Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) appeals from the circuit court’s order reversing the MDES Board of Review’s determination that Danny Leeton was an employee of Dover Trucking, LLC (Dover). Because the agency’s decision was supported by substantial evidence and was not arbitrary or capricious, the Mississippi Supreme Court concluded the circuit judge erred by reversing it. Accordingly, judgment was reversed and MDES' decision was reinstated. View "Mississippi Department of Employment Security v. Dover Trucking, LLC" on Justia Law

Kobe Augustine was convicted of second-degree murder for the killing of Nigel Poole. A divided Court of Appeals reversed and remanded Augustine’s conviction, opining that the circuit court erred by admitting hearsay testimony and that the error was not harmless. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed, finding that consistent with Mississippi law, the circuit court did not err by allowing an officer to testify to the content of a witness’s prior statement for the purpose of impeachment. But even assuming that doing so was erroneous, the evidence against Augustine overwhelmingly supported his conviction. View "Augustine v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

The Mississippi Court of Appeals vacated Norris Alexander’s life-without-parole sentence as a habitual offender under Mississippi Code Section 99-19-81 (Rev. 2020). The Court of Appeals held that the Circuit Court erred by denying Alexander’s motions for funds to hire a mitigation investigator and an adolescent-development psychologist for his Miller v. Alabama hearing. The State petitioned the Mississippi Supreme Court for certiorari, which was granted. Finding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the motions for expert funding, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals’ decision, and reinstated and affirmed the trial court’s sentencing order. View "Alexander v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

A D’Iberville police officer arrested Damian Brown after spotting a firearm during a traffic stop. Brown appealed his resulting conviction for three counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The trial court sentenced Brown to a total of twenty-four years to be served day for day without the benefit of early release or probation under Mississippi Code Section 99-19-81 (Rev. 2020), the habitual offender statute. Brown’s defense counsel filed a motion for JNOV or, alternatively, a new trial. The court denied the motions. To the Mississippi Supreme Court, Brown contended the trial court erred in denying his motions. The Supreme Court concluded the jury instructions given fairly and accurately announced the law of the case concerning constructive possession. The Supreme Court further found the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying Brown’s proposed jury instruction D-11 as it had already been fairly covered elsewhere in the instructions by the State’s jury instruction S-5, a more complete and accurate statement of the law. Furthermore, the Court concluded Brown was not entitled to a circumstantial evidence jury instruction based on Nevels v. Mississippi. Therefore, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court. View "Brown v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Seth Copes was convicted on two counts of sexual battery of two minors. He was sentenced to twenty years on each count, to be served consecutively. Copes appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction and sentence. The Mississippi Supreme Court granted certiorari for the purpose of addressing Copes’s argument that he was denied his counsel of choice. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed Copes' convictions. View "Copes v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

The City of Gautier granted David Vindich a permit to build a 1,410 square foot garage/workshop on his .76 acre lot. When the building was almost completed, Vindich’s neighbor, Martin Wheelan, filed a lawsuit arguing the City’s decision was unlawful because Vindich actually sought a variance, which required a public hearing rather than a building permit. Thus, Wheelan said he was denied due process. Wheelan also claimed the City’s decision was arbitrary and capricious and that the workshop “completely overwhelm[ed]” the neighborhood and created a nuisance. After a trial, the chancellor dismissed Wheelan’s claims, finding that the City’s interpretation of the applicable ordinance was not manifestly unreasonable. The chancellor also found that the building was not a nuisance. Wheelan appealed, but the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Mississippi Supreme Court agreed with the appellate court's dissenting opinion, finding the City erred in its interpretation of the ordinance at issue here. The Court therefore reversed the Court of appeals and the chancery court, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Wheelan v. City of Gautier, et al." on Justia Law

Sedric Sutton sought compensation under Mississippi Code Sections 11-44-1 to -15 (Rev. 2019), Compensation to Victims of Wrongful Conviction and Imprisonment, after his conviction of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute was vacated by the Mississippi Supreme Court. He argued his conviction was reversed on grounds not inconsistent with innocence and that the crime he committed was not a felony. Because Sutton failed to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's dismissal of his claims. View "Sutton v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

The issue this case presented for the Mississippi Supreme Court's review centered on the temporary termination of a father’s child-support obligation. Because the Court found that the Court of Appeals did not apply the abuse-of-discretion standard of review applicable to the chancery court’s decision regarding the child-support termination, it reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court reinstated and affirmed the chancer court's judgment terminating the father’s child-support obligation to one child. However, because the chancellor did not make a new finding on the amount of child support applicable to one child, the case was remanded for further proceedings. View "Davis v. Henderson" on Justia Law

The dispute underlying this appeal began with the failure of Camille Village, LLC, the owner of an apartment complex, to deposit additional money in escrow for repairs after it was demanded by Lenders Federal National Mortgage Association and Barings Multifamily Capital, LLC. The Lenders held Camille Village to be in default, lengthy settlement negotiations failed, and the amount demanded for repairs increased dramatically after additional inspections. After a trial, the chancery court concluded that Camille Village was in default and had failed to prove the Lenders had acted in bad faith. Finding no reversible error, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the trial court. View "Camille Village, LLC v. Federal National Mortgage Ass'n, et al." on Justia Law

An explosion at the Omega Protein Plant in Moss Point, Mississippi killed one man and seriously injured several others. Multiple lawsuits were filed against Omega in federal district court. Colony Insurance Company filed a declaratory judgment action in state circuit court seeking a declaration that it did not cover bodily injuries arising out of the Moss Point facility explosion. Evanston Insurance Company intervened also seeking a declaration of no coverage for the same injuries: Evanston provided a $5 million excess liability policy, which provided coverage after Colony’s $1 million policy was exhausted. Because Colony settled one of the underlying personal injury cases for $1 million (the limits under its policy), Omega sought excess coverage from Evanston for the injuries that occurred at its plant. A special master was appointed, and the trial court granted Evanston’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the pollution exclusion in the insurance contract barred coverage. Omega appealed that grant of summary judgment. The Mississippi Supreme Court found that a pollution exclusion in the insurance contract was ambiguous, and should have been construed in favor of the insured, allowing coverage. Further, the Court found the question of whether coverage was triggered was governed by the language of the contract, and that Evanston failed to prove there could be no coverage under the excess liability policy. Therefore, the Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment as to all issues and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Omega Protein, Inc. v. Evanston Insurance Company" on Justia Law