Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The issue before the Supreme Court was whether the Court had the right, authority, and power to declare itself superior to and above both the other two branches of government in all matters of constitutional compliance. Attorney General Jim Hood asked the judicial branch of government to void several pardons, alleging that the applicants failed to publish notice as required by Section 124 of the Mississippi Constitution. After the Court received this appeal, Governor Barbour (who issued the pardons) submitted an amicus curiae brief, and the Court allowed his counsel to participate in oral argument. At oral argument, the Court asked Attorney General Hood to point out any pardon that was not facially valid, and he could not. The Court noted that the parties and Governor Barbour presented numerous issues for consideration, including: whether those who did not apply for a pardon were required to publish notice; whether the governor(and not the convicted felons) applied for some of the pardons; whether some of the pardons had any applicant at all; whether the publication provision requires four or five weekly publications; whether the governor, the attorney general, or the pardonees have the burden of proof; and whether the attorney general is estopped from objecting to the pardons. "No judicial duty is more central to the proper operation of our system of government than is [the Court's] duty to decide this issue correctly. . . . [the Court was] compelled to hold that – in each of the cases before us – it fell to the governor alone to decide whether the Constitution’s publication requirement was met."View "In Re: Charles Hooker, et. al." on Justia Law

Defendant Sylvia Montgomery filed suit against the Mississippi Transportation Commission (Commission) in the Circuit Court of Yazoo County after she was injured when her car struck a pothole in the northbound lane of Interstate 55 near Vaughan. The Commission filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming it was exempt from liability under several provisions of the Mississippi Torts Claim Act (MTCA). The court denied the Commission's motion. A three-justice panel of the Supreme Court granted the Commission's petition for interlocutory appeal. Upon review of the parties' briefs and the record, the Court found the trial court erred by not determining whether the duty to warn of a dangerous condition on the highway is a discretionary duty under the "public-function" test. Accordingly, the Court reversed the trial court's denial of the Commission's motion for summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings. View "Mississippi Transportation Comm'n v. Montgomery" on Justia Law

This appeal arose from a dispute between the Third Circuit Drug Court and the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors regarding Lafayette County's alleged duty to administer the drug court’s funding and the drug court's having required that county to place a drug court employee on its payroll. Because Union County replaced Lafayette County as the lead county for the Third Circuit Drug Court, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal as moot. View "Lafayette County Bd. of Supervisors v. Third Circuit Drug Court" on Justia Law

Pursuant to 42 United States Code Sections 2000e-5 and 1983, Appellee Shirley Johnson brought suit against Defendants the City of Belzoni, Police Chief Mickey Foxworth, and Officer David James. Appellee claimed she was sexually harassed at work by James for approximately a year. She reported the harassment to her supervisor Foxworth, but claimed insufficient action was taken to remedy the situation. The matter proceeded to trial, and a jury returned a unanimous verdict of $150,000–$50,000 against each Defendant, in favor of Appellee. Aggrieved, Defendants filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or in the alternative, a new trial. The motion was denied and the defendants appealed. Finding that the sufficiency and weight of the evidence supported the jury’s verdict, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's judgment. View "City of Belzoni v. Johnson" on Justia Law

The issue on appeal to the Supreme Court was whether the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment for the Mississippi Insurance Guaranty Association (MIGA), and in denying a cross-motion for summary judgment for nursing homes and nursing-home residents. The circuit court found that MIGA was entitled to a credit, which would reduce the amount MIGA must pay to indemnify nursing-home owners and operators for damage claims of two nursing-home residents that were allegedly caused by a series of negligent acts and omissions over the course of many years. Upon review, the Court found "the factual and legal predicates necessary to formulate an opinion on coverage issues are lacking, which would preclude any court from rendering a valid ruling on coverage." The Court reversed the circuit court's judgment that granted MIGA's motion for summary judgment and that denied the cross-motions for summary judgment. View "Louisiana Extended Care Centers, Inc. v. Mississippi Insurance Guaranty Ass'n" on Justia Law

