Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The "last will and testament" of Ted Watkins named his ex-stepdaughter Petitioner Diana Kinsey as executrix of his estate, and bequeathed all of his property to her. A year following his death, the estate was closed, and Petitioner was discharged from her executrix duties. Several years later, she filed a wrongful-death action against various silica-related entities in circuit court for Mr. Watkins' death from silicosis. The defendants moved to dismiss the claim as barred by the applicable statutes of limitations or alternatively, that Petitioner lacked standing to file the action. The circuit court dismissed all defendants with prejudice. In its review of the case, the Supreme Court only dealt with the issue of whether Petitioner's claim was time barred by the statute of limitations, and indeed found that her claim was so barred. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment dismissing Petitioner's action. View "Kinsey v. Pangborn Corp. et. al." on Justia Law

This case came before the Supreme Court on an interlocutory appeal from circuit court. The issue on appeal was whether the trial court erred in failing to apply premises-liability law and denying Double Quick, Inc.'s motion for summary judgment. The matter arose from a shooting that occurred in the parking lot of a Double Quick convenience store. George Ford, accompanied by his young son, entered Double Quick to make a purchase. Shortly afterward, Cassius Gallion entered the store. Ford and Gallion exchanged words. Gallion exited the store first. Then Ford left the store to pump gas into his car. Because she was worried that Ford and Gallion would fight, the assistant store manager accompanied Ford and helped Ford’s son into the car. At the gas pumps, Ford and Gallion again exchanged words. Mario Moore, who had arrived at the Double Quick but had not yet been inside, approached Ford’s car, intervened in the argument, and threw a punch at Ford. Mario missed Ford, but struck Jackson, who then returned to the store and called the police. Ford then retrieved a pistol from the trunk of his car and shot Mario. Mario died as result of his injury. Dorothy Moore, as administrator of Mario’s estate, filed suit against Double Quick arguing that Double Quick had neglected to protect Mario from injury and death while he was on the store’s premises. The trial court denied both parties' motions for summary judgment. The trial court held that the case was more similar to a basic negligence action against an employee of Double Quick than a premises-liability action, and that a jury should determine whether the manager's actions were the proximate cause of Mario's injuries. Double Quick appealed the portion of the order denying it summary judgment. "In premises-liability cases, there are two ways to establish legal causation, or foreseeability, in cases of assault by a third person: the requisite 'cause to anticipate' the assault may arise from actual or constructive knowledge of the assailant's violent nature, or actual or constructive knowledge that an atmosphere of violence exists on the premises." The Supreme Court found that there was no suggestion in the record that the store manager had any knowledge of Ford's violent nature. Moore failed to prove that the injury was reasonably foreseeable, or that the manager's behavior was the proximate cause of Mario's injury. Accordingly, the Court held that the trial judge should have granted Double Quick's motion for summary judgment. View "Double Quick, Inc. v. Moore" on Justia Law

This case was an interlocutory appeal from a circuit court which granted the "Motions to Compel Arbitration" of Pass Marianne, LLC (Pass) and Alfonso Realty, Inc. (Alfonso). On appeal, the Supreme Court considered: (1) whether Pass waived its right to arbitration, and (2) whether a principal’s waiver of its contractual right to arbitrate operates to waive that right for its agent. In 2005, Pass entered into a contract with Carl E. Woodward, LLC (Woodward) for the construction of a new condominium development, Pass Marianne Condominiums, in Pass Christian, Mississippi. In February, Pass and Lemon Drop Properties, LLC (Lemon Drop) entered into a "Preconstruction Sales and Purchase Agreement" for Unit No. 209 within the Pass Marianne Condominiums. Because of Hurricane Katrina, construction of the Pass Marianne Condominiums was not completed until 2007. On October 3, 2007, Pass executed a warranty deed conveying Unit No. 209 to Lemon Drop, and Woodward furnished a "Warranty of Completion of Construction" to Lemon Drop. On October 28, 2008, Lemon Drop filed a Complaint in the circuit court against Pass and Woodward, which sought, inter alia, rescission of the Agreement due to alleged defects in design and construction. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded that while Pass waived its right to compel arbitration, that waiver was not imputed to its agent, Alfonso. As there was no evidence of waiver by Alfonso, it should have been entitled to proceed in arbitration. Therefore, as to Alfonso the Court affirmed the circuit court's order granting arbitration was affirmed. But regarding Pass, Court reversed and remanded the circuit court's order for further proceedings. View "Lemon Drop Properties, LLC. v. Pass Marianne, LLC" on Justia Law

Plaintiff Pamela Lynn Lawson appealed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to the Defendant Honeywell International, Inc., on her Mississippi Products Liability Act (MPLA) claim and her negligence claim arising from injuries she sustained when her seatbelt buckle allegedly malfunctioned during an automobile accident. On July 31, 2005, Plaintiff lost control of her 1999 Jeep Cherokee while driving from Clara to Waynesboro, Mississippi. The vehicle veered off the highway and rolled over several times before coming to a stop. Plaintiff claimed that, although she had her Gen-3 seat belt buckle correctly fastened at the time of the accident, a defective design in the buckle caused it to malfunction and disengage, resulting in her ejection from the vehicle. Plaintiff alleged she suffered severe injuries as a result. She filed this action against Honeywell whom she alleged originally designed the Gen-3 seat belt buckle before selling it to Chrysler in the mid-1990s. Upon review, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment as to Plaintiff's MPLA claim, finding Honeywell was not the "manufacturer" of the buckle for purposes of liability under the MPLA. However, the Court reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment as to Plaintiff's negligence claim, and remanded for trial, as the MPLA does not preclude common-law claims of negligence against a nonmanufacturing and nonselling designer of a product. View "Lawson v. Honeywell International, Inc. " on Justia Law

