sanctions – Mississippi Appeals Blog

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down six opinions today. There are two decisions involving sanctions and/or contempt rulings. There is also a noteworthy judicial estoppel decision. The others are an election contest, a felony conviction, and an MDOC decision.

Walker v. Taylor, 2025-EC-00658-SCT (Civil – Election Contest)
Affirming the circuit court’s dismissal of sworn petitions for judicial review of a primary-election contest, holding that a new election was not warranted based on alleged voter disenfranchisement or equal protection violations.
(6-0: Griffis for the Court; Branning did not participate)

Favre v. MDHS, 2024-IA-00880-SCT (Civil – Other)
Vacating Rule 11 sanctions, holding that the sanctioned parties were entitled to due process including notice and an opportunity to respond.
(7-0: Coleman for the Court)

Gombako-Amos v. Amos, 2023-CT-01253-SCT (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Reversing the chancery court and the Court of Appeals on cert, holding that there was no clear and convincing evidence of willful and deliberate violation of a court order to support a finding of civil contempt, rendering judgment on attorneys’ fees, and remanding to determine issues related to reimbursement.
(6-1: Griffis for the Court; Randolph dissented)

Strong v. Acara Solutions, Inc., 2024-CT-00455-SCT (civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming the Court of Appeals’ reversal of the circuit court’s grant of summary judgment dismissing on judicial estoppel grounds on cert, holding that the Court of Appeals did not err by reviewing the judgment de novo instead of abuse of discretion and that the trial court erred by not applying Fifth Circuit precedent in its analysis of the second element (a court accepted a previous position) of judicial estoppel.
(5-2: Randolph for the Court; Coleman dissented, joined by Branning)

Practice Point – I view this as a must-cite decision for judicial estoppel going forward.

Winters v. State, 2024-KA-01105-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of aggravated assault and attempted armed robbery, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction and that the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(7-0: Sullivan for the Court)

Hudson v. MDOC, 2025-CA -00645-SCT (Civil – State Boards & Agencies)
Affirming MDOC’s decision to not award trusty time due to conviction for attempted murder, holding that MDOC did not violate section 47-5-138.1 and that the denial of trusty time did not increase her sentence.
(7-0: Randolph for the Court)

Other Orders

In Re: Local Rules, 89-R-99015-SCT (granting motion seeking approval of revision to Local Rules for Fifth Chancery Court District)
Rules for Court Reporters, 89-R-99021-SCT (reappointing Hon. David P. Sullivan, Candace O’Barr Jones, Kati Vogt, and Latanya Allen as members of the Board of Certified Court Reporters for two-year terms from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028)
Brown v. State, 2017-DR-01373-SCT (denying rehearing)
Upchurch v. Lewis, 2023-CT-01296-SCT (granting cert)
Jack v. City of Meridian, 2023-CT-01339-SCT (dismissing cert petition as untimely)
McLaurin v. State, 2024-CT-00138-SCT (denying cert)
Jones v. Jones, 2024-CA-00690-SCT (denying rehearing)
UMMC v. Giddens, 2024-CT-00842-SCT (denying cert)
Favre v. MDHS, 2024-IA-00880-SCT (dismissing motion for permission to file exhibit under seal as moot)
Walker v. State, 2024-CT-01032-SCT (denying cert)
Bivins v. Ellisville State School, 2024-CT-01098-SCT (denying cert)
In Re: Jones, 2024-CA-01307-SCT (denying rehearing)

Hand Down Page

Happy New Year! The Mississippi Court of Appeals wasted no time getting up and running. They kicked the year off with six opinions. Amidst the PCR opinions is a couple of noteworthy tales of caution for litigants pertaining to discovery and appellate procedure.

Seals v. State, 2024-KM-00448-COA (Criminal – Misdemeanor)
Affirming conviction of simple assault, holding that that the evidence was sufficient and that the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(8-1-0: Weddle for the Court; Westbrooks concurred in result only without writing; Emfinger did not participate)

Simoneaux v. State, 2024-CP-01127-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming dismissal of the petitioner’s fourth PCR motion, holding that the motion was time-barred, successive, and failed to to demonstrate that a statutory exception applies.
(9-0: Weddle for the Court; McCarty did not participate)

Patton v. MDOC, 2024-CA-00699-COA (Civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming dismissal for the plaintiff’s failure to cooperate in discovery, holding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion dismissing the claim as a sanction for violating the rules of discovery and the court’s order compelling discovery.
(8-2: Emfinger for the Court; Westbrooks and McDonald dissented without writing)

