James W. Kitchens

Gay Lynn Harris, Jr. v. Hemphill Construction Company, Inc.

Mississippi Supreme Court · 2024-12-12

The case involved Gay Lynn Harris, Jr., an owner and officer of subcontractor Interstate Carbonic Enterprises (ICE), who was injured while working on a City of Jackson water treatment plant project under a subcontract with general contractor Hemphill Construction Company. After Harris's workers' compensation claim against Hemphill was denied by an administrative judge due to his voluntary opt-out from ICE's insurance policy, he filed a negligence lawsuit in circuit court. The trial court dismissed the suit, finding Hemphill entitled to tort immunity under the exclusive remedy provision of the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Act. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Hemphill had satisfied the statutory requirement to secure payment of benefits by contractually requiring ICE to obtain workers' compensation coverage, which entitled it to immunity regardless of Harris's personal exclusion from the policy. The court also ruled that Harris was not required to exhaust administrative remedies before filing suit.

labor & employmenttorts & liability

Benjamin Vivian a/k/a Benjamin Larrell Vivians v. State of Mississippi

Mississippi Supreme Court · 2024-10-17

The case involved Benjamin Vivian's appeal from his convictions in Leake County Circuit Court for felony possession of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of marijuana, for which he was sentenced as a habitual offender to eight years in prison and a fine. Vivian's appellate counsel filed a brief under Lindsey v. State certifying that no arguable issues for appeal existed after thoroughly reviewing the record, including the circumstances of the arrest, trial proceedings, jury instructions, and sentencing, and Vivian did not file a pro se brief. The Mississippi Supreme Court, after conducting its own independent review of the record, found no arguable issues warranting supplemental briefing and affirmed the convictions.

criminal law

Rankin County, Mississippi v. Mississippi Public Service Commission and Entergy Mississippi, LLC

Mississippi Supreme Court · 2024-09-26

The case involved Rankin County's challenge to a Mississippi Public Service Commission order that approved a rate increase for Entergy Mississippi under the utility's Formula Rate Plan, which adjusts rates based on annual financial data verified by the Commission and staff. Rankin County, as an intervenor and Entergy customer, disputed the exclusion of unbilled revenue from operating expenses and the application of separate 4 percent revenue caps to the prospective Evaluation Report and retrospective Look Back Report. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the Commission's order, holding that it was supported by substantial evidence, was not arbitrary or capricious, and complied with statutory procedures for formula rate adjustments. The court also ruled that arguments raised for the first time on appeal, including challenges to the Plan's construction and handling of confidential information, were waived.

business & regulatoryprocedure

Davonta Wells v. State of Mississippi

Mississippi Supreme Court · 2024-09-19

In this case, Davonta Wells was convicted by a jury in Lowndes County Circuit Court of shooting into an occupied dwelling and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after he fired shots into his former girlfriend's home in 2020. He appealed only the firearm conviction, claiming the evidence was insufficient because his stipulation to a prior felony conviction had not been formally admitted as evidence at trial. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, holding that the stipulation, which was accepted by the trial court and accompanied by a limiting jury instruction, satisfied the State's burden to prove the prior-conviction element. The Court also found the issue waived because Wells had not objected to the stipulation or the related instructions during trial.

criminal lawgunsprocedure

Joel Phillip McNinch, Jr., by and through Cheryl Hutson McNinch, Individually, and on Behalf of and for the use and Benefit of the Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of Joel Phillip McNinch, Jr., and the Estate of Joel Phillip McNinch, Jr., by Cheryl Hutson McNinch v. Brandon Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, L.L.C. and Brandon HMA, L.L.C. d/b/a Merit Health Rankin

Mississippi Supreme Court · 2024-06-27

This case involved a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the widow and estate of Joel Phillip McNinch, Jr., against Brandon Nursing & Rehabilitation Center and Merit Health Rankin, alleging negligence and medical malpractice in his care that led to his death from sepsis and other complications. The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendants, ruling that the suit was barred by the two-year statute of limitations. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed and remanded, holding that genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether the discovery rule tolled the limitations period until the plaintiff received the decedent's medical records in December 2019, at which point she could have discovered potential negligence, making the January 2022 filing timely after accounting for the notice period.

proceduretorts & liability

Newton County, Mississippi v. Deerfield Estates Subdivision Property Owners Association, LLC

Mississippi Supreme Court · 2024-05-09

This case concerned whether the main roads in the Deerfield Estates subdivision in Newton County, Mississippi, were private or public roads. In 2001, the county board of supervisors voted to accept the roads into the county system, and in 2010 the developers conveyed a recorded easement to the county; however, the roads were never added to the official county road registry. The subdivision's property owners association sued for a declaratory judgment that the roads were public and sought an order requiring the county to add them to the registry. The chancellor ruled that the roads had become public via express common law dedication, and the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed, citing the board's acceptance in its minutes, the recorded easement, the absence of taxes on the roads, and unrestricted public access.

property

Affiliations

Decision record

James W. Kitchens

Affiliations

Decision record