Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

David "Junior" Kimbrough died in 1998, leaving his entire estate to his long-time girlfriend, Mildred Washington. Matthew Johnson was named executor of the estate. Johnson petitioned the court to probate Kimbrough's will. Contestants filed to contest the will, and no other entries were filed during the next ten years. In September 2008, an entry of appearance was entered on behalf of four remaining contestants, which was followed by an entry of appearance on behalf of Johnson. In 2009, the chancery court denied Executor's Rule 41(b) motion to dismiss, granted Contestants’ motion to compel discovery, granted Contestants’ motion to remove executor, and appointed the chancery clerk of Marshall County as executor. Johnson then filed his motion to dismiss alleging a violation of Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 4(h), because Washington was served process almost eleven years after the commencement of the action. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss, but it granted a stay of the proceedings pending petition for interlocutory appeal to the Supreme Court, which was subsequently denied. A trial on the matter was held in 2012. After Contestants rested their case, Proponents moved the trial court for dismissal, and the chancellor ultimately granted their motion and dismissed the case. Contestants appealed to the Supreme Court, raising nine issues all pertaining to the validity of the will, and whether the trial court erred in granting Proponents' Rule 41(b) motion to dismiss. After review of the matter, the Supreme Court concluded the chancellor did not abuse his discretion in granting Proponents' Mississippi Rules Civil Procedure 41(b) motion to dismiss. Therefore, the Court affirmed the decision of the chancery court.View "Kimbrough v. Estate of David Kimbrough" on Justia Law

Robert Sherman was indicted for willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously possessing pseudoephedrine and sodium hydroxide with the unlawful intent to manufacture a controlled substance. He was tried and convicted then sentenced to twelve years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with eight years to serve and four years suspended, plus five years of post-release supervision. Sherman appealed, arguing that his conviction: (1) was based upon insufficient evidence; or (2) was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed Sherman's conviction and sentence. View "Sherman v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Dexter Fulton was convicted for receiving stolen property. The Court of Appeals affirmed Fulton’s conviction and sentence on direct appeal. The Supreme Court granted Fulton’s petition for writ of certiorari to determine whether Fulton’s indictment was fatally defective and whether the trial court erred in allowing an amendment of substance to Fulton’s indictment. The Supreme Court found error as to both issues and reversed the judgments of the Court of Appeals and the circuit court. The conviction was vacated. View "Fulton v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

This case stemmed from a property-line dispute between neighboring landowners in Lafayette County. Jerry Mize filed suit to confirm title to property described in a recorded corrected warranty deed. Defendants Westbrook Construction Company of Oxford, LLC, Jimmy A. Lewis, Jr., Kay W. Lewis, and Jimmie Waller, answered the complaint, counterclaimed to quiet and confirm their titles, and sought damages for slander of their respective titles. The chancellor found for Defendants and awarded damages and attorneys’ fees on their slander-of-title claims. The Court of Appeals affirmed. In his petition for certiorari, Mize raised several issues; the Supreme Court's review of this case was limited to whether there was sufficient evidence to support a slander-of-title action. No evidence of record supported a finding that all of the elements of a slander-of-title action were met. Consequently, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment against Mize for slander of title and the award of damages to Defendants as well as the judgment of the Court of Appeals affirming it. The Court affirmed the Chancery Court in all other respects, and remanded this case for further proceedings. View "Mize v. Westbrook Construction Company of Oxford, LLC" on Justia Law

Lyndon Myers was charged and convicted on multiple counts of armed robbery stemming from the 2012 robbery of a Madison Dollar Tree store. Myers raised five alleged errors from trial on appeal of his conviction. The Supreme Court found none and affirmed his convictions and sentences. View "Myers v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

First National Bank of Clarksdale (FNB) secured a loan of more than $800,000 with a deed of trust on real property in Oxford with the understanding that the bank would become the primary lien holder on the realty. FNB acquired title insurance from Mississippi Valley Title Insurance Company against the risk of an undiscovered superior lien holder. No formal title search on the property was performed, although Mississippi Valley’s agent did discover the existence of another deed of trust on the property held by Community Trust Bank (CTB). The agent never relayed this information to FNB or to Mississippi Valley and issued the policy without regard to this prior recorded lien. Years later, CTB’s loan went into default and CTB initiated foreclosure proceedings, which alerted FNB to the existence of CTB’s deed of trust on the property. FNB brought suit in Chancery Court to be subrogated to the primary lien holder position on the property in the amount that it had paid to satisfy the original primary deed of trust. After a bench trial, the chancellor found that the doctrine of equitable subrogation applied and granted primary status to FNB. CTB appealed. Upon review, the Supreme Court reversed: based upon the facts presented, subrogation was not equitable. View "Community Trust Bank of Mississippi v. First National Bank of Clarksdale" on Justia Law

Daryl Shinn was convicted of armed robbery for the 2011 robbery of Tiya's Market in Columbus. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison. He appealed, arguing that his conviction was contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence. The Supreme Court disagreed and affirmed his conviction. View "Shinn v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

A jury convicted Angela Johnson of one count of possession of methamphetamine, one count of possession of precursor chemicals, and one count of false pretense. The Court of Appeals affirmed Johnson's convictions, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve the question of whether the admission of two search warrants and an underlying facts-and-circumstances affidavit which included hearsay statements attributed to a confidential informant constituted reversible error. Because the Court concluded that the warrants and affidavits were admitted in error, the Court reversed the trial and appellate courts and remanded the case for a new trial. View "Johnson v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Based on a citizen’s complaint that "young men . . . young black men . . . are standing out on the sidewalks, corners, selling drugs" on a street corner in Greenville, police proceeded to that area, where they spotted Tazarius Cooper, a young, black male. The police officer turned on his blue lights, exited his vehicle, and attempted to conduct an investigatory stop by ordering Cooper to "come here and let me talk to you." Before the officers could restrain him, Cooper ran. The officers gave chase, following Cooper into a home, where Cooper abandoned a bag containing a blue substance that tested positive for the drug known as ecstasy. The trial court denied Cooper’s motion to suppress the evidence, and Cooper was convicted. Upon review, the Supreme Court found that the citizen’s complaint was insufficient to establish a reasonable suspicion of Cooper, or to conduct a Terry stop. But because Cooper was not stopped, and because Cooper lacked standing to challenge the search of a home which did not belong to him, the Court affirmed the trial court’s decision. View "Cooper v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs 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, Joe Tatum, for filing a frivolous lawsuit and to award attorney fees. The motion was denied, and Hampton appealed that judgment to this Court. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Hampton v. Blackmon" on Justia Law