Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Circuit Court granted summary judgment in favor of Graceland Care Center of Oxford, LLC; Graceland Management Company, Inc.; Lafayette LTC, Inc.; and Yalobusha General Hospital and Nursing Home (collectively, Graceland) in a case brought by Shirley Adams for injuries her mother allegedly sustained while in the defendants’ care. As the basis for granting summary judgment, the circuit court determined that Adams was judicially estopped from bringing her suit because Adams had failed to disclose the suit in her prior bankruptcy proceedings. Adams appealed, and the Court of Appeals, in a plurality opinion, reversed the circuit court’s decision to grant summary judgment and remanded the case to the circuit court to proceed with a trial on the merits. The Supreme Court granted certiorari review and held that the Court of Appeals misapplied the applicable standard of review and the law of judicial estoppel in the instant case. Therefore, the Court reversed the Court of Appeals’ judgment, and reinstated and affirmed the circuit court’s judgment. View "Adams v. Graceland Care Center of Oxford, LLC" on Justia Law

After a nearby ditch began to erode causing significant property damage and mold-related health issues, Plaintiffs John and Patsy O’Callaghan filed an inverse condemnation action under the Takings Clause of the Mississippi Constitution, requesting that the City of Tupelo compensate the couple for both personal injuries and significant property loss. The City presented an interlocutory appeal challenging the County Court’s order denying its motion for summary judgment on the matter. Finding that personal injuries were not recoverable in a claim under the Takings Clause and that the three-year limitations period under Mississippi Code Section 15-1-49 was applicable to takings claims, the Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s ruling, rendering a decision for the City. View "City of Tupelo v. O'Callaghan" on Justia Law

The Mississippi Supreme Court has held “that the first court to properly take jurisdiction of a wrongful death action in our state courts shall, so long as the action is pending, have exclusive jurisdiction, and any other subsequently-filed action for the same death shall be of no effect.” Despite this holding, Janice Davis, after filing an action for the wrongful death of her father, Richard Davis, and while that action was pending, filed three additional, separate wrongful-death actions, two of which were against the same defendant. Because these three subsequent actions were of “no effect,” they were properly dismissed. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgments dismissing the three subsequently filed wrongful-death actions. View "Estate of Richard B. Davis v. Blaylock" on Justia Law

In the early-morning hours of New Year's Day 2012, sixteen-year-old Devin Mitchell was shot to death outside the apartment of his cousin, Queenie Walker, at Ridgewood East Apartments in West Point. Mitchell’s family sued Ridgewood East, alleging, inter alia, premises liability. The Circuit Court granted summary judgment to Ridgewood East. Agreeing that no genuine issue of material fact existed with regard to whether Mitchell’s murder was foreseeable to Ridgewood East Apartments, the Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's judgment. View "Mitchell v. Ridgewood East Apartments, LLC" on Justia Law

The underlying lawsuit to this appeal concerned two automobile accidents that occurred on Interstate 55 North in Grenada County on the evening of Thursday, May 24, 2012. The first accident involved David Williams and Brian Spurlock: Williams was traveling in a tractor-trailer leased to RWI Transportation, LLC. The left side of the trailer contacted the right side of a Ford Ranger pickup driven by Spurlock. Spurlock's truck overturned. Williams pulled the trailer over to the shoulder of the highway on an offramp to Exit 206. The second accident involved George Ready, II, and a UPS tractor-trailer driven by Shannon Carroll. The Ready accident occurred nearly three quarters (3/4) of a mile south of the Williams accident. Approximately 730 feet north of the ramp to the Exit 206 overpass, Ready collided with the rear of a of the UPS tractor-trailer driven by Carroll. The UPS tractor-trailer was stopped in the right hand northbound travel lane where it had been forced to stop as a result of backed-up traffic from the Williams accident. Ready filed suit against RWI and Williams, alleging claims of negligence and negligent entrustment. RWI and Williams moved for summary judgment, arguing that Ready’s injury was not a foreseeable consequence of Williams’s accident, thus Ready could not establish that he was owed a duty by RWI and Williams. RWI and Williams were granted summary judgment. Ready appealed, but finding no error in the trial court’s grant of summary judgment, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Ready v. RWI Transportation, LLC" on Justia Law

