In actions for partition of lands, either by metes and bounds or by sale for division when the same cannot be equitably partitioned among the owners, if the defendant denies the title of the plaintiff or asserts an adverse claim or title in himself, the circuit court need not dismiss the complaint, but may direct the issue as to the title of the plaintiff or as to such adverse claim or title of the defendant, to be tried as other issues of fact are triable. If neither party to the action demands a jury, the circuit court shall try such issues as to the title of plaintiff or as to such adverse claim or title of the defendant, together with the other facts or issues of the case.

An answer of tender of money or of a thing in action must be accompanied by a delivery of the money or such thing in action to the clerk of the court. If the tender is of ponderous articles or other personal property, the answer must aver a readiness to deliver it to the plaintiff. Judgment for the defendant upon the answer vests the title to the thing tendered in the plaintiff, subject to any claim the defendant may have for his trouble in keeping it.

A party may raise the defenses of (1) lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter, (2) lack of jurisdiction over the person, (3) improper venue, (4) insufficiency of process, and (5) insufficiency of service of process and, losing thereon, proceed to litigate on the merits; and, losing on the merits, the party may appeal and, on appeal, attack the judgment both on the merits and on such grounds (1) through (5) as he urged below.

If any of the original pleadings, motions, or other papers shall be lost, destroyed, or withheld by any person, the court may order a copy to be filed in the place of the missing original.

The court may, at its discretion, at any time before the conclusion of the argument, when it appears to be necessary to the due administration of justice, allow a party to supply an omission in the testimony on such terms and under such limitations as the court may prescribe.

No more than two new trials can be granted the same party in any cause of action.

Whenever upon the settlement of an estate or upon the sale of lands for division in any court of this state it is shown that any of the heirs, distributees, or other persons entitled to share in the funds derived therefrom, whether adults or minors, are residents and subjects of a foreign country and are not represented by counsel of their own employment, the personal representative, judge of probate, clerk, or register who may have the custody of said funds shall pay over the shares of such persons to the duly accredited consular officer of such country within whose jurisdiction the said court is situated and obtain from him full acquittance therefor.

(a) Whenever any court shall order the sale of any real estate or interest therein, the court shall have power to have an abstract of the title of the property to be sold to be made by some competent person or company, which said abstract shall be filed with the officer making the sale for five days before the date of the sale, and which shall be open to the inspection and examination of any prospective purchaser.

(b) The court shall fix the compensation of the person or company making such abstract, and the amount so fixed shall be a part of the cost and expenses of said sale and shall be paid out of the proceeds thereof.

(a) Required. - The judges of the several courts of probate must subscribe for, take and file in their respective offices one copy of each weekly newspaper published in their respective counties and, as soon as practicable after the end of each year, shall cause the number of such papers for the preceding year to be well bound and shall keep the same safely in their respective offices as the property of their respective counties. The respective county commissions must allow to such officers the sums paid by them for such subscription and binding.

(b) Exceptions. - The duties imposed in subsection (a) of this section shall be and remain subject to such exceptions and modifications as have heretofore or as may hereafter be provided by law with respect to particular counties, however identified.

(c) Newspaper not published in county. - If in any county there is no newspaper published, such officers may take and bind the papers of any adjoining county, in which the public printing and advertising of such county may be done.

All public sales shall be made between the hours of 11:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M., but in the event such sale is not completed by 4:00 P.M., the same may continue until 5:00 P.M.

The party in interest or at whose instance the publication of notice is to be given by advertisement in a newspaper may designate the newspaper in which such advertisement shall be made. If the officer charged with the duty of making the advertisement disregards such designation and makes advertisement in some other paper, he must pay the cost thereof and shall not be entitled to reimbursement; but all publications required by any law, mortgage or other contract to be published in a newspaper must be published in any newspaper printed in the English language which has a general circulation in the county, regardless of where the paper is printed, if the principal editorial office of the newspaper is located within the county and which newspaper shall have been mailed under the second class mailing privilege of the United States postal service from the post office where it is published for at least 51 weeks a year.

If the length of the publication is not otherwise prescribed, it must be for three successive weeks; provided, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any sale held under the provisions of Section 7-9A-610.

(a) When the notice is required to be given for a specified number of weeks, it must be given by consecutive weekly insertions for the number of weeks so specified. When the notice is of a proceeding to be had or of an act to be done on a specified day:

(1) If the publication is for one week, the insertion must be not less than six days before such day;

(2) If for two weeks, the first insertion must be at least 12 days before such day;

(3) If for three weeks, the first insertion must be at least 18 days before such day;

(4) If for four weeks, the first insertion must be at least 24 days before such day;

(5) If for five weeks, the first insertion must be at least 30 days before such day;

(6) If for six weeks, the first insertion must be at least 36 days before such day; and

(7) So on at the same rate of increase, the time to be computed as provided in Section 1-1-4.

