Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In 2006, Dr. Terry McMillin and his wife Leslie purchased a new home in Tupelo. Unhappy with contractor Jamie Ewing’s failure to respond to their repair requests, plus their discovery of a document (a blue card, noting a failed home inspection) listing the name of a different contractor as the contractor responsible for their home’s construction, the McMillins began the process of unraveling just who was responsible for building their new home. Ultimately, this case stemmed from an error by the City of Tupelo’s Permit Manager Marilyn Vail in handling the withdrawal of one licensed contractor and mistakenly substituting the name of another licensed contractor, when in actuality, a licensed contractor was not working on the home. The circuit court held a bench trial and awarded $9,319.23 in damages to repair the home and $105,894.39 in legal fees related to another case involving the construction but denied the McMillins’ request for attorneys’ fees in this case. The City appealed, and the McMillins cross-appealed. After review, the Supreme Court concluded that the circuit court erred in finding that the City was not immune from liability. The Court therefore reversed the circuit court’s judgment and render judgment in favor of the City. View "City of Tupelo v. McMillin" on Justia Law

The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance issued a Formal Complaint against Chancellor David Shoemake, alleging judicial misconduct. The Complaint contained allegations that Judge Shoemake had contributed to the mismanagement of the conservatorship of Victoria Denise Newsome. After a formal hearing on March 12, 2015, the Commission recommended to the Supreme Court that Judge Shoemake be removed from office, fined $2,500, and assessed costs in the amount of $5,882.67. Judge Shoemake disputes the Commission’s findings and recommendation. After review, the Supreme Court held that Judge Shoemake improperly signed ex parte orders and contributed to the mismanagement of a ward’s estate. However, the Commission did not prove by clear and convincing evidence that Shoemake gave testimony that he knew or should have known would be misleading. The Court ordered that Judge Shoemake be publicly reprimanded, be suspended from office for thirty days without pay, pay a fine of $2,500, and pay costs in the amount of $5,882.67. View "Mississippi Comm'n on Judicial Performance v. Shoemake" on Justia Law

Steven Lee Boggs appealed his conviction for one count of gratification of lust, arguing that the trial court erred in allowing the State to present improper character evidence. This case arose out of Boggs’s interactions with three minor victims, K.E., S.S. and D.N. The indictment originally included separate charges concerning Boggs’s misconduct toward S.S. and K.E. However, the charge involving S.S. was dismissed on statute-of-limitations grounds prior to trial. Thus, Boggs was tried only for his misconduct toward K.E. Boggs was charged by a separate indictment for an offense involving D.N., but an order nolle prosequi was entered on that indictment in 2011, before the indictment in the instant case was issued. S.S. and D.N. testified for the State in support of Boggs' conviction for his misconduct against K.E. Boggs testified in his own defense and denied any wrongdoing. At the conclusion of trial, the jury found Boggs guilty as charged, and the trial court sentenced him to serve fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. On appeal, Boggs argued that the trial court erred in allowing D.N. and S.S. to testify regarding Boggs’s prior acts of sexual misconduct against them. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed Boggs' conviction. View "Boggs v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Henry Roop sued Southern Pharmaceuticals Corporation (“SPC”) and its principal owners, individually, claiming he has been terminated for reporting illegal activity, namely a kickback scheme to be carried out through a straw employee. SPC countered that it fired Roop for, among other things, not meeting his contract goals for the year. A jury found SPC wrongfully terminated Roop for reporting illegal activity, and the jury awarded Roop compensatory damages. The circuit court entered a judgment notwithstanding the verdict in SPC’s favor. The circuit court reasoned that the jury would have had to speculate whether the arrangement would have been illegal, as the employment, and thus the kickback, never took place. Roop appealed, arguing that the judge had erred in overturning the jury’s verdict and in not thereafter proceeding with a hearing on punitive damages. The Supreme Court concluded after review that the trial court erred in overturning the jury's verdict, reversed, and remanded the case for further proceedings on Roop's other claims for punitive damages and attorney's fees. View "Roop v. Southern Pharmaceuticals Corp." on Justia Law

A drug task force was attempting to execute a search warrant on a suspected drug house when gunfire broke out. Several men were standing in front of the house as the taskforce arrived, and, according to the officers, at least one of those men started shooting at the officers and their vehicles. One of the police officers, who was riding in the bed of a pickup truck, stood and returned fire. Ronnie Burton was standing with the man or men who allegedly were shooting at the police, but he did not fire the shots. Instead, he began to run before the shooting started. At some point a bullet struck Burton. The bullet passed through his right shoulder and was never found. Burton did not actually see anyone shoot, and he admitted that he could not identify exactly when he was shot, where he was when he got shot, what caliber of bullet hit him, or who shot him. He conceded that it was possible that one of his armed companions at the house could have fired the shot that hit him, but Burton believed the police shot him. The police officer who returned fire testified that the one person he shot at was not Burton but a man shooting at the police vehicles. Burton did not produce any witnesses or other evidence to contradict the testimony of the officers. Because he was caught fleeing the scene and in possession of a weapon, Burton was arrested. He was released shortly thereafter, when it was determined that he was not the shooter. Burton sued the law enforcement entities that made up the task force as well as the officer who fired his weapon. The Circuit Court rejected the defendants’ claims of Mississippi Tort Claims Act (MTCA) immunity, and found in favor of Burton on most of his claims, awarding him $350,000 for his injuries. Because the Supreme Court found that defendants were immune under the MTCA, it reversed the circuit court and rendered judgment in their favor. View "Hinds County v. Burton" on Justia Law

