Tag: Wrongful Death

Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of April 30, 2024

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down six opinions on Tuesday. I had court in Union County that took me out of the office most of the day Tuesday. I then spent Wednesday making up for being out of the office on Tuesday, as one does. (Obligatory courthouse picture, infra.)

Taylor v. Johnson, 2022-CA-00734-COA (Civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming grant of summary judgment in a car wreck negligence case, holding that there was no competent summary judgment evidence that the defendant proximately caused the collision, and then affirming summary judgment on the direct-negligence and punitive damages claims as moot.
(8-1-1: McDonald concurred in result only without writing; Westbrooks dissented without writing)

Whiddon v. State, 2022-KA-00616-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, and fleeing a law enforcement officer, holding that the trial court did not err in denying motions to dismiss for lack of speedy trial, that the circuit court abused its discretion in excluding videotaped witness statements but that the error was harmless, that the court did not commit reversible error in commenting in front of the jury that a witness was “an excellent investigator,” that the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict, and that the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(7-3-0: McDonald and Emfinger concurred in part and in the result without writing; Wilson concurred in the result only without writing)

Turner v. Turner, 2023-CA-00216-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Reversing dismissal of complaint for divorce, holding that the chancellor erred by considering matters outside of the pleadings when ruling on a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) without converting it into a motion for summary judgment and providing necessary notice.
(10-0)

Suarez v. State, 2023-KA-00526-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of burglary of an occupied dwelling under circumstances likely to terrorize the occupant, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court did not err in refusing the defendant’s lesser-included-offense jury instruction.
(7-3-0: Wilson, McDonald, and McCarty concurred in result only without separate written opinion)

Harris v. State, 2023-CP-00227-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming denial of PCR motion following probation revocation, holding that the trial court’s failure to inquire about the petitioner’s ability to pay his fees and assessments was harmless error at most.
(10-0)

Crawford v. East Miss. State Hospital, Inc., 2022-CA-00753-COA (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Affirming judgment in favor of a hospital in a wrongful death lawsuit after bench trial, holding that the circuit court did not err in finding that the plaintiff did not prove the proximate cause element or in denying the plaintiff’s claim for the decedent’s “lifetime damages” because the estate was initially a party before being removed as a party via amendment to the complaint.
(6-2: McCarty concurred in part and dissented in part, joined by Westbrooks; McDonald and Smith did not participate)

Other Orders

  • Mississippi Dept. of Rehab. Servs v. Butler, 2022-CA-00176-COA (rehearing denied)
  • Harris v. Ratcliff, 2022-CA-00596-COA (rehearing denied)
  • Simmons v. State, 2022-KA-01260-COA (rehearing denied)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of February 1, 2024

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down two opinions today. One addressed whether a father who relinquished parental rights qualified as a wrongful death beneficiary of the child. The other addressed the status of the “colorable interest standard” for standing analysis. There was also an order granting a petition for reinstatement to the bar.

Gibson v. McNatt, 2023-CA-00007-SCT (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Affirming the chancery court’s finding that a deceased minor’s father who had previously relinquished all parental duties and rights in Texas was not a wrongful death beneficiary under Mississippi law, holding that the chancery court did not abuse its discretion because the Texas termination order was valid and was not subject to collateral attack under Mississippi law.
(9-0)

Pearson v. Eubanks, 2022-CT-00011-SCT (Civil – Wills, Trusts & Estates)
Affirming the Court of Appeals that reversed the chancery court’s ruling, holding that the Court of Appeals correctly held that the petitioners had standing, but emphasizing that the Court of Appeals has improperly relied on the “colorable interest standard” that has been abandoned by the Supreme Court.
(8-1-0: King concurred in result only without writing)

Practice Point – The Supreme Court’s short opinion had this to say about the colorable interest standard:

Other Orders

Toolpushers Supply Co. v. Mississippi Department of Revenue, 2021-CT-01186-SCT (granting cert)

Prather v. State, 2021-CT-01416-SCT (denying cert)

Prophet v. State, 2022-CT-00933-SCT (dismissing cert petition)

Jones v. The Mississippi Bar, 2022-BR-01256-SCT (granting petition for reinstatement)

Gibson v. McNatt, 2023-CA-00007-SCT (denying motion to take judicial notice, objections and/or responses to various filings, and motions to strike)

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Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of January 30, 2024

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down four opinions today and three of them are at least a partial reversal. The lone affirmance was in an MTCA wrongful-death case stemming from a drowning. A PCR decision was affirmed in part and reversed in part, a post-divorce property division decision was reversed, and a police officer’s conviction of culpable-negligence manslaughter was reversed.