(b) When the time is specified in days, two weeks' notice is equal to 15 days' notice; three weeks to 20 days; four weeks to 30 days; and six weeks to 40 days.

If publication is commenced or is directed in a particular paper and before it is made or completed there is a suspension or discontinuance of the publishing of such paper, then the publication may be made or completed in some other newspaper published in the county. If there is no other paper published in the county, the publication may be made or completed by posting notices, for the length of time prescribed, at the courthouse door and three other public places in the county, or the publication, if so desired by any party in interest, may be made or completed in some newspaper published in an adjoining county.

(a) No newspaper may charge more than its then current published commercial classified rates. When any matter or material is required to be published in tabular form, the rate to be charged and paid shall not exceed the nationally published rate.

(b) The rates established in this section shall apply to any and all legal notices, advertisements, publications, statements, or other matter of whatever kind or character required by the Constitution of Alabama, by general, local, or special law or by rules or orders of courts to be published in newspapers in this state, whether the agency required to cause the publication to be made is an individual, officer, municipality, county, the state, governmental subdivision, or any other legal entity; provided, that rates established in this section shall not apply when a local law prescribes a different rate, in which event said local law shall be applicable.

All agreements between any officer charged with the duty of advertising legal notices in a newspaper and the printer, publisher, or manager of such paper whereby any advantage, gain or profit is to accrue to such officer are void; and before the charge for such advertisement can be demanded or received, the officer and the printer, publisher, or manager must each make and file an affidavit that no such agreement exists. The printer, publisher, or manager must, in addition, make affidavit that the sum charged is the actual lowest regular price for such advertisement.

The publisher or manager of the newspaper must send to the officer or person making the advertisement a copy of each issue of the paper containing it, and a copy of such paper must be sent by mail to the person to whom the notice is directed, if his post office address can be ascertained, by the officer or person making the advertisement, such copy to be furnished by the publisher or manager of the newspaper in addition to the copy of each issue required in this section to be furnished.

The newspapers containing the advertisement shall be received as evidence of the fact of publication.

In all cases where notice is required by law to be given to executors, administrators, and guardians in the probate court, if affidavit shall be made that such executor, administrator, or guardian has been absent from the state for more than three months last passed, such notice shall be given by publication in a newspaper published in the county where such proceedings are had for two consecutive weeks or, if there is no such paper, by posting at the courthouse door for 15 days.

Whenever it becomes necessary to postpone any sale that has been advertised to occur on a certain day, the same may be postponed by the auctioneer or attorney announcing, at the time set for sale, the date to which said sale is postponed; and the original notice shall be published once again, with a statement at the bottom that said sale has been postponed and the date when it will occur.

Judgments may be set off against each other by a district or circuit court on motion.

A comaker or surety against whom an action is commenced jointly or alone may, with the consent of his comaker or principal, counterclaim a debt or liquidated demand due from the plaintiff at the commencement of the action to such comaker or principal.

The wages or hire of any head of a family in this state, not having property liable to levy and sale under execution, cannot be defeated or abated by any counterclaim of a money demand acquired by the person contracting to pay such wages by assignment or transfer, unless the parties otherwise agree in writing.

Paper governed by the commercial law, negotiated before maturity, is not subject to counterclaim.

When the defendant pleads a counterclaim to the plaintiff's demand, to which the plaintiff replies the statute of limitations, the defendant is nevertheless entitled to his counterclaim, where it was a legal subsisting claim at the time the right of action accrued to the plaintiff on the claim in the action.

If the debt or demand permissively counterclaimed exceeds the amount of the plaintiff's demand, the amount of such excess being found by the jury or court trying the same, judgment must be entered against the plaintiff for costs and in favor of the defendant for such excess, and where there is more than one defendant and the debt or demand permissively counterclaimed belongs to only one defendant, then judgment for such excess must be entered in favor of such defendant for such excess.

On a compulsory counterclaim, if the claim or demand of the defendant equals the claim or demand of the plaintiff, judgment must be entered for the defendant; if the claim or demand of the defendant exceeds the claim or demand of the plaintiff and the plaintiff is the party liable to its satisfaction, judgment must be entered against him in favor of the defendant for such excess and all costs.