In July 2006, Respondent Paul Cook's workers' compensation claim was dismissed for failure to file a properly completed prehearing statement. In December 2006, his "Motion for an Order Re-Instating Claim" was denied for failing to "attach a properly completed prehearing statement . . . ." In August 2008, Respondent's "Amended Motion to Reinstate" was dismissed as barred under a one-year statute of limitations. The full Commission affirmed the dismissal, as did the circuit court and a unanimous Mississippi Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court granted Respondent's petition for certiorari and affirmed: "Cook's claim was properly dismissed. To hold otherwise would eviscerate the Commission's rules and rulings of their statutorily intended effect, since '[a] rule which is not enforced is no rule at all.'" View "Cook v. The Home Depot" on Justia Law

Meadowbrook Health and Rehab, LLC, filed an application for a certificate of need (CON) with the Mississippi Department of Health (DOH) to build a nursing home in Lauderdale County. The DOH staff recommended that the application be approved. Several surrounding nursing homes contested the application and requested a hearing. After three days of testimony, the hearing officer recommended that the application be denied. But the State Health Officer (SHO) disagreed and granted the CON. The contestants appealed to the Hinds County Chancery Court, which affirmed the SHO's decision. The contestants appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the SHO's decision was arbitrary and capricious and that the CON violates the statutory moratorium on new nursing home construction. Upon review, the Supreme Court affirmed the decisions of the SHO and chancery court. View "Queen City Nursing Center, Inc. v. Mississippi State Dept. of Health" on Justia Law

The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance (Commission) filed a Formal Complaint charging Youth Court Judge Leigh Ann Darby with violating various Canons of the Mississippi Code of Judicial Conduct and with "willful misconduct in office" and "conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the judicial office into disrepute[.]" Judge Darby held a mother in contempt of court for disobeying her verbal orders pertaining to the house arrest of the mother's fifteen-year-old daughter. The mother brought her complaint against the judge when "she wrongly imposed sanctions against [her] for contempt of court without first affording her the due process rights required in a criminal contempt matter." The judge and the Commission jointly proposed a recommendation that the judge be publicly reprimanded and fined. Upon review, the Supreme Court affirmed the Commission's recommendation, and ordered the judge be publicly reprimanded, fined $500 and assessed costs. View "Mississippi Comm'n on Judicial Perm. v. Darby" on Justia Law

The issue before the Supreme Court concerned whether the Union County Circuit Court erred in finding that the City of New Albany Board of Aldermen's (City) decision that a tract of land had been legally rezoned from agricultural to industrial was arbitrary and capricious and that the City failed to give statutorily required notice before changing the zoning designation. Upon review of the trial court record and the applicable legal authority, the Supreme Court found that the circuit court did not err: in finding that the City acted arbitrarily and capriciously; in finding that the City failed to give statutorily required notice; and in concluding that the property should remain zoned for agricultural use. The Court vacated the Court of Appeals' holding and reinstated the judgment of the circuit court. View "Riverside Traffic Systems, Inc. v. Bostwick" on Justia Law

John Fletcher, John McConnon, and Tom Leader (collectively, "Fletcher") appealed an order of the Chancery Court of Hancock County incorporating the City of Diamondhead, Mississippi. Fletcher argued that the chancery court lacked jurisdiction over the petition for incorporation because it did not include two-thirds of the signatures of the qualified electors residing in the proposed incorporation area, and notice was improper. Fletcher also argued that objectors to the incorporation were denied the right of cross-examination at the hearing, and that the second chancellor's failure to order a new trial was an abuse of discretion. The Supreme Court found that the petition for incorporation met the jurisdictional requirements, because notice was proper and the petitioners presented substantial evidence that the petition contained two-thirds of the signatures of the qualified electors residing in the proposed incorporation area. Furthermore, the Court found that the chancellor did not deny the objectors' right of cross-examination, and the second chancellor's decision not to order a new trial was within his discretion. View "Fletcher v. Diamondhead Incorporators" on Justia Law