Malone v. State, 2022-CA-00281-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming in part and remanding in part the circuit court’s ruling in a PCR matter, holding that the circuit court did not err in rejecting the newly discovered evidence claim but holding that the circuit court erred by not addressing the ineffective assistance of counsel claim with specific findings or conclusions related to that claim.
(9-1-0: Westbrooks concurred in result only without writing)

Stephens v. City of Gulfport, 2022-CA-01008-COA (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Affirming summary judgment in favor of the city on an MTCA case stemming from a drowning, holding that Mississippi law does not “impose a duty on governmental entities to protect or warn against alleged dangerous conditions on property adjacent to property owned or operated by that governmental entity and not caused by the governmental entity” and that, in any event, the MTCA’s open and obvious defense applied to the river and barred the claim.
(9-1-0: Westbrooks concurred in result only without separate written opinion)

Thompson v. Thompson, 2022-CA-01014-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Reversing the chancellor’s property division ruling, holding that the judgment was a final, appealable order and that the chancellor erred in failing to conduct a proper Ferguson analysis.
(10-0)

Fox v. State, 2022-KA-00988-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Reversing conviction of a police officer for culpable-negligence manslaughter against, holding that “[b]ased on the credible evidence presented at trial, no evidence establishes that Fox acted in a grossly negligent manner or that the victim’s death from minor abrasions was reasonably foreseeable under the circumstances,” that the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence (though this holding was relegated to a footnote) and holding that the circuit court abused its discretion by failing to give an accident or misfortune jury instruction.
(5-1-4: Wilson concurred in part and in the result without writing; Emfinger dissented, joined by Westbrooks, McDonald, and McCarty)

Other Orders

None

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of August 17, 2023

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down four opinions today. One is a direct criminal appeal and one was a real property case addressing the applicability of restrictive covenants after a foreclosure sale. Then there are two decisions on interlocutory appeals of summary judgment denials – a med mal/MTCA pre-suit notice case against a hospital and a construction zone MVA case against the road contractor and MDOT.

Stuart v. State, 2022-KA-00585-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of filming a person without her knowledge and with an expectation of privacy, holding that the defendant’s right to counsel was not violated when he had been through three public defenders and his request that a fourth lawyer be appointed his counsel days before trial and for continuance was denied where the fourth lawyer was appointed to serve as advisory counsel, and that the trial court did not err in denying the defendant’s accident instruction.
(9-0)

UMMC v. Aycock, 2022-IA-00030-SCT (Civil – Med Mal)
Affirming on interlocutory appeal the denial of the hospital’s motion for summary judgment arguing that the plaintiff did not serve proper pre-suit notice on the CEO, holding that the notice requirements are mandatory–but not jurisdictional–but that there was an issue of material fact as to whether the hospital waived, or is equitably estopped from asserting, lack of compliance based on its conduct after actually receiving notice though not through its CEO.
(8-1: Griffis concurred in part and dissented in part)

NOTE – Here is the Court’s summary of some of the facts relevant to waiver and equitable estoppel:

Loblolly Properties LLC v. Le Papillion Homeowner’s Ass’n, Inc., 2021-CT-00767-SCT (Civil – Real Property)
Affirming the chancery court and court of appeals in an action to collect HOA fees, holding that the developer who purchased properties through a nonjudicial foreclosure sale owed HOA fees where it purchased the properties with notice of the restrictive covenants and holding, specifically, that the foreclosure sale did not extinguish the HOA covenants.
(7-2: Coleman dissented, joined by Griffis)

Joe McGee Construction Company, Inc. v. Brown-Bowens, 2021-IA-01405-SCT (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Reversing the circuit court’s denial of summary judgment to a road construction contractor and to MDOT, holding that there was no competent summary judgment evidence to support that any breach of duty by the contractor or by MDOT proximately caused the crash where the contractor had installed all warning signs required by MDOT and where the decedent passed multiple signs warning of a road closure and crashed into a crane on a closed portion of the highway.
(7-2: Kitchens dissented, joined by King)

DISCLOSURE – I represented the road contractor appellant in this case.

