Between April 2006 and September 2010, David R. Blihovde, Jr. allegedly defrauded Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and its subsidiary, Speedway Motorsports International, Ltd., of more than $5 million. Speedway1 discovered the fraud after Blihovde died in October 2010, and about a month later, it filed a lawsuit against several individuals and businesses to whom Blihovde allegedly had diverted the proceeds of his fraud, seeking damages for unjust enrichment, the avoidance of certain transfers under the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act, OCGA § 18-2-70 et seq., the recognition of constructive trusts or equitable liens on assets acquired with the proceeds of the fraud, and a declaratory judgment that such assets are the property of Speedway. The court below found that Speedway failed to state a claim against several of these defendants upon which relief properly might be granted, and it dismissed those defendants. Speedway appeals from these dismissals.2 The standard for a dismissal under OCGA § 9-11-12 b 6 for failure to state a claim is settled and familiar. At a minimum, a complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claims showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,” OCGA § 9-11-8 a 2 A, and “this short and plain statement must include enough detail to afford the defendant fair notice of the nature of the claim and a fair opportunity to frame a responsive pleading.” Benedict v. State Farm Bank, FSB , 309 Ga. App. 133, 134 1 709 SE2d 314 2011 citations omitted. If the complaint gives fair notice, “it should be dismissed for failure to state a claim only if . . . its allegations disclose with certainty that no set of facts consistent with the allegations could be proved that would entitle the plaintiff to the relief he seeks.” Id. citation and punctuation omitted. “Put another way, if, within the framework of the complaint, evidence may be introduced which will sustain a grant of relief to the plaintiff, the complaint is sufficient.” Id. citation and punctuation omitted. “Like the court below, when we assess the sufficiency of the complaint on appeal, we must accept the allegations of fact that appear in the complaint and view those allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.”3 Bush v. Bank of N. Y. Mellon , 313 Ga. App. 84, 89 720 SE2d 370 2011. And on appeal from the dismissal of a complaint, we owe no deference to the decision of the court below, and we must decide for ourselves whether the complaint states a claim upon which relief might properly be granted. See Benedict , 309 Ga. App. at 134 1.
According to its second amended complaint,4 Speedway, in March 2004, hired Oasis Trading Group, LLC, of which Blihovde was a member, to provide consulting services to Speedway about opportunities in the petroleum products business. Speedway advanced funds to Oasis each month for expenses incurred in connection with these consulting services, and Blihovde prepared invoices to Speedway reflecting these expenses. Beginning in 2006, Blihovde misrepresented these expenses and sent fraudulent invoices to Speedway, and when Speedway advanced funds for these expenses, he misappropriated substantial portions of the advances for himself. By September 2010, Blihovde had obtained more than $5 million from Speedway by his fraud. Then, on September 30, 2010, Speedway notified Oasis that it intended to discontinue its monthly advances of expenses. About a week later, Blihovde died, and soon thereafter, Oasis discovered the fraud and disclosed it to Speedway. We turn now to the specific claims asserted by Speedway that the court below dismissed.
