## Facts

- David Kenneth Marks sought psychological treatment at Alabama Psychological Services Center, LLC, where he met with Dr. Thomas W. Tenbrunsel.
- Marks alleged Tenbrunsel assured him that anything disclosed during the meeting would remain confidential.
- Relying on that assurance, Marks admitted he had fondled the genitals of two females under age 12.
- Marks alleged Tenbrunsel consulted with Dr. Lois H. Pope and then stated he would not honor confidentiality and would report suspected child abuse to child protective authorities.
- Marks was later criminally prosecuted based on the admitted conduct and alleged resulting damages (including mental anguish, health problems, and monetary loss).
- Marks sued Tenbrunsel, Pope, and the Center for malpractice, misrepresentation, fraud, and fraudulent deceit, all tied to the decision to report his disclosure.
- The trial court dismissed the complaint under Rule 12(b)(6), and Marks appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether Alabama’s child-abuse reporting statutes and immunity provisions bar civil liability for a psychologist’s report to child protective authorities based on a patient’s disclosure of child sexual abuse.
2. Whether any therapist-patient confidentiality or promise of confidentiality can support tort claims when the alleged breach consists of making a statutorily protected child-abuse report.

## Decision

- The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed the Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal.
- The court held the child-abuse reporting statutory scheme and immunity provisions shielded the defendants from civil liability for making the report.
- Because Marks’s claims arose from the act of reporting suspected child abuse, the complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

## Legal Principles

- When a statute authorizes or requires reporting suspected child abuse and provides immunity for good-faith reports, tort claims predicated on the act of reporting are barred.
- A professional’s assurance of absolute confidentiality does not create civil liability where disclosure occurs pursuant to a child-abuse reporting framework that grants immunity.
- On a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, courts accept the complaint’s allegations as true, but dismissal is proper when statutory immunity precludes relief as a matter of law.

## Conclusion

The court held that Alabama’s child-abuse reporting laws reflect a policy of encouraging reports and insulating reporters from suit; therefore, a patient could not maintain malpractice or fraud-based claims against mental-health providers based solely on reporting the patient’s admitted child sexual abuse to protective authorities.


Marks v. Tenbrunsel, 910 So. 2d 1255 (Ala. 2005)