The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down ten opinions yesterday. The Court covered a lot of ground including wills,the MTCA, felony convictions, an arbitration award, and arbitration agreement enforceability.
Pittman v. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., 2024-CA-00619-COA (Civil – Torts)
Reversing the circuit court’s grant of a motion to compel arbitration, holding that the circuit court erred in finding that the plaintiff was a third-party beneficiary of an arbitration agreement.
(9-1: Weddle for the Court; Wilson dissented)
Ward v. State, 2024-KA-00341-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming in part and reversing in part after a judgment of convictions of voyeurism and first-degree murder, holding that trial counsel was not ineffective for not requesting a severance or for failing to object to the State’s peremptory strikes and that the evidence was sufficient to support each of the convictions, but holding that the circuit court erred in refusing a heat-of-passion manslaughter instruction.
(7-3: Emfinger for the Court; Wilson and Westbrooks concurred in part and dissented in part without writing; Lawrence concurred in part and dissented in part, joined by Carlton and Westbrooks, joined in part by Wilson)
Roberts v. State, 2024-CA-00988-COA (Civil – PCR)
Reversing the trial court’s denial of a PCR motion, holding that because only one petition for revocation of Roberts’s PRS had been filed, the circuit court did not have the authority to impose her full sentence under section 47-7-37.
(6-4*-1: McDonald for the Court; Emfinger specially concurred, joined by Barnes, Weddle, and Lassitter St. Pe’, joined in part by Lawrence and McCarty; Wilson concurred in result only without writing; Lawrence dissented, joined in part by Emfinger and Weddle)
Fields v. State, 2024-KA-01204-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of twenty-five counts of child exploitation, holding searches of the defendants laptops in Harrison County pursuant to a George County warrant were proper, and holding that the defendant cannot complain on appeal about the absence of a jury instruction his counsel strategically withdrew.
(10-0: McDonald for the Court)
Williams v. State, 2024-KA-00257-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of manslaughter, holding that any error in limiting evidence related to the victim’s character did not warrant reversal in light of other evidence of guilt.
(8-2-0: Westbrooks for the Court; Wilson and Emfinger concur in result only without writing)
Jones v. Madison County Nursing Home, 2024-CA-00561-COA (Civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming the dismissal of a suit against a nursing home, holding that it was time-barred because it was filed outside of the MTCA’s one-year statute of limitations, holding that the County was not estopped from asserting the statute of limitations defense after the Board of Supervisors had responded to a pre-suit notice letter stating that the county was not a proper party.
(9-1-0: Wilson concurred in part and in the result without writing)
Chavers v. State, 2024-KA-00551-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of two counts of manslaughter and one count of aggravated assault after driving a UTV into a group of people leaving a party, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in giving a voluntary intoxication instruction, that the circuit court’s error in giving the jury the wrong set of jury instructions that error was harmless because it was corrected during deliberations, and that the verdict was supported by sufficient evidence.
(9-0: Wilson for the Court; Lawrence did not participate)
Estate of Fleishhacker: Ward v. Edwards, 2024-CA-00418-COA (Civil – Wills, Trusts & Estates)
Affirming the chancellor’s decision denying in a will contest, holding that the chancellor did not err in denying a request to probate a lost holographic will and finding an earlier will valid.
(7-2-0: Wilson concurred in part and in the result without writing; McDonald concurred in result only without writing; Weddle did not participate)
Practice Point – Though it did not affect the holding in the case, the Court held that the trial court erred in finding that one witness’s testimony was insufficient under section 91-7-10 because she was the primary beneficiary under the purported will. But the Court of Appeals noted that neither the chancellor nor the parties accounted for the repeal of the Dead Man’s Statute.
Gillespie Funeral Home, LLC v. Magnolia Guaranty Life Insurance Company, 2024-CA-00427-COA (Civil – Contract)
Affirming the chancellor’s decision after an arbitration award, holding that the chancellor did not err in denying a motion to set aside an arbitration award or in entering a final judgment confirming the award.
(9-1-0: Barnes for the Court; McDonald concurred in the result only without writing)
Sanford v. State, 2024-KA-00683-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming a conviction of gratification of lust, statutory rape, and sexual battery, holding that the argument that the circuit judge should have recused himself after he was contacted by the victim’s father prior to trial was waived and without merit where the judge said he explained to the father that the could not talk about matters that could come before the court.
(9-1-0: Barnes for the Court; Westbrooks concurred in result only without writing)
Other Orders
- Younger v. Southern, 2022-CA-01228-COA (denying rehearing)
- Mangum v. State, 2023-KA-01198-COA (denying rehearing)
- Morsi v. JB Hunt Corp., 2024-WC-00399-COA (denying rehearing)
Mississippi Appeals Blog 