PRACTICE POINT – I think this is a useful, pithy statement to support motions for summary judgment when the arguments on causation are speculative:

Other Orders

In Re: Local Rules, 89-R-99015-SCT (approving amendment to local rule filed by Judge Irving in the 22nd Circuit Court District)

Rhea v. Career General Agency, Inc., 2021-CT-00580-SCT (granting cert)

Liberty Nat’l Life Ins. Co. v. Hancock, 2021-CT-00605-SCT (denying cert)

The Board of Supervisors for Lowndes County, Mississippi v. Lowndes County School Dist., 2021-CA-00999-SCT (denying rehearing)

Wagner v. Andreacchio, 2021-IA-01199-SCT (denying rehearing)

Bradley v. State, 2022-CT-00173-SCT (denying cert)

MS Concrete v. Harris, 2022-CT-01095-SCT (denying cert)

Howell v. State, 2023-DR-00455-SCT (remanding motion for appointment of counsel for representation of indigent capital petitioner)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of June 1, 2023

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down seven opinions today, and covered a lot of territory in doing so. There is a breach of contract/attorney’s fees case, a fraudulent joinder venue case, a youth court venue case, a money dispute between a school board and school district, a direct criminal appeal, a death penalty PCR case, and an election contest. [There was a lot to get through today and I got a late start. I am sure there is a typo or two below that I will get around to catching and correcting.]

Healy v. AT&T Services, Inc., 2021-CP-01411-SCT (Civil – Other)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the chancellor’s decision in a breach of contract claim filed by a lawyer/law firm due to reassignment of a 1-800 number, holding that the chancellor did not err in awarding nominal damages of $500 where there was inadequate proof of actual damages but reversing the chancellor’s exclusion of attorney’s fees in the award of sanctions for discovery violations and remanded for determination of the appropriate amount.
(9-0)

Practice Point – Footnote 3 of this opinion is a cautionary tale for those submitted evidence in the record at the trial court level and those reviewing the clerk’s record during the appeal:

The plaintiff in this case was seeking lost profits, but was only awarded nominal damages because there was insufficient evidence to show decreased earnings. To support the damages claim on appeal, the plaintiff submitted the plaintiff’s trial testimony, the firm’s QuickBooks reports for 2017-2018, and the plaintiff’s 2019 tax return. I don’t know if the QuickBooks reports would have moved the needle in this case, but that’s a question one generally does not want lingering after an appeal.

Another Practice Point – This opinion has a thorough discussion of the law on the measure of damages for breach of contract and lost profits claims. It is worth bookmarking for that purpose.

Doe v. Adams County Dept. of Child Protection Services, 2022-CA-00240-SCT (Civil – Other)
Affirming youth court’s denial of motion to transfer venue in an action to terminate parental rights for lack of jurisdiction and motion for recusal, holding that venue was proper because both the natural mother and the child resided in the venue county and that the trial court did not commit a manifest abuse of discretion in denying a motion for recusal.
(9-0)

Alpha Management Corp. v. Harris, 2022-IA-00354-SCT (Civil – Wrongful Death)
consolidated with
Community Park Apartments, Inc. v. Harris, 2022-IA-0355-SCT (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Reversing the trial court’s denial of motions to transfer venue, holding that the defendant that purportedly established venue in Hinds County was not a material and proper party and setting aside a default judgment against the fraudulently-joined defendant.
(7-1-1: Coleman concurred in part, joined in part by Griffis; Griffis concurred in part and dissented in part, joined in part by Coleman.)

