Tag: MWCA

Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of December 12, 2024

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down three opinions today. One ends a chapter in the NCAA-Ole Miss saga, one is an interesting case discussing administrative remedies exhaustion and exclusive remedy immunity under the MWCA, and the other is a direct criminal appeal reversing the Court of Appeals and reinstating a conviction.

NCAA v. Farrar, 2023-IA-00282-SCT (Civil – Torts)
Reversing the trial court’s denial of the NCAA’s motion for summary judgment, holding that there was no evidence in the record to support the plaintiff’s due process and malicious interference with employment claims.
(6-1: Randolph dissented dubitante; Coleman and Maxwell did not participate)

Harris v. Hemphill Construction Company, Inc., 2023-CA-00973-SCT (Civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming the trial court’s decision dismissing a work-related personal injury claim by an employee/officer of a subcontractor against a general contractor, holding that the plaintiff was not required to exhaust his administrative remedies before filing a negligence suit but that the defendant-GC was entitled to exclusive remedy immunity from the plaintiff’s suit because the GC required the subcontractor to carry comp coverage and plaintiff was an officer of the subcontract who rejected workers’ comp coverage for himself.
(9-0)

Practice Point – This is case is worth a deeper dive:

Harris then filed the negligence lawsuit and the Mississippi Supreme Court held that the GC was entitled to exclusive remedy immunity:

The Court concluded:

Quinn v. State, 2022-CT-00962-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Reversing the Court of Appeals and reinstating the circuit court’s judgment and conviction of sexual battery, holding that the State sufficiently proved venue, that expert DNA testimony was properly admitted, that the indictment was properly amended, that the trial court did not err by not granting a mistrial sua sponte during closing arguments, and that the trial court did nto err by allowing the State to use birth certificates to refresh a witness’s memory.
(7-2: Kitchens dissented, joined by King)

Other Orders

  • Howard v. State, 2022-KA-00430-SCT (denying rehearing)
  • Crawford v. East Mississippi State Hospital, Inc., 2022-CT-00753-SCT (denying cert)
  • Course v. State, 2022-CT-00760-SCT (denying cert)
  • Collins v. Collins, 2022-CT-00903-SCT (denying cert)
  • McLellan v. McLellan, 2022-CT-01006-SCT (denying cert)
  • McKenzie v. McKenzie, 2022-CT-01175-SCT (denying cert)
  • Designer Custom Homes, LLC v. U.S. Coating Specialties & Supplies, LLC, 2023-CT-00207-SCT (denying cert)
  • Deep South Today v. Bryant, 2024-M-00659-SCT (denying petition for interloc)
  • McPhail v. McPhail, 2024-TS-00849 (denying motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, dismissing bond-related request without prejudice, and granting request to enlarge the notice of appeal)

Hand Down Page

Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of April 11, 2023

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down six opinions today (eight, if you count each of the three PCR cases that were consolidated). The list starts off PCR heavy, but then we pick up a reverse-Batson/criminal appeal, a personal injury/borrowed servant case, and a defamation case.

Simoneaux v. State, 2022-CP-00532-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming the circuit court’s order dismissing the plaintiff’s third PCR motion, holding that there was no error in finding that the PCR motion was successive and time-barred.
(9-0: McCarty did not participate)

Holliday v. State, 2022-CA-00149-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming denial of PCR motion, holding that the circuit court did not err in denying the petition claiming ineffective assistance of counsel based on the plaintiff’s knowing and voluntary guilty plea.
(9-0: Smith did not participate)

Blackmore v. State, 2021-CA-00743-COA (Civil – PCR)
consolidated with
White v. State, 2021-CA-00744 COA
consolidated with
Traxler v. State, 2021-CA-00769-COA
Affirming denials of motions in three separate cases arguing that the plaintiffs’ classifications as violent offenders was unconstitutional, holding that Tenth Amendment reserved to Mississippi the right to define DUI as a crime of violence and that enactment of section 97-3-2 superseded the holding in Smith v. State, 942 So. 2d 308 (Miss. Ct. App. 2006), expressly overruling Smith.
(9-0: Emfinger did not participate)

Smith v. State, 2021-KA-01003-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming first-degree murder conviction, holding that the trial court did not err in returning four jurors back to the venire after a “reverse-Batson challenge” by the State or in admitting autopsy photos.
(7-3: McCarty concurred in part and dissented in part, joined by Westbrooks and McDonald; Westbrooks and McDonald also concurred in part and dissented in part without separate written opinion)

Dawson v. Burgs, 2021-CA-01038-COA (Civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming summary judgment in favor of the defendants where the plaintiff was allegedly injured by a coworker, holding the plaintiff (an employee of the defendant temporary staffing agency) was a “borrowed servant” of Dollar General and therefore the alleged tortfeasor (who was an employee of Dollar General) was immune for suit under the MWCA which precluded his direct liability and the staffing agency’s vicarious liability.
(8-2: Westbrooks dissented joined by McDonald)

NOTE – This is a good reminder that substance prevails over form prevail when classifying someone as an “employee” or “independent contractor”:

Fagan v. Faulkner, 2022-CA-00130-COA (Civil – Torts)
Reversing bench trial verdict for the plaintiff in a defamation case, holding that an obscene outburst by a surgeon directed at a nurse were not actionable as slander per se because the evidence did not show the surgeon spoke them in relation to the nurse’s capability to perform her job.
(6-4: McCarty dissented, joined by Carlton, Westbrooks, and McDonald; McDonald also dissented without separate written opinion)

Other Orders

Thomas v. State, 2021-CP-00060-COA (granting motion to recall mandate)

Rhea v. Career General Agency, Inc., 2021-CA-00580-COA (denying rehearing)

Davis v. State, 2021-KA-00759-COA (denying rehearing)

Hull v. State, 2022-CP-00088-COA (recalling mandate and accepting petition for rehearing as timely)

Hand Down List