Title: Singleton v. Alabama Dept. of Corrections
Citation: 819 So. 2d 596
Docket Number: 1001524
State: Alabama
Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court
Date: October 26, 2001

819 So. 2d 596 (2001)
Gary SINGLETON
v.
ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS and Warden A.L. Garrett.
1001524.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
October 26, 2001.
*597 Gary Singleton, pro se.
Bill Pryor, atty. gen., and Milt E. Belcher, asst. atty. gen., for appellees.
HARWOOD, Justice.
Gary Singleton, acting pro se, appeals the trial court's grant of a motion to dismiss filed by A.L. Garrett, the warden of the St. Clair Correctional Facility, and the Alabama Department of Corrections (hereinafter jointly referred to as "the defendants"). We reverse and remand.
On January 16, 2001, Singleton, an inmate at the St. Clair Correctional Facility, filed a motion seeking emergency medical treatment. His motion requested that the trial court enter an order directing the defendants to provide him medical treatment for his "keyhole hernia" or to transport him to a specialist for treatment. Singleton stated that he had suffered from the hernia for six to eight months before he filed a "medical complaint/grievance" seeking treatment. Singleton further stated that after he filed the "medical complaint/grievance," he was examined by a Dr. Tingley, who recommended that a Dr. Hammack remove the hernia. At the time he filed his motion, Singleton claimed that over 90 days had passed since Dr. Tingley had made his recommendation, and that his hernia had "moved" and that his condition had worsened, causing him severe pain when he attempted to get out of bed and during urination.
On March 12, 2001, the defendants filed an answer and a motion to dismiss, with an attached affidavit from Warden Garrett. They argued that Singleton's motion failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted because, they said, they had no responsibility in Singleton's medical care; they further argued that they had not *598 violated Singleton's constitutional rights because, they said, they had no, or very limited, involvement in his treatment. The defendants further stated that Singleton's allegations as to them were misdirected because all treatment for inmates at the St. Clair Correctional Facility was contracted out to a private company, Correctional Medical Services, by the Alabama Department of Corrections. They contended that Garrett, as warden, could not diagnose, order treatment, or otherwise participate in medical decisions involving inmates. The defendants also asserted the defenses of sovereign immunity and qualified immunity, with supporting arguments.
The affidavit of Warden Garrett, attached to the defendants' answer and motion to dismiss, stated, in pertinent part:
On March 22, 2001, the trial court entered an order on the case action summary that stated:
Although the trial court granted what was titled a motion to dismiss, an affidavit signed by Warden Garrett was attached to the motion. Rule 12(b), Ala. R. Civ. P., states, in pertinent part:
(Emphasis added.) See also Hornsby v. Sessions, 703 So. 2d 932 (Ala.1997). Therefore, the trial court, by not excluding Warden Garrett's affidavit, was required by Rule 12(b) to treat the defendants' motion to dismiss as a motion for a summary judgment, governed by the provisions of Rule 56, Ala. R. Civ. P.[1] Rule 56(c) states, in pertinent part:
(Emphasis added.)
In Hales v. First National Bank of Mobile, 380 So. 2d 797, 799-800 (Ala. 1980), this Court considered the conversion of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss to a Rule 56 motion for a summary judgment. In reversing the trial court's grant of the converted motion for a summary judgment, this Court stated:
See also Graveman v. Wind Drift Owners' Ass'n, Inc., 607 So. 2d 199 (Ala.1992). While Hales was decided before the August 1, 1992, amendments to Rule 56(c) and Rule 56(f), those amendments do not affect the rationale expressed in that case. See Ex parte Richardson, 752 So. 2d 1112 (Ala.1999).
Based upon this Court's holding in Hales and the cases cited therein, we must reverse the trial court's grant of the motion to dismiss filed by the defendants. The trial court's acceptance of Warden Garrett's affidavit required that the motion to dismiss be treated as a motion for a summary judgment. Rule 12(b), Ala. R. Civ. P., and Hornsby v. Sessions, supra. Singleton was entitled to notice that the motion had been converted to a motion for a summary judgment, to the opportunity to be heard, and to such other procedural relief as contemplated by Rule 56, Ala. R. Civ. P. In addition, an entry of a summary judgment for the defendants would not be proper until they have complied with the requirement of the rule that they submit a narrative summary of what they contend to be the undisputed material facts. See Rule 56(c), Ala. R. Civ. P., Northwest Florida Truss, Inc. v. Baldwin County Comm'n, 782 So. 2d 274 (Ala.2000), and Moore v. ClaimSouth, Inc., 628 So. 2d 500 (Ala.1993). This cause is therefore remanded for the trial court to proceed in a manner consistent with this opinion.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
MOORE, C.J., and SEE, BROWN, and STUART, JJ., concur.
[1]  Although we presume that the trial court considered the motion to dismiss and the attached affidavit because it did not state that it excluded the affidavit, we note that a dismissal by the trial court would also not be appropriate. At this point in the proceedings, the defendants' motion, even viewed as a motion to dismissi.e., excluding Warden Garrett's affidavitdoes not establish that Singleton could not prove any set of circumstances that would entitle him to relief. See Nance v. Matthews, 622 So. 2d 297 (Ala.1993).

In Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104, 97 S. Ct. 285, 50 L. Ed. 2d 251 (1976), the United States Supreme Court held that "deliberate indifference to serious medical needs of prisoners constitutes the `unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain,' Gregg v. Georgia, [428 U.S. 153], at 173, 96 S.Ct. [2909,] at 2925 [(1976)] (joint opinion), proscribed by the Eighth Amendment." Moreover, the fact that the defendants contract out the medical services provided to prisoners does not relieve them of their duty to see to it that those medical services are adequate. See West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 56, 108 S. Ct. 2250, 101 L. Ed. 2d 40 (1988)("Contracting out prison medical care does not relieve the State of its constitutional duty to provide adequate medical treatment to those in its custody, and it does not deprive the State's prisoners of the means to vindicate their Eighth Amendment rights.").