Tag: Third Party Assault

Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of May 15 and May 22, 2025

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down three opinions between last week and this week. One of today’s cases reversed the 12(b)(6) dismissal of a third-party-assault premises case in the face of the Landowners Protection Act that just might end up stirring the premises liability pot. There is also an interesting champerty decision answering a certified question from the Fifth Circuit.

May 15, 2025

Crabtree v. Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Company, 2024-FC-00827-SCT (Civil – Federally Certified Question)
Answering a certified quest from the Fifth Circuit, holding that Miss. Code Ann. § 97-9-11 (Rev. 2020) prohibits a disinterested third party engaged by a bankruptcy creditor from purchasing a cause of action from a debtor’s estate.
(5-4)

Other Orders

  • In Re: The Rules of Civil Procedure, 89-R-99001-SCT (granting rules committee’s motion to withdraw motion to amend Rule 7)
  • Chamberlin v. State, 2022-DR-00546-SCT (denying successor petition for PCR)
  • Short v. The Break Land Company, LLC, 2022-CT-01180-SCT (denying cert)
  • Carr v. State, 2023-DR-00503-SCT (directing Anthony Carr to notify the Court within 30 days of the federal district court’s ruling on the State’s motion; and that, until the federal district court rules on the motion to lift stay, Carr is directed to submit every 90 days from the entry of this order a status report on the posture of the federal case)

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May 22, 2025

In the Matter of the Estate of Tatum: Haynie v. Estate of Tatum, 2023-CA-01366-SCT (Civil – Wills, Trusts & Estates)
Dismissing appeal as moot, holding that a decision on the chancery court’s rulings involving the public sale of a one-half interest in a land and cattle company would be of no practical benefit to the appellant because the United States will receive any additional funds over and above what the appellant has already received.
(9-0)

Doby v. South Park Village Apartments, 2023-CA-01094-SCT (Civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal of a personal injury, holding that under the state’s notice pleading standard the complaint sufficiently pleaded a negligence claim against an apartment complex after one of the plaintiffs was shot on the premises, but affirming dismissal as to the other plaintiff because the complaint contained no allegations as to him.
(9-0)

Practice Point – This is an fascinating result in an area of premises liability seems to have been gutted by the Landowners Protection Act that became law in 2019:

Other Orders

  • Harris v. State, 2023-CT-00460-SCT (denying cert)
  • Dollar General Corporation v. Dobbs, 2023-IA-00617-SCT (denying rehearing)
  • Lenoir v. State, 2023-IA-01181-SCT (denying rehearing)
  • Doukas v. Kiln Self Storage, 2023-CT-01195-SCT (denying cert)

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Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of May 14, 2024

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down five opinions this week. There is a domestic/separate maintenance decision, a third-party assault tort case, a direct appeal of a felony conviction, and two PCR cases.

Hasley v. Hasley, 2022-CA-00908-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the chancellor’s decision in a separate maintenance action, holding that there was no abuse of discretion in denying the husband’s motion to dismiss the complaint but that the chancellor erred by converting the temporary orders of spousal support to a final order.
(10-0)

White v. State, 2023-CP-00200-COA (Civil – PCR)
Reversing the circuit court’s revocation of release, holding that because the circuit judge had been the assistant DA who had prosecuted the petitioner the judge was disqualified from presiding over the revocation hearing and that this error was not harmless.
(9-0: Smith did not participate)

Mack v. Merimac Apartments, 2022-CA-00897-COA (Civil – Torts)
Affirming summary judgment in a third-party assault case against an apartment complex, holding that evidence of some crime occurring on and near the subject property was sufficient summary judgment evidence on the element of proximate cause.
(6-3-1: Barnes and Wilson concurred in part and in the judgment without writing; Westbrooks concurred in the result only without writing; McDonald concurred in part and dissented in part without writing)

Galarza v. State, 022-KA-01066-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, holding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in admitting character evidence of the defendant’s prior convictions for manslaughter.
(7-3-0: Wilson and Emfinger concurred in part and in the result without writing; McCarty concurred in the result only without separate written opinion.)

Smith v. State, 023-CP-00538-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming the circuit court’s denial of a PCR motion, holding that the petitioner’s claims were procedurally barred and that there was no merit to the petitioner’s arguments that he was entitled to a bifurcated hearing at sentencing and that there was insufficient proof of his prior convictions to warrant his sentencing as a habitual offender.
(10-0)

Other Orders

  • Kuebler v. State, 2020-KA-00027-COA (remanding sua sponte for correction of the record)
  • Okorie v. National Association Wells Fargo Bank, 2022-CP-00043-COA (denying appellant’s pro se “motion to reopen case based on fraudulent settlement agreement”)
  • Moore v. State, 2022-KA-00327-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Edwards v. State, 2022-KA-00719-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Smith v. State, 2022-KA-00852-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Saddler v. State, 2024-TS-00099-COA (sua sponte allowing appeal to proceed)

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