NOTE – When discussing its decision to set aside the default judgment against the fraudulently-joined defendant, the Supreme Court had this to say:

Board of Supervisors of Lowndes County v. Lowndes County School District, 2021-CA-00999-SCT (Civil – Other)
Reversing the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the school district in a dispute over the board’s decision to exclude more than $3M from the district’s requested ad valorem tax effort, holding that the district’s exclusive remedy was section 11-51-75 which required an appeal of the board’s decision to be filed in the circuit court within 10 days and that the district failed to do so.
(7-2-0: King concurred in the result only, joined by Kitchens.)

Welch v. State, 2022-KA-00457-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of statutory rape, holding that trial counsel’s decision not to collect and test defendant’s relatives’ DNA was reasonable trial strategy and not deficient performance and did not cause prejudice.
(9-0)

Garcia v. State, 2021-CA-01214-SCT (Civil – Death Penalty – Post Conviction)
Affirming denial of PCR motion to set aside a plea of guilty to capital murder and sentence to death, holding that the trial court did not fail to address the petitioner’s expert testimony and did not err by continuing to rely on the petitioner’s own competency expert or in ruling the petitioner was competent to plead guilty, that trial counsel was not constitutionally ineffective for not calling attention to a potential autism diagnosis or in preparing the petitioner to plead guilty, and the petitioner was not deprived of expert assistance under Ake.
(9-0)

Barton v. Adams-Williams, 2023-EC-00586-SCT (Civil – Election Contest)
Affirming denial of petition to disqualify a candidate for county prosecutor, holding that the trial court applied the proper standard in analyzing the candidate’s residency and did not manifestly err in its factual findings.
(9-0)

Other Orders

In Re: Advisory Committee on Rules, 89-R-99016-SCT (appointing Nicholas K. Thompson as member of Supreme Court of Mississippi Advisory Committee on Rules)

Rules for Court Reporters, 89-R-99021-SCT (appointing Theresa Lumley and Hon. David B. Strong, Huey Bang, and Jerry D. Sharp as members of the Board of Certified Court Reporters)

Lowe v. State, 2019-CT-01621-SCT (dismissing cert petition)

Powers v. State,  2017-DR-00696-SCT (denying motion to stay, granting in part a motion to compel disclosure, and granting leave to file reply)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of April 13, 2023

I was out of town Thursday and Friday doing fun things with my family and summarizing hand downs didn’t fit the agenda. Without further delay, here are summaries of the four decisions the Mississippi Supreme Court handed down while I was out. There is a wrongful death/premises liability decision, a direct appeal of a murder conviction, and two real property contract decisions.

Deepak Jasco, LLC v. Palmer, 2021-IA-00702-SCT (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Reversing the denial of summary judgment in a premises liability case, holding that the plaintiff did not prove that the owner and operator of a convenience store adjacent to a lot where the plaintiff’s decedent was found stabbed and killed had actual or constructive knowledge that an atmosphere of violence existed on the premises.
(5-4-0: Maxwell concurred in part and in the result, joined by Randolph and Beam)

NOTE – Here is the crux of the Court’s analysis:

Anderson v. State, 2022-KA-00007-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of murder, holding that the trial court did not err by refusing an excusable homicide instruction based on heat of passion or by admitting evidence of the defendant’s prior bad act of using methamphetamine just before the shooting and for several days before where the defendant himself testified that he was high on meth when he shot his grandmother and it was relevant to his state of mind and motive.
(9-0)

Sel Business Services, LLC v. Lord, 2021-CT-00368-SCT (Civil – Real Property)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the chancellor’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a property owner who made an oral agreement to sell to one buyer but then sold to someone else, holding that while the statute of frauds barred the claim for specific performance the would-be buyer still had other equitable remedies available.
(9-0)

NOTE – The decisions specifically overruled Barriffe v. Estate of Nelson, 153 So. 3d 613 (Miss. 2014):

Luxe Homes, LLC v. Brewer, 2022-IA-00132-SCT (Civil – Contract)
Reversing the chancellor’s denial of a motion to transfer venue, holding that the terms of a venue provision in the contract between the parties were unambiguous, mandatory, and enforceable and that the transferred to the circuit court of the venue county even though the suit sought specific performance of a real estate contract.
(7-2-0: Kitchens and King concurred in result only without separate written opinion)

