The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down three opinions today. There is one divorce case, one direct criminal appeal, and one appeal of the dismissal of a negligence case for the plaintiff’s failure to comply with discovery and discovery-related orders from the circuit court.
Capocaccia v. Capocaccia, 2022-CA-00129-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Reversing the chancellor’s findings on equitable distribution, child support, and college expenses but affirming finding that the father was in contempt, holding that the chancellor erred in the division of the marital estate without referencing or discussion the parties’ debts and assets, erred in awarding child support in excess of the statutory guidelines without specific findings supporting the deviation, and erred in assigning equal responsibility for the children’s college expenses; but that there was no reversible error in denying the father’s motion to continue contempt proceedings or in finding the father in contempt.
(8-2-0: Wilson and McDonald concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion.)
Russell v. State, 2022-KA-00447-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first-degree murder, holding there was no error in allowing a State’s witness to narrate events depicted in a surveillance video while it was played to the jury.
(9-1-0: McDonald concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion.)
McAlpin v. Illinois Central Railroad Company, 2022-CA-00334-COA (Civil – Other)
Affirming the circuit court’s decision granting a motion to dismiss in a negligence suit based on the plaintiff’s failure to heed court-ordered discovery requirements, holding that the trial court did not err in denying the plaintiff’s motion for additional time to comply with the scheduling order that was filed after the court had advised there would be no more extensions and on the date that the court had ordered that additional discovery responses were due and that the trial court did not err in dismissing the case with prejudice for repeated failures to comply with the court’s orders.
(10-0)
PRACTICE POINT – Here is the Court’s analysis of the facts of this case under standard in Beck v. Sapet, 937 So. 2d 945 (Miss. 2006):
Other Orders
Grantham v. Grimm, 2021-CA-01314-COA (denying rehearing)
SDBT Archives LLC v. Penn-Star Insurance Company, 2022-CA-00099-COA (denying rehearing)
Williams v. State, 2022-KA-00100-COA (denying rehearing)
Hamilton v. State, 2022-CP-00217-COA (denying rehearing)
Sanders v. Reeves, 2022-CP-01059-COA (denying rehearing)
Mississippi Appeals Blog 