Opinion ID: 1118538
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Dismissal of Fraud Claims

Text: The fraud claims against the Banks were dismissed for failure to plead fraud with particularity rather than for failure to state a claim. These dismissals therefore did not convert to summary judgment. Cf. 5A C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1366 at p. 484 (1990) (conversion appropriate only where dismissal made under analogous Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)). Therefore, we must consider them separately. Wyoming Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) provides that fraud must be pled with particularity. The rule itself does not, however, provide the penalty or remedy for failure to so plead. In Johnson v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 608 P.2d 1299, 1303 (Wyo.1980), we noted that courts have varied in their approach to the appropriate remedy for a Rule 9(b) violation. Courts which have taken the stricter view and either dismissed the complaint or stricken the defective count for failure to plead with particularity have nearly always allowed leave to amend. Id. In Johnson, we reversed a dismissal with prejudice of a complaint which failed to comply with Rule 9(b). We noted that the liberal amendment provisions of W.R.C.P. 15(a) make such a dismissal inappropriate unless the proposed amendment will unduly prejudice the opposing party, has not been offered in good faith, or the party seeking to amend has had repeated opportunities to cure the defect and has failed to do so. Johnson, at 1303. Thus, the fraud claimant must generally be given an opportunity to amend. While we agree with the trial court that the fraud claims as now stated are not pled with sufficient particularity, none of the factors we cited in Johnson as justifying dismissal with prejudice is applicable in this case. It may be that further discovery will allow Shriners to amend their complaint to state fraud with particularity. Therefore, we remand the fraud claims along with the claims dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6) to allow Shriners leave to amend.