Other Orders

$153,340 v. State, 2020-CT-01409-SCT (cert denied)

Wilson v. City of Greenville, 2021-CT-00316-SCT (cert denied)

Johnson v. State, 2021-CT-00571-SCT (cert denied)

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Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of March 21, 2023

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down four opinions on Tuesday. It was an eclectic mix, including a workers’ comp case, a dysfunctional two-member LLC , a wrongful death case against a sheriff’s deputy, and an inmate’s request for removal of a rule violation report.

Holloway v. King, 2021-CP-01351-COA (Civil – State Boards and Agencies)
Affirming the circuit court’s decision that affirmed the denial of an inmate’s request for the removal of a rule violation report, holding that the circuit court did not have jurisdiction because the petitioner did not comply with the notice requirements of UCRCCC 5.04.
(6-4: McCarty dissented, joined by Westbrooks, McDonald, and Lawrence.)

Myrick v. UMMC, 2021-WC-01401-COA (Civil – Workers’ Comp)
Affirming MWCC order, holding that there was substantial, credible evidence to support the Commission’s finding that the Employer/Carrier overcame the presumption of permanent total disability and that the claimant’s post-injury back surgery was not related to her compensable back injury.
(7-3-0: Westbrooks, McDonald, and McCarty concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion.)

Colson v. Warren, 2021-CA-01408-COA (Civil – Other)
Affirming on direct and cross appeal the chancery court’s decisions denying a claim to dissolve a two-member LLC, holding that the two members should cooperate in drafting and implementing an operating agreement and opening a bank account to deposit rental revenue checks payable to the LLC that had been piling up.
(9-1-0: Wilson concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion.)

Renfroe v. Parker, 2021-CA-01048-COA (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Affirming summary judgment in favor of the law-enforcement defendants in a wrongful death suit after a suspect was killed by a deputy, holding:
1. Res judicata did not bar the plaintiff’s state law tort claims after the federal district court dismissed her 1983 claims with prejudice and her state law claims without prejudice.
2. The deputy and the sheriff were entitled to immunity on the official-capacity claims
3. Collateral estoppel barred the claims for IIED, assault, and battery because the federal district court found that the deputy’s use of force was “objectively reasonable.”
4. Even if collateral did not bar the IIED, assault, and battery claims, the plaintiff did not come forward with evidence to defeat summary judgment.
(7-2: McDonald concurred in part and dissented in part, joined by Westbrooks. Judge Emfinger did not participate.)

NOTE – According to testimony, the deputy shot the suspect after the suspect charged at the deputy, withstood a taser (pulling the electrodes out of his chest), had a physical altercation with the deputy, and then charged at the deputy a second time. The fact that the suspect did this while wearing pajama pants did not sway the courts at any level.

Other Orders

Green v. State, 2021-KA-01019-COA (rehearing denied)

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Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of February 21, 2023

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down seven opinions yesterday and I have just now been able to sit down and make it through them. These opinions include a wrongful-death MTCA claim, a complaint for public records, two wills and estates cases, and some PCR thrown in the mix.

Humphrey v. Steve Holts, 2021-CA-00046-COA (Civil – Other)
Reversing the chancery court’s order dismissing a complaint for public records and quashing subpoenas, holding that the chancellor erred in dismissing the complaint without an evidentiary hearing to examine the records at issue and remanding for an evidentiary hearing.
(9-1-0: Smith concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion.)

Baker v. State, 2021-CP-01277-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming summary denial of a verified motion for PCR, holding that the trial court did not err in finding that the indictment properly charged the plaintiff with burglary of a dwelling.
(9-1-0: Westbrooks concurred in result only without separate written opinion.)

