Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In a slip-and-fall case, Laura Karpinsky alleged that she sustained injuries when she fell in a puddle in a shopping mall. The Circuit Court found that Karpinsky had failed to offer any evidence that her fall was caused by negligence attributable to the Defendants, and entered summary judgment against her. The Court of Appeals found that the circuit court had erred and reversed the summary judgment order. The Supreme Court granted certiorari and, finding that the circuit court properly granted summary judgment in this case, reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated and affirmed the order of the circuit court. View "Karpinsky v. American National Insurance Company " on Justia Law

Three main issues were raised on appeal to the Supreme Court in this case: (1) whether a school district is liable for oil and gas severance taxes on its royalty interests derived from oil and gas production on sixteenth-section land (the chancellor ruled that it is not); (2) whether the statute of limitations restricts the time period in which a school district can seek a refund of severance taxes that it had paid erroneously (the chancellor ruled that a three-year statute of limitations applied to any refund claims); and (3) whether a school district is liable for administrative expense taxes on its royalty interests derived from oil and gas production on sixteenth-section land (the chancellor ruled that it is). Upon review of the applicable code and in consideration of the arguments of the parties to this case, the Supreme Court found that the chancellor's judgment should be affirmed in part and reversed in part: (1) school districts are not liable for oil and gas severance taxes on sixteenth-section royalty interests: school districts, as political subdivisions of the state, are not included within the definition of "persons" made subject to these taxes; (2) pursuant to the Mississippi Constitution, statutes of limitation in civil causes do not run against the state or its subdivisions; and (3) school districts are liable for administrative expense taxes on sixteenth-section royalty interests: "[t]hese assessments are 'fees,' not 'taxes'; the Legislature has expressly made the state and its subdivisions subject to these fees; and no constitutional provision or other law is violated by requiring school districts to pay them." View "Jones County School District v. Mississippi Department of Revenue" on Justia Law

John Stubbs was awarded damages for breach of contract after he sued Martin and Valerie Falkner to enforce a construction lien on their home. The Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court's judgment, but reversed its award of attorney's fees and prejudgment interest, finding that Stubbs's recovery was based in quantum meruit and, thus, attorney's fees and prejudgment interest were unavailable remedies. Stubbs petitioned for certiorari, arguing that the Court of Appeals failed to consider various statutory grounds for an award of attorney's fees. Although the Court of Appeals did not discuss the statutes Stubbs raised, the Supreme Court found that those statutes provided an insufficient basis for an award of either prejudgment interest or attorney's fees in this case. The Court affirmed the Court of Appeals' decision and the judgment of the Circuit Court. View "Falkner v. Stubbs" on Justia Law

Freddie Webber, Jr., was convicted of the sale or transfer of cocaine and was sentenced as a habitual offender to a term of thirty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) without eligibility for probation or parole. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed Webber's conviction and sentence. View "Webber v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Alexander Gardner sued the City of Jackson, alleging that he had suffered a broken leg when one of the City's police officers forced him to sit down while in handcuffs. The City filed for summary judgment, which was denied by the trial court. On review of the City's interlocutory appeal, the Supreme Court reversed the trial court's denial of summary judgment, finding that the officer's conduct did not rise to the level of reckless disregard for Gardner's safety and well-being. View "City of Jackson v. Gardner" on Justia Law

Following a jury trial, Talib Hannah was convicted of possession of cocaine with intent. On appeal, he raised two issues: (1) whether the circuit court abused its discretion in denying Hannah's "Motion for the State to Disclose the Identity of Its Confidential Informant;" and (2) whether the circuit court abused its discretion in denying Hannah's motion for continuance. As Hannah's Sixth Amendment right to compulsory process to call a witness was not recognized, the Supreme Court reversed his conviction and sentence and remanded the case for a new trial. View "Hannah v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs were two shareholders of a closely held corporation. They attempted to tender their shares to the corporation pursuant to a buy-sell agreement. Unhappy with the corporation's purchase offer, the shareholders brought suit in Chancery Court, and the court in turn submitted the matter to binding arbitration as required by the agreement. The chancellor ultimately rejected the arbitrators' valuations and ordered the corporation to buy plaintiffs' shares at a much higher price. The corporation appealed the chancellor's rejection of the arbitrator's award, and plaintiffs cross-appealed claiming they were entitled to additional damages. Finding no legal basis for setting aside the arbitration award, the Supreme Court reversed the Chancery Court and reinstated the arbitration award. View "Bailey Brake Farms, Inc. v. Trout" on Justia Law

The issue before the Supreme Court in this breach of contract case was whether the appellate court erred in affirming the trial court's refusal to submit an issue of punitive damages to the jury. Finding that the plaintiff presented clear and convincing evidence that the defendant exhibited bad faith in breaching the contract, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and remanded the case back to the trial court for the jury to determine what punitive damages, if any, were due. View "T.C.B. Construction Company, Inc. v. W. C. Fore Trucking, Inc." on Justia Law

The Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) filed a motion to appeal a final order entered by the Circuit Court. PERS supported the motion with an affidavit of an employee of the Attorney General’s office assigned to PERS who was responsible for tracking opinions and orders issued by the circuit court. The affiant stated that she regularly contacted the circuit clerk's office to ascertain the status of the case. The affiant swore that she was not told that a decision had been entered. The general docket itself revealed that the circuit clerk had failed to give notice of the entry of several other orders to the parties or their counsel. Barbara Dunn, Circuit Clerk of Hinds County, Mississippi, was directed to respond and show cause why sanctions should not have been imposed. Dunn and one of her employees admitted that clerical errors were made in this case. They denied that any docket entries were backdated, and further query revealed that Dunn's office erroneously had sent notice regarding the circuit court’s final decision to the address of a deceased lawyer who had never been involved with this case, mistyped attorney bar numbers (and had no mechanism to detect the error). PERS’s counsel of record was never added to the general docket. Finding that Dunn’s office has implemented a personnel training program which was being supervised by the Hinds County circuit judges, the Supreme Court concluded that, while mistakes were made in this case by Dunn’s staff, those oversights did not warrant harsh sanctions. Accordingly, Dunn was ordered to implement procedures for routine verification of the names and contact information of parties and their counsel, and ordered to pay the cost of the record from the evidentiary hearing in the amount of $947.75 from her personal funds, and not from public funds. View "In Re: Barbara Dunn, Hinds County Circuit Clerk" on Justia Law

The insureds in this case filed suit against their insurers claiming they were unaware their insurance policy had a $250,000 per-claim deductible and alleging that the insurer breached its insurance contract by refusing to provide a defense until the they paid the $250,000 deductible for each of five separate claims. The circuit court granted summary judgment for the insurers and the insureds appealed. Upon review of the circuit court record, the Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s grant of summary judgment. View "Southern Healthcare Services, Inc. v. Lloyd's of London" on Justia Law