The case involved a mortgage foreclosure on Ron Carbo's home, after which Federal National Mortgage Association purchased the property at auction in 2010 and sued in county court for eviction and back rent. The Association sold the property in 2012 and years later sought to substitute the new owner as plaintiff, but the county court denied the motion and dismissed the suit for lack of standing; the circuit court affirmed. On appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the Association lacked standing after selling the property and that a 2015 agreed dismissal with prejudice of an identical suit by the Association barred the current action under res judicata.
The case involved wrongful death claims brought by Oliver Miller on behalf of Shannon Reed's beneficiaries against Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, United Emergency Services of Mississippi, and Dr. Keith McCoy, alleging medical negligence in the emergency room treatment of Reed's chest pain symptoms that led to his death shortly after discharge. The defendants moved for summary judgment on grounds that the claims failed for lack of causation, but the trial court denied the motions, finding triable issues of fact. On interlocutory appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the denial in part, reversed and rendered in part, and remanded, holding that Miller presented competent expert evidence creating genuine issues of material fact on causation for claims involving monitoring, EKG interpretation, Troponin testing, pain reporting, and discharge instructions, but that claims based on failure to admit Reed lacked causation because the on-call cardiologists would not have approved admission. The court reasoned that expert testimony established a reasonable probability of survival but for the alleged breaches, except as to admission, and that proximate cause questions are for the jury when reasonable minds could differ.
In Vern Gavin v. Wanda Evers, the case involved an election contest following Wanda Evers's victory over incumbent Vern Gavin in the 2023 Hinds County Supervisor District 4 Democratic primary runoff. Gavin challenged Evers's residency qualification under Mississippi law and alleged various election day irregularities that he claimed made it impossible to determine the true will of the voters. The circuit court granted summary judgment on the irregularities claim and dismissed the residency claim, and the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed these rulings. The court reasoned that Gavin failed to show irregularities affecting the election outcome, his residency challenge was untimely, and his motion for reconsideration did not present new evidence warranting a different result.
Jessica Johnson sued Evan Unruh for negligence from a 2017 motor vehicle collision, filing her complaint one day before the three-year statute of limitations expired. She failed to serve Unruh within the 120-day period under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 4(h) and moved for an extension on day 121 without showing good cause for the delay. The trial court granted the extension and denied Unruh's motions to dismiss for insufficient service of process. On interlocutory appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed and rendered, ruling that the absence of good cause made the extension invalid, so service was untimely and the statute of limitations had run, requiring dismissal with prejudice.
The case involved Marcus Robinson, who was convicted by a Yalobusha County jury of aggravated assault after severely beating his elderly, disabled roommate Steven Shaw, leaving him with life-threatening injuries including multiple facial fractures. The circuit court sentenced Robinson to life imprisonment as a violent habitual offender. On appeal, Robinson argued that he was denied a fair trial due to an allegedly related juror's participation and other issues, but the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The court reasoned that the juror had no knowledge of any familial relationship, viewed the evidence impartially, and that Robinson had waived any objection by failing to raise the issue during voir dire.
The case involved Les Smith seeking an injunction and declaratory relief to prevent Elizabeth and Rebecca Brockway from installing a manufactured home on their property in the Lakewood Village Subdivision, alleging violation of restrictive covenants. The Panola County Chancery Court denied the petition, and the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed that decision. The court held that the restrictive covenants were unenforceable because the original grantor failed to sign them as required by their own terms for the covenants to run with the land. The covenants explicitly stated they would be binding from the date they were dated and signed, which did not occur.