Carter v. Liberty National Life Insuarance Co‪.‬

On March 19, 2001, Sarah Carter, as the administrator of the estate of City Carter, and James A. Carter filed a complaint against Liberty National Life Insurance Company (""Liberty National""). In that complaint, the plaintiffs asserted claims of fraud. On Liberty National's motion, the trial court dismissed the complaint, because in it, the plaintiffs had failed to plead the alleged fraud with sufficient specificity, as required by Rule 9(b), Ala. R. Civ. P. On July 16, 2001, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint that contained essentially the same allegations as those set forth in the plaintiffs' March 19, 2001, complaint. Liberty National filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint, arguing that the complaint failed to sufficiently apprise Liberty National of the plaintiffs' claims against it. The trial court entered an order dismissing the July 16, 2001, amended complaint. On January 22, 2002, the plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint in which they again asserted various fraud claims and asserted for the first time claims of wanton or negligent supervision and breach of contract. Liberty National moved to dismiss that complaint; it submitted evidence in support of its motion to dismiss. The plaintiffs opposed the motion to dismiss and argued that Liberty National's motion should be treated as a motion for a summary judgment. The trial court agreed that Liberty National's motion to dismiss had been converted, pursuant to Rule 12(c), Ala. R. Civ. P., to a motion for a summary judgment. On May 8, 2000, the trial court entered a summary judgment in favor of Liberty National on all of the plaintiffs' claims. The plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court of Alabama, which transferred the case to this court, pursuant to § 12-2-7(6), Ala. Code 1975.