Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

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

The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance recommended to the Mississippi Supreme Court that former Madison County Justice Court Judge William “Bill” Weisenberger Sr. be removed from office after finding by clear and convincing evidence that Weisenberger physically and verbally assaulted a mentally disabled individual at the 2014 Canton Flea Market. Because of the egregious nature of Weisenberger’s actions, the Supreme Court agreed with the Commission’s recommendation and removed Weisenberger from office. Weisenberger was directed to pay a fine in the amount of $1,000 and costs of these proceedings in the amount of $5,918.46. View "Mississippi Comm'n on Judicial Perf. v. Weisenberger" on Justia Law

This was the second appeal of the equitable distribution of assets of Howard Carney III and Andrea Bell Carney by the Chancery Court of Warren County. In the first appeal, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded, holding that the chancellor manifestly had erred by awarding 100% of the equity in the marital home to the wife without explanation for the award. On remand, the chancellor reweighed the applicable "Ferguson" factors and again awarded 100% of the equity in the marital domicile to Andrea Carney. Howard appealed. Under the deferential standard of review applicable to the decisions of the chancery court, the Supreme Court found that the chancellor’s equitable distribution on remand was not manifestly wrong or clearly erroneous. Therefore, the judgment was affirmed. View "Carney v. Carney" on Justia Law

Eddie Hall was convicted of murdering Johnny “Tubby” Hubbard in the Black Cat community of Covington County. The jury received eyewitness testimony that when a fight broke out at the end of a horse show, Hall retrieved a gun from his trailer and shot Tubby twice as Tubby attempted to break up the fight and leave the scene. On appeal, Hall argued that the judge made errors during the jury selection process and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Finding no reversible error after review of the case, the Supreme Court affirmed Hall’s conviction and life sentence. View "Hall v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

During a family counseling meeting, Rachel accused David of molesting their daughter. The Harrison County Department of Human Services (“DHS”) and the Biloxi Police Department investigated the alleged abuse. As part of the investigation, the South Central Mississippi Child Advocacy Center conducted a forensic interview of the couple's daughter "Samantha." During this interview, Samantha made no mention of abuse. And ultimately, neither DHS nor the Biloxi police sought criminal charges or youth-court action against David. Still, Rachel filed her complaint for divorce from David on August 31, 2011, and she continued to claim he had sexually abused their daughter. When sexual-abuse allegations are raised in a child-custody case, a guardian ad litem (GAL) must be appointed to represent the child’s best interest. Here, the appointed GAL made visitation recommendations but was not asked to make a custody recommendation. The chancellor addressed this issue on his own. Upon review of this case, the Supreme Court found the fact that the chancellor made an independent custody assessment was not made in error. Furthermore, there was no error in the chancellor’s ultimate custody decision, evidentiary rulings, and award of costs to the husband. The Supreme Court found however, the chancellor should have explained why he rejected the GAL’s recommendation that the minor children be assessed and counseled. This omission was harmless error and did not require reversal. The Supreme Court affirmed the chancellor's decision. View "Smith v. Smith" on Justia Law

In this case, the issue the appellant raised for further review was the contention that the chancellor erred in awarding a child-support judgment to her son, who was a nonparty to this case. This issue was never raised in the chancery court case at trial or in post-trial motions. As a result, the issue was not properly before the Supreme Court and thus barred from further review. View "Taylor v. Taylor" on Justia Law

In October 2006, a jury convicted Nathaniel Walden for murder and shooting into an occupied dwelling. The Mississippi Supreme Court granted Walden leave to proceed in the circuit court with a petition for post-conviction relief claiming ineffective assistance of counsel during the plea bargaining process. The circuit judge summarily dismissed the petition, erroneously concluding that the petitioner had not timely filed or obtained leave from the Supreme Court. In the alternative, the circuit judge dismissed the petition because it relied on the petitioner’s own affidavit, but the circuit judge failed to consider that the petitioner claimed good cause for failure to obtain other affidavits. The Supreme Court reversed the summary dismissal and remanded this case to the circuit court for further consideration. View "Walden v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

In this case, the natural mother schemed to give away her child without the natural father's consent by falsely claiming in a sworn consent and joinder and in sworn testimony at the adoption proceedings, that she didn't know the child's natural father. The deception caused the court to grant an adoption to a third party based on false, material representations. The natural father discovered the deception and filed a petition to set aside the adoption. The chancellor heard the "independent action" to set aside a "judgment based on fraud." The adoptive parents moved to dismiss the natural father's petition, attacking the father's standing to bring such an action. The chancellor denied the adoptive parents' motion, and finding no error in that denial, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Doe v. Smith" on Justia Law

A jury found Daner Ford guilty of acting in concert to bring about the death of Marvin Stuckett, for a firearm enhancement, and for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The trial court sentenced him as a habitual offender to a term of life imprisonment. He appealed, raising multiple issues of alleged error at the trial court. But finding none, the Supreme Court affirmed Ford's conviction and sentence. View "Ford v. Mississippi" on Justia Law