Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Anthony Smith died in a plane crash in 2001. His estate contained two separate life insurance policies. Mr. Smith's father Raymond was named as sole beneficiary of one policy, and Mr. Smith's ex-wife Ruth was named as beneficiary on the other. At the time of his death, Mr. Smith owned a life estate in 657 acres of land in Tate County. One hundred and sixty of the acres were set aside in fee simple for Raymond and his wife Dorothy as part of their homestead. This case came before an appellate court three separate times. Each time, the issue before the court involved the proper way to apportion the tax liability among the beneficiaries to the estate. The Supreme Court issued an opinion holding that taxes should be based on the taxable estate, rather than the gross estate. On remand, the Estate filed two motions demanding that Raymond and Ruth reimburse the Estate for taxes paid plus interest on the insurance policies. Raymond filed a motion demanding that the Estate pay him for rent for the time he was excluded from his homestead. The chancery court ultimately held that Raymond and Ruth were responsible for their portions of tax liability owed to the Estate, and that Raymond was entitled to twenty-four months' rent. The Estate appealed to the Supreme Court. Upon careful consideration of the case record, the Supreme Court affirmed the chancery court.

Respondent Tim Norris failed to pay his 2005 property taxes on his restaurant in Jackson. In 2006, Sass Muni purchased the restaurant in a tax sale. When Mr. Norris did not redeem the property within the statutory two-year period, a tax deed was issued to Sass Muni, who then deeded the property to Petitioner Rebuild America, Inc. When Rebuild America filed suit to confirm its title, Mr. Norris intervened, arguing that he was never served with notice of the tax sale. He moved to have the tax sale set aside. The chancellor set the tax sale aside, and Rebuild America appealed. The appellate court affirmed the chancery court's ruling. Rebuild America appealed again to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court agreed with the appellate court's analysis of the issues presented on appeal, and affirmed its holding.