Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Petitioners Catherine Babb, Beth King, and Robert King filed a Petition for Inclusion of certain real property into Oxford, Mississippi, pursuant to Mississippi Code Sections 21-1-45 to 47. The property was scheduled to become Baptist Memorial Hospital - North Mississippi, Inc. (BMH), a new, multi-million-dollar medical facility. Objectors Kenneth Ferrell and others filed an objection. The Chancery Court found the Petitioners met the statutory requirements for inclusion and approved the Petition. The Objectors appealed. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Chancery Court. View "In the Matter of Inclusion into the City of Oxford" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs Frank Schmidt Sr. and other former parishioners of the St. Paul Catholic Church in Pass Christian appealed the second dismissal with prejudice of their claims against the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi, Inc., Most Reverend Thomas J. Rodi, and Rev. Dennis Carver. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The storm caused extensive damage to the St. Paul Catholic Church and its ancillary properties. The actual church building was also damaged, although the extent of the damage is disputed by the parties. Plaintiffs insisted that the church remains structurally sound, that many of its sacred articles were unharmed, and that repair costs should be less than $2.5 million. Church Defendants maintain that the church and its most sacred places were “destroyed in large part.” Bishop Rodi issued a decree merging the St. Paul and Our Lady of Lourdes Parishes to form a new parish called the Holy Family Parish. The decree stated that the Holy Family Parish would maintain two church edifices, St. Paul Church and Our Lady of Lourdes Church. A number of St. Paul’s former parishioners, including some of the Plaintiffs in this case, filed a canonical appeal through the Roman Catholic Church’s ecclesiastical tribunals. In 2007, the Vatican issued a decree which stated that Bishop Rodi had acted in accordance with the requirements and procedures set forth under canon law. While the canonical appeal was pending, 157 former parishioners filed suit asserting, in part, that Bishop Rodi held the St. Paul Church property in trust for the members, that any financial contributions designated for reconstruction of the church were held in trust for that particular purpose, that Church Defendants had violated said trusts, and that Father Carver had made misrepresentations in soliciting donations for the rebuilding efforts. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed in part, finding that Plaintiffs lacked standing to assert the St. Paul property was held in trust for their benefit. However, the Court reversed and remanded the chancellor’s dismissal of the diversion-of-designated funds claim, as well as the claim against Father Carver for intentional misrepresentation, finding subject-matter jurisdiction existed over these claims. On remand, the chancellor denied Plaintiffs’ motions for additional discovery and granted Church Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, dismissing Plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice. Plaintiffs argued on appeal that the chancellor erred in dismissing their claims for diversion of designated funds and intentional misrepresentation. Because none of the Plaintiffs established the requisite elements for a diversion of designated funds, the Supreme Court affirmed the grant of summary judgment on this issue. In addition, because no Plaintiffs could establish a claim for intentional misrepresentation, the Court affirmed the grant of summary judgment on this issue. Therefore, the Court affirmed the Chancery Court's judgment. View "Kinney v. Catholic Diocese of Biloxi, Inc." 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

Frank Gideon Whitaker IV and Cynthia Ann Grantham were involved in a car accident. The Circuit Court found Whitaker guilty of aggravated driving under the influence pursuant to Mississippi Code Section 63-11-30(5), sentenced him to twenty-five years and ordered Whitaker to pay Grantham $25,000. Whitaker argued two issue on appeal, in both, contending a blood sample taken from Whitaker following the collision while he remained unconscious should not have been admitted into evidence. The majority of the Supreme Court concluded that Whitaker failed to raise any issue of merit: his blood was not drawn pursuant to the Mississippi Implied Consent Act, and he failed to satisfy his burden of showing that the evidence was tampered with or substituted, defeating his chain-of-custody argument. Furthermore, the Court found Whitaker failed to present any evidence supporting his claim that the blood sample was not properly authenticated. View "Whitaker v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Carey Witten was convicted in Sacramento County, California, of oral copulation and rape of a person “. . . unconscious of the nature of the act . . .” in violation of the California Penal Code. Witten was granted five years’ probation, and he received an order of dismissal after successful completion of his probation. Witten relocated to Mississippi and filed a petition for relief from the duty to register in Mississippi Code. At the hearing on the matter, Witten argued that his order of dismissal from California satisfied the requirements of Mississippi Code Section 45-33-47(4), such that Witten should have been relieved of the duty to register as a sex offender in Mississippi. The assistant district attorney agreed with Witten. The trial court also agreed and subsequently entered an order relieving Witten of the duty to register as a sex offender in Mississippi. R. Steven Coleman, on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Criminal Information Center, Sex Offenders Registry, filed a Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) motion to set aside and render as void the trial court’s order relieving Witten of the duty to register, based on Mississippi and California statutes that were not presented to the trial court at the hearing and that had bearing on whether or not Witten was required to register as a sex offender. The trial court ultimately granted the motion to set aside and render as void the earlier judgment. Witten appealed the Supreme Court, arguing the trial court erred as a matter of Mississippi law in its assessment of Mississippi Code Sections 45-33-23 and 45-33-47(4). The Court affirmed the trial court’s ruling, finding that Witten’s conviction had not been set aside or dismissed in accordance with Mississippi Code Section 45-33-47(4) and that Witten was required to continue registration as a sex offender in the State of Mississippi. View "Witten v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Caleb Corrothers was convicted of two counts of capital murder, with the underlying felony of robbery, for the murders of Frank Clark and Taylor Clark. He was convicted on a third count of aggravated assault for the shooting of Tonya Clark. The jury sentenced Corrothers to death for the two counts of capital murder and to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the aggravated assault. The trial court denied Corrothers’s post-trial motions. He appealed. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed Corrothers’s convictions and sentences. View "Carothers v. Mississippi" 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

Because Rudy Quilon was homeless following his release from prison, defendant Harvill Richardson permitted Quilon to move into his home while he got back on his feet. Over the next five months, Quilon "became increasingly unwelcome" as he bragged about having been convicted for murder and armed robbery, his previous experiences as a gang member, and killing a “snitch” in prison. On numerous occasions, Richardson attempted to persuade Quilon to leave the home, but Quilon claimed that he could not leave because he had no transportation or place to go. The situation culminated when Quilon, who had begun watching pornography on Richardson’s computer, stated that he wanted to have sex with Richardson’s wife. Despite having been asked to leave, Quilon refused and walked out to a shed behind the home where Richardson kept axes and other tools that could be used as weapons. Richardson armed himself with a pistol. As Quilon returned from the shed, he approached Richardson in a threatening manner, with one arm concealed behind his back. Quilon kept coming toward him, so Richardson shot Quilon in the stomach. Richardson was prodecuted for murder. The trial judge ruled in limine that Richardson would not be allowed to support his self-defense claim with evidence of the victim’s prior bad acts, including a violent criminal history. Because Richardson's knowledge of this evidence would be highly probative of the reasonableness of his conduct and fear of the victim, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for a new trial. View "Richardson v. Mississippi" 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

Defendant Joe Cotton was convicted of murder for the shooting death of Fannie Lee Burks. He appealed his conviction, challenging the sufficiency and the weight of the evidence. Finding no error, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence. View "Cotton v. Mississippi" on Justia Law