitration agreements invalid and “unenforceable.”
Woodmen of the World Life Ins. Soc'y v. Harris, 740 So. 2d 362 (Ala. 1999). “("McCarran-Ferguson Act"), prohibits application of the FAA to his contract with Woodmen and, therefore, that Ala.Code 1975, § 8-1-41(3), renders the arbitration provision unenforceable; [5] 2) that there is no evidence of an agreement to arbitrate (i.”
Ex Parte Dan Tucker Auto Sales, Inc., 718 So. 2d 33 (Ala. 1998). “Code 1975, § 6-6-1 et seq., to provide a system of arbitration parties may choose to avail themselves of after a dispute has arisen.”
Robertson v. Mount Royal Towers, 134 So. 3d 862 (Ala. 2013). “Robertson, however, argues that a separate arbitration agreement specifically incorporating Alabama law is “completely different from an ordinary choice-of-law clause that appears in the main body of a contract.”
— Ala. Code § 8-1-41(1) — 1 case
Cavalier Mfg., Inc. v. Jackson, 823 So. 2d 1237 (Ala. 2001). “[3] Our caselaw, as well as § 8-1-41(1), Ala. Code 1975, prohibits a court from ordering enforcement of personal-service contracts, e.”
— Ala. Code § 8-1-41(2) — 1 case
Carter v. Bd. of Trs. of Univ. of Ala., 431 So. 2d 529 (Ala. 1983).
— Ala. Code § 8-1-41(3) — 85 cases
Am. Bankers Ins. Co. v. Crawford, 757 So. 2d 1125 (Ala. 1999). “Code 1975, reads, in part: "§ 8-1-41. Obligations which cannot be specifically enforced.”
Sisters of Visitation v. COCHRAN PLASTERING CO. INC., 775 So. 2d 759 (Ala. 2000). “Cochran filed an action in the circuit court for an injunction to stop the arbitration proceeding, claiming that the arbitration provision is unenforceable, pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 8-1-41(3), because, it argues, the contract between it and the Sisters did not involve…”
S. United Fire Ins. Co. v. Howard, 775 So. 2d 156 (Ala. 2000). “shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract.”
Rogers Found. Repair, Inc. v. Powell, 748 So. 2d 869 (Ala. 1999). “See Ala.Code 1975, § 8-1-41. Because the predispute arbitration provision in this case was not part of a contract that affects interstate commerce, Alabama law, and not the FAA, governs.”
Jim Burke Auto., Inc. v. Beavers, 674 So. 2d 1260 (Ala. 1996). “2d 753 (1995); Ala.Code 1975, § 8-1-41(3). Jim Burke offered no evidence in the trial court indicating that the contract had any involvement in interstate commerce.”
— Ala. Code § 8-1-41(6) — 1 case
Shacklette v. Drawdy, 816 So. 2d 486 (Ala. Civ. App. 2001).
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