Avery v. Estate of Eric Lane Avery, 2022-CP-00163-COA (Civil – Wills, Trusts & Estates)
Affirming the chancery court’s order closing the estate, holding that the chancery court did not err in closing the estate without proceeding on a request to amend the death certificate and that there was no evidence that the daughter/beneficiary willfully, knowingly, or intentionally killed her father.
(10-0)

Buchanan v. Hope Federal Credit Union, 2021-CA-00218-COA (Civil – Other)
Affirming the circuit court’s order denying a motion to transfer venue in an action to confirm an arbitration award, holding that the failure to tender required payment at the designated address was a “substantial omission” that made the county where the payment was to be made a permissible venue.
(6-2-1: McCarty concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion; Westbrooks concurred in result only without separate written opinion; McDonald concurred in part and dissented in part; Emfinger did not participate.)

Maxwell v. Panola County, Mississippi, 2021-CA-01001-COA (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Affirming a defense verdict in an MTCA lawsuit stemming from a double-fatality car crash with a sheriff’s deputy, holding that whether the deputy acted with reckless disregard when he ran a stop sign immediately before the collision was a question of fact and substantial evidence supported the trial court’s finding that it was not more than simple negligence.
(9-1-0: McDonald concurred in result only without separate written opinion.)

Buchanan v. State, 2021-CP-01069-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming motion for PCR challenging the revocation of post-release supervision, holding that the circuit court did not err in ruling that the plaintiff’s due process rights were not violated and that the plaintiff’s laches argument was both waived and meritless.
(10-0)

Estate of Charles James Bell v. Estate of Sarah Dell Mann Bell, 2021-CA-00789-COA (Civil – Wills, Trusts & Estates)
Affirming the chancery court’s enforcement of an antenuptial agreement, holding that the chancery court did not err in determining that the antenuptial agreement was not a testamentary document that the wife revoked by a subsequent will, was supported by consideration, and was not substantively unconscionable, and that the husband waived his statutory right to renounce the wife’s will.
(6-1-3: Wilson concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion; McDonald dissented, joined by Barnes and Westbrooks.)

Other Orders

Arrington v. Anderson, 2021-CA-00233-COA (denying rehearing)

Belmer v. State, 2021-CP-00410-COA (denying rehearing)

Jarvis v. State, 2021-CP-00930-COA (denying rehearing)

Hand Down List

Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of November 22, 2022

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down six opinions before making a break for the turkey this week. There is a custody case reviewing a contempt order related to visitation rights, a civil asset forfeiture case, a previously-decided MTCA wrongful death case with a substituted opinion, a real property contract case with a claim by the would-be purchaser for specific performance or damages, and a couple of PCR cases.

Kay v. Kay, 2021-CA-01377-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the chancery court’s contempt ruling, holding that there was substantial credible evidence supporting the finding of the father willfully failed to comply with visitation guidelines and denied the mother visitation rights but reversing the part of the order directing the children to report to jail if they chose not participate in future scheduled visitation with their mother.
(10-0)

McDonald v. State, 2021-CP-01040-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming the denial of a PCR motion, holding that the circuit court had jurisdiction to resentence the plaintiff and that there was no merit to the claims that the guilty plea was not voluntary or for ineffective assistance of counsel.
(1o-0)

Parker v. State, 2021-CP-01102-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming denial of a PCR motion, holding that the plaintiff did not overcome the time bar, there was no merit to his claims that he was wrongly sentenced as a habitual offender, and the illegal-sentence claim was waived by meritless anyway.
(9-1-0: Judge Emfinger concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion.)

Forty-One Thousand Eighty Dollars v. State, 2021-CA-00692-COA (Civil – Other/Civil Asset Forfeiture)
Affirming seizure of case, holding that the funds were subject to forfeiture, the argument that the K-9 alerted to the cash because the case was contaminated was unpersuasive, and that the forfeiture was not grossly disproportionate.
(8-1-0: Judge Westbrooks concurred in the result only without separate written opinion; Judge Emfinger did not participate.)

Simmons v. Jackson County, Mississippi, 2020-CA-01014-COA (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Denying a motion for rehearing but substituting a new opinion, but still affirming circuit court’s ruling that the county bore no responsibility for a driver’s fatal accident that occurred when his vehicle left the road and struck a culvert, holding that there was sufficient evidence to support the circuit court’s finding that the driver’s negligence in failing to exercise vigilant caution as he drove through a work zone was the sole proximate cause of the accident.
(7-3: Judge Westbrooks dissented, joined by Judge Carlton and Judge McDonald.)