Vasques v. State, 2024-CP-00852-COA (Civil – Other)
Affirming the dismissal of a PCR motion, holding that the circuit court did not err in summarily dismissing the motion as time-barred and that the circuit court’s err in not transferring the motion to the proper venue was harmless because the motion lacked merit.
(7-3-0: McDonald for the Court; Wilson and Weddle concurred in part and in the result without writing’ Emfinger concurred in result only without writing)

Polk v. State, 2025-CP-00260-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming dismissal of PCR motions, holding that several of the claims were waived or procedurally barred and that the dismissal was proper because the petitioner raised no challenge to the validity of his guilty plea.
(9-0: McDonald for the Court; Weddle did not participate)

Ford Motor Company v. Bingham, 2024-CA-01056-COA (Civil – Other)
Affirming the circuit court’s judgment granting a motion to dismiss the appeal and awarding attorney’s fees, holding that the appellant did not comply with the cost bond requirement, that the “appeal bond with supersedeas” did not qualify as a cost bond, that the appellant did not demonstrate “extenuating circumstances” to excuse the jurisdictional defect, affirming the award of attorney’s fees, and denying the motion to dismiss the instant appeal.
(10-0: Barnes for the Court)

Other Orders

Taylor v. State, 2023-CT-00738-SCT (denying motion to vacate opinion and dismiss appeal and motion for rehearing)
Thomas v. State, 2023-CT-01151-COA (denying rehearing)
Cooper v. State, 2024-KA-00592-COA (denying rehearing)
Ruffin v. State, 2024-CA-00867-COA (denying rehearing)

Hand Down Page

About

Mississippi Appeals Blog is written by Madison Taylor. I primarily post summaries of decisions from the Mississippi Supreme Court and the Mississippi Court of Appeals and some content on appellate and trial practice in Mississippi and legal miscellany. I am not affiliated with any court.

I am a shareholder at Wilkins Patterson where I have a litigation and workers’ comp practice and lead the firm’s appellate practice. I am licensed in Mississippi, Tennessee, and North Carolina and admitted to the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Circuits.

If I can assist you on an appeal or other legal matter please reach out. You can find my contact information on my firm page.

Some Representative Appeals I have handled:

Estate of Pace: Pace v. Phillips, No. 2025-CA-00223-COA (Miss. Ct. App. July 28, 2026). I represented the appellant and obtained a reversal of the chancellor’s decision canceling a probated claim.
Smith v. Dennis Wright & Son Plumbing, No. 2025-WC-00046-COA (Miss. Ct. App. Mar. 31, 2026). I represented the appellee and secured the affirmance of a decision of the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Unruh v. Johnson, 404 So. 3d 1166 (Miss. 2025). I represented the appellant on interlocutory appeal and won reversal and rendered judgment.
Am. Comp. Ins. Co. v. Ruiz, 389 So. 3d 1060 (Miss. 2024). I represented the potential statutory-employer in a declaratory action filed by a subcontractor’s carrier who sought to void workers’ compensation coverage ab initio after a catastrophic injury. We won summary judgment in federal district court based on a novel theory that the common law remedy of voiding a policy ab initio for material misrepresentation was not available to workers’ compensation policies in Mississippi. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit certified that legal question to the Mississippi Supreme Court. The Mississippi Supreme Court ordered briefing and then held that our theory was correct. The Fifth Circuit took that holding and affirmed the district court’s judgment in our favor.
Joe McGee Constr. Co. v. Brown-Bowens, 368 So. 3d 1277 (Miss. 2023). I represented a road construction contractor in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a one-car accident on a closed road. We persuaded the Mississippi Supreme Court to grant an interlocutory appeal and then to reverse the denial of summary judgment for our client.
Haynes v. Beckward, 358 So. 3d 1080 (Miss. Ct. App. 2023). After a jury verdict in the plaintiff’s favor in an auto-negligence action, I handled the appeal and won a remittitur based on insufficient expert testimony.
Estate of Ellis v. MMC Materials, Inc., 311 So. 3d 691 (Miss. Ct. App. 2021). I represented the defendant company in a personal injury case. We won summary judgment at the trial court and then secured that victory with an affirmance on appeal.

Tag: sanctions

Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of June 4, 2026

Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of January 6, 2026