While a resident at Cleveland Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, LLC, (“Cleveland”), Annie Mae Gully fell and broke her hip. Following complications from a surgical procedure to repair her hip, Gully died six days later. Subsequently, suit was filed against Cleveland, alleging claims of negligence and gross negligence. Following a verdict in the Estate's favor, Cleveland moved for a new trial, arguing, among other things, that the jury had been allowed to hear undisclosed opinions from an expert and improper closing argument from counsel for the Estate. After review, the Supreme Court agreed with this contention, reversed the trial court, and remanded for a new trial. View "Cleveland Nursing and Rehabilitation, LLC v. Estate of Annie Mae Gully" on Justia Law

After suffering a fall at work, Linda Mitchell returned to the same position she had before her injury, and continued to work for more than seven months until she was terminated for a cause unrelated to the injury. She then sought and was awarded disability benefits from the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. But because the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and Commission both failed to recognize that Mitchell’s return to work created a rebuttable presumption that she suffered no loss of earning capacity, the Supreme Court reversed the award of disability benefits and remanded this case to the Commission to apply the correct legal standard. View "Hudspeth Regional Center v. Mitchell" on Justia Law

Carl Brady fell and injured himself while roller skating at Extreme Skate Zone in 2009. Extreme Skate Zone was a nonentity owned by Lewis Entertainment, Inc. at the time of Carl’s fall. As a result of the fall, the Bradys sued Oak Grove Skating Rink, Inc., Extreme Skate Zone, and John Does A through Z on the final day of the statute-of-limitations period. Oak Grove, a prior owner of Extreme, had no affiliation with Lewis. The court clerk issued a summons for both Oak Grove and Extreme. A summons was never issued for Lewis, as it was never named as a defendant. In an interlocutory appeal, Lewis Entertainment, Inc., challenged the trial court’s denial of its motion to dismiss based on Carl and Carrie Brady’s failure to serve it timely with process. The Bradys did not name Lewis Entertainment, Inc., as a defendant or to serve it with process. Their repeated attempts knowingly to serve an unrelated entity did not constitute good cause. The Bradys’ case should have been dismissed, and, because the statute-of-limitations period expired in 2012, the dismissal should have been with prejudice. The trial court's order was reversed, and judgment was rendered in favor of Lewis Entertainment, Inc. View "Lewis Entertainment, Inc. v. Brady" on Justia Law

Charles Blackmon and Dexter Booth sued Malaco, Inc.; N.J. Pockets, Inc.; and Callop Hampton (owner of Hamp’s Place Night Club) on a premises-liability claim. Plaintiffs settled with Malaco. At trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Hampton. Hampton filed a post-trial motion, requesting the trial court to impose sanctions against Blackmon, Booth, and their attorney for filing a frivolous lawsuit and to award attorney fees. The motion was denied, and Hampton appealed that judgment to the Supreme Court. Finding no abuse of discretion, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Hampton v. Blackmon" on Justia Law

While driving one day in 2005, Kathryn Loyacono observed Watacha Shelby backing her car toward Loyacono on the same road. Loyacono brought her vehicle to a stop, but Shelby backed into the front of her vehicle. Following the accident, Loyacono proceeded by ambulance to the emergency room, complaining of neck and back pain. She was released the same day after being diagnosed with a muscle strain. At the time of the accident, Shelby lacked liability insurance, but Loyacono held an uninsured-motorist policy through Travelers Insurance. Accordingly, Loyacono filed suit against Shelby and Travelers, seeking to recover the policy limit of $2.5 million. Prior to trial, the circuit judge entered an order acknowledging that the parties had stipulated that Shelby had proximately caused the accident and that the Travelers policy covered any injuries Loyacono suffered, and proceeded to trial on injury and causation. The jury awarded plaintiff zero dollars. The Mississippi Court of Appeals found that the jury’s determination of damages conflicted with the overwhelming weight of the evidence. The Supreme Court disagreed, but affirmed the Court of Appeals’ decision to reverse and remand for a new trial on damages because the trial judge admitted irrelevant and highly prejudicial evidence of the plaintiff’s husband’s income. View "Loyacono v. Travelers Insurance Company" on Justia Law