Phillip D. Ellis and Marilyn N. Ellis v. Richard Zuck, Wilma Zuck Aulsbrook, as Administratrix of the Estate of Gordon D. Zuck, Deceased

In the District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, plaintiffs sued the Estate of Gordon D. Zuck (and others not concerned in this appeal), alleging fraud on the part of Zuck prior to his death. Judgment against the estate included compensatory and punitive damages, punitive damages being recoverable in a fraud action in Alabama. Loch Ridge Cons. Co. v. Barra, 291 Ala. 312, 280 So.2d 745 (1973).

The sole question presented on this appeal is whether or not, under the laws of Alabama, punitive damages may be awarded when it appears that the wrongdoer died before the entry of judgment. 1

In…