Nature of the Case
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Facts
In December 1999, P and his wife, Paris, were attending the Dalraida Church of Christ. D was Dalraida's pastor. At that time, the elders of Dalraida hired Paris to serve as the church secretary. The job responsibilities of the secretary and the pastor occasioned frequent personal interaction between Paris and D. D discovered that the Faulkners were engaged in marriage counseling. D began advising the Faulkners regarding their marital problems, and they discontinued their counseling sessions with another party. P claims that D 'assured' them that 'he could spend a lot more time with them.' D 'guaranteed' them that 'he could fix [their] marriage.' That same month, D and Paris secretly began a consensual, sexual relationship that lasted until July 2000. In April 2000, D learned that P had been offered employment in Baldwin County and that Paris did not want to move. D urged P to decline the job offer, saying that the move 'could break the marriage.' P took D's advice and declined the offer. P eventually discovered the affair and confronted Paris and D. D resigned as pastor of Dalraida. P initiated divorce proceedings. The Faulkners were divorced on January 4, 2001. P sued D. D moved to dismiss claiming that the case was for alienation of affection couched in terms of negligent counseling to try to formulate a lawsuit. The trial court denied the motions and instructed the jury on negligence and wantonness. The trial court denied the motions and instructed the jury on negligence and wantonness. The jury was instructed on compensatory damages, including damages for mental anguish, and on punitive damages. The jury awarded $67,000 compensatory damages and $2,000,000 punitive damages. The trial court reduced the punitive damages award to $1,617,000 and denied D's post-judgment motion. Bailey appealed claiming the cause of action was for 'alienation of affections.'
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