Petitioner Sylvia Montgomery filed suit against the Mississippi Transportation Commission (Commission) 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 circuit 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 the case for further proceedings. View "Mississippi Transport. Comm'n v. Montgomery" on Justia Law

Richard Compere appealed a trial court’s dismissal with prejudice and its imposition of monetary sanctions for his filing a second medical-malpractice action against Dr. Bryan Lantrip and St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital. The Hinds County Circuit Court imposed these sanctions because Compere previously had filed the same action, and it was pending at the time Compere filed his second complaint. Upon review, the Supreme Court found the trial court erred in dismissing the second complaint with prejudice and imposing monetary sanctions. Therefore, the Court reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Compere v. St. Dominic Jackson Mem. Hosp." on Justia Law

Jules Corbin, Tammy Louis, and James Henry, Jr. were involved in an automobile wreck that left Louis dead and Henry severely injured. Corbin was indicted for capital murder, aggravated assault, and felony fleeing the scene of an accident. However, he was convicted by a jury on the lesser-included offense of murder, as well as aggravated assault and felony fleeing the scene. Corbin was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, ten years for aggravated assault, and three years for felony fleeing. Corbin appealed, and claimed among other things, that his Sixth-Amendment right to confrontation was violated. Upon review of the trial court record, the Supreme Court agreed that Corbin's constitutional rights were violated, and that the error was not harmless as to the charges of murder and aggravated assault, but that it was harmless as to the charge of felony fleeing the scene of an accident. Thus, the Court reversed and remanded part, and affirmed part of the trial court's decision. View "Corbin v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

This was an interlocutory appeal from the denial of a motion to sever and transfer venue. Plaintiffs Hattie Douglas, Kevin Hamlin, and the victim’s five siblings (collectively Plaintiffs) filed a complaint in circuit court against Sunshine Medical Clinic; Dr. Vibha Vig, in her official and personal capacities and Lisa Hoehn, nurse practitioner, in her official and personal capacities (collectively Defendants). The Plaintiffs alleged a medical-negligence and negligent-hiring cause of action against Defendants concerning the treatment and care of their minor son and brother, Kaddarius Douglas (Kaddarius) received before he died. Plaintiffs, in the same complaint, also brought claims against the Mississippi Crime Laboratory; Mississippi State Medical Examiners; Dr. Steven Hayne, in his official and personal capacities; Expertox, Inc.; and MedScreens, Inc. (Wrongful Incarceration Defendants) asserting that their acts and omissions in performing a postmortem examination and toxicological tests on Kaddarius's body, as well as in storing and handling blood and urine samples, caused the wrongful incarceration of Hattie Douglas for the murder of Kaddarius. All Defendants moved to have the trial court sever the claims and to transfer the claims against the Wrongful-Incarceration Defendants and to transfer the claims against the medical-negligence Defendants to another county court. The trial court denied the motion. All Defendants brought an interlocutory appeal to severe the two claims and transfer venue. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded that the trial court erred in not severing and transferring the claims to their proper venues. The Court the circuit court's judgment and remanded the case for severance and transfer. View "Miss. Crime Lab. v. Douglas" on Justia Law

The Bank of Commerce (Bank) brought an action against SouthGroup Insurance and Financial Services, LLC (SouthGroup) and Norman White, an agent of SouthGroup, for negligent misrepresentations made by White regarding the type of liability insurance coverage they would need to purchase. The trial court granted summary judgment for SouthGroup and White on two grounds: (1) that the Bank’s claims are barred by the statute of limitations; and (2) that the damages sought by the Bank constituted a voluntary payment which may not be recovered under Mississippi’s voluntary payment doctrine. The Bank appealed the trial court’s decision. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded that the three-year statute of limitations began to run when the Bank first received notice that it did not have entity coverage on January 18, 2005. When the Bank filed its claim against Defendants on July 17, 2008, the statute of limitations already had run, therefore barring the Bank’s claims against them. The Court affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment dismissing the Bank's case. View "Bank of Commerce v. Southgroup Insurance & Financial Services, LLC" on Justia Law

In July 2001, eight-year-old Jane Doe and thirteen-year-old Lisa Roe were playing unsupervised at the Presidential Hills Park, a public park built, operated, and maintained by the City of Jackson (the City). While playing in the park, the two children were approached by Andrew Lawson, a convicted sex offender, who fondled Lisa Roe and sexually battered Jane Doe. Lawson was convicted for his criminal acts against the girls. Two girls sued the City. The City moved for summary judgment, arguing that it was immune from suit. The trial court denied the motion. Because the City's operation of the park was a discretionary function, the Supreme Court granted the City's petition for interlocutory appeal and reversed the trial court and rendered judgment for the City. View "City of Jackson v. Doe" on Justia Law