NOTE – Since the old opinion is no longer available, I am not sure what changed. Apparently what I took away as the core holding did not change because my prior summary still seems to fairly characterize the opinion.

Haidar v. Margetta, 2021-CA-00683-COA (Civil – Contract)
Reversing the chancery court’s dismissal of a purchaser’s claim for specific performance or damages after the seller refused to honor the contract after the initial closing date passed, holding that time is not automatically of the essence in real estate transactions and there was no evidence in the record to establish that time was of the essence here.
(6-1-3: Judge Westbrooks concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion; Judge Greenlee dissented, joined by Chief Judge Barnes and Judge Carlton, and joined in part by Judge Westbrooks)

Other Orders

Murry v. State, 2020-KA-01363-COA (denying rehearing)

Wilson v. Lexington Manner Senior Care, LLC, 2021-CA-00072-COA (denying rehearing)

Wilson v. City of Greenville, 2021-CA-00316-COA (denying rehearing)

White v. White, 2021-CP-00333-COA (denying rehearing)

Beasley v. State, 2021-CA-00653-COA (denying rehearing)

Mitchell v. MDES, 2021-CC-00795-COA (denying pro se motion for rehearing as untimely)

Norwood v. State, 2021-CA-00802-COA (denying rehearing)

Patrick v. State, 2022-TS-00683-COA (dismissing appeal as moot)

Hand Down List

Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of August 18, 2022

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down one opinion today along with a passel of orders denying various post-conviction petitions as frivolous. The opinion is noteworthy because the Supreme Court granted cert and then reversed the Court of Appeals and the chancery court on issues that do not appear to have been argued at any point in the appeal briefing and were not addressed by the Court of Appeals.

Randle v. Randle, 2020-CT-00433-SCT (Civil – Wills, Trusts, and Estates)
Reversing the Court of Appeals and the chancellor on cert, holding that the lower courts incorrectly considered settlement proceeds from a wrongful-death claim as an asset of the estate and incorrectly adjudicated the decedent’s heirs-at-law instead of making a determination of wrongful-death beneficiaries.
(9-0)

ADDENDUM – The Supreme Court’s decision hinged on issues that were not addressed by the parties’ briefs, the Court of Appeals’ opinion, or the cert petition. The parties were focused on issues related to the use of DNA evidence to determine heirs and the chancellor’s order requiring a supersedeas bond which are the issues the Court of Appeals decided. But the Supreme Court addressed a more fundamental issue of whether the wrongful-death proceeds were part of the decedent’s estate. Since it held they were not, the Supreme Court then held that the chancellor should have determined wrongful-death beneficiaries rather than heirs-at-law. This case was remanded back to the chancery court for a determination of wrongful-death beneficiaries.

Here is the Supreme Court emphatically explaining that wrongful-death proceeds are not part of the decedent’s estate:

Other Orders

Pinkston v. State, 2012-M-00306 (denying application for leave to proceed in the trial court, finding the claims in the successive petitions are frivolous, and warning that future frivolous filings could result in sanctions)

Daniels v. State, 2017-M-00423 (denying petition for PCR, finding that it was frivolous, and restricting the petitioner from filing further applications in forma pauperis)

Brunson v. State, 2018-M-01113 (denying petition for PCR, finding that it was frivolous, and restricting the petitioner from filing further applications in forma pauperis)

Hill v. State, 2019-M-01221 (denying denying pro se petition for en banc habeas corpus, finding the claims in the successive petitions are frivolous, and warning that future frivolous filings could result in sanctions)

Wright v. State, 2019-M-01883 (denying petition for PCR, finding that it was frivolous, and restricting the petitioner from filing further applications in forma pauperis)

Brown v. State, 2020-M-00630 (denying motion to proceed with habeas corpus petition, finding that the application was frivolous, and restricting the petitioner from filing applications in forma pauperis)

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