A drug task force was attempting to execute a search warrant on a suspected drug house when gunfire broke out. Several men were standing in front of the house as the taskforce arrived, and, according to the officers, at least one of those men started shooting at the officers and their vehicles. One of the police officers, who was riding in the bed of a pickup truck, stood and returned fire. Ronnie Burton was standing with the man or men who allegedly were shooting at the police, but he did not fire the shots. Instead, he began to run before the shooting started. At some point a bullet struck Burton. The bullet passed through his right shoulder and was never found. Burton did not actually see anyone shoot, and he admitted that he could not identify exactly when he was shot, where he was when he got shot, what caliber of bullet hit him, or who shot him. He conceded that it was possible that one of his armed companions at the house could have fired the shot that hit him, but Burton believed the police shot him. The police officer who returned fire testified that the one person he shot at was not Burton but a man shooting at the police vehicles. Burton did not produce any witnesses or other evidence to contradict the testimony of the officers. Because he was caught fleeing the scene and in possession of a weapon, Burton was arrested. He was released shortly thereafter, when it was determined that he was not the shooter. Burton sued the law enforcement entities that made up the task force as well as the officer who fired his weapon. The Circuit Court rejected the defendants’ claims of Mississippi Tort Claims Act (MTCA) immunity, and found in favor of Burton on most of his claims, awarding him $350,000 for his injuries. Because the Supreme Court found that defendants were immune under the MTCA, it reversed the circuit court and rendered judgment in their favor. View "Hinds County v. Burton" on Justia Law

When the Humphreys County Board of Supervisors notified the public of its intention to issue a $1.2 million tax anticipation note, taxpayers filed a petition containing signatures of qualified electors requesting that the matter be submitted to the public for an election. The Board determined that the number of qualified electors who had signed the petition was insufficient to require an election. The Board, therefore, authorized the note’s issuance. The matter then was submitted to the Humphreys County Chancery Court for validation. The day before the hearing, Glenn Russell filed a written objection. At the hearing, Russell appeared pro se to oppose validation. Nevertheless, the chancellor entered a judgment validating the tax anticipation note. Russell appealed. After review, the Supreme Court held that the Humphreys County Board of Supervisors did not exceed statutory limits in obtaining the tax anticipation note. However, the chancellor’s refusal at the validation hearing to consider the sufficiency of signatures of qualified electors, who signed a petition protesting the tax anticipation note, constituted error. The Court therefore reversed the judgment of the Humphreys County Chancery Court and remanded this case to the chancellor for further proceedings. View "In Re: Validation of Tax Anticipation Note, Series 2014, by Humphreys County v. Humphreys County Board of Supervisors" on Justia Law

This case arose out of property damage suffered by Borries Construction when Grand Casino’s gambling barges broke loose from their moorings and collided with the Schooner Pier and surrounding structures during Hurricane Katrina. Following the hurricane, K.R. Borries filed suit on behalf of himself and his construction company against Grand Casino. Grand Casino filed a motion for summary judgment, which the circuit court granted. Borries appealed, arguing that Grand Casino breached its duty of care to Borries by negligently mooring its casino and failing to take precautions to prevent foreseeable harm to nearby property owners. After review, the Supreme Court Court reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment because there was a "battle of experts," and the issue should have been presented to a jury. View "Borries v. Grand Casino of Mississippi, Inc. Biloxi" on Justia Law

Shirley Warren (a/k/a Oliver) was convicted for possession of a controlled substance in a correctional facility. The trial court sentenced her to seven years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with four years suspended and five years of supervised probation. The Supreme Court assigned Warren’s appeal to the Court of Appeals, which reversed it, ruling that Warren’s indictment was fatally defective because it failed to identify the controlled substance that Warren allegedly possessed. The Supreme Court granted the State’s petition for a writ of certiorari to review the judgment of the Court of Appeals, and held that Warren’s indictment sufficiently charged her with possession of a controlled substance in a correctional facility. Furthermore, the Court held that Warren’s other appellate issues lacked merit. The Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals and reinstated and affirmed the judgment of the Circuit Court. View "Warren a/k/a Oliver v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Aundray Isaac filed his complaint against the State in 2012, seeking compensation for wrongful conviction and imprisonment. During the early morning hours of March 11, 1991, a towel draped over the front door of Shannon Jackson’s apartment caught fire. The towel had been placed there purposefully for privacy, as covering the windows at the top of the door prevented bypassers from seeing up the interior stairwell just beyond the door. That night, Jackson was at home and upstairs with her and Isaac’s two young children. Isaac lived at the apartment with Jackson but had spent most of the night at issue away from the apartment. He knocked on the door after midnight, but, though she was home, Jackson refused to let him in. Jackson testified that the two of them had agreed that “If he was going to continue to live there, he was going to be in before 12:00 or no later than 12:00.” Isaac testified at his wrongful conviction trial that he set the towel on fire, but he maintained that it was an accident. Isaac would be charged with arson, and convicted by jury. In 1994, the Supreme Court determined that the State had failed to prove the malice and willfulness elements of first-degree arson beyond a reasonable doubt and therefore had produced insufficient evidence to support Isaac’s conviction. The Court reversed Isaac’s conviction and discharged him from the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He then sued for wrongful conviction and imprisonment. The trial court found in favor of the State and dismissed Isaac’s complaint with prejudice. Aggrieved, Isaac appealed. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Isaac v. Mississippi" on Justia Law