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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Timothy Marbley was convicted in Tunica County Circuit Court of aggravated domestic violence under Mississippi Code Section 97-3-7(4)(a)(ii) and sentenced to ten years, with five years suspended and supervised probation. His appellate counsel filed a Lindsey brief stating that a thorough review of the record revealed no arguable issues for appeal, and Marbley did not submit a pro se brief despite being given the opportunity. The Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed the entire record, including trial proceedings, evidence of the underlying incident involving an altercation at an apartment, police observations, and Marbley's statement, and found no issues warranting reversal. The court therefore affirmed the conviction and sentence, concluding that the Lindsey procedural requirements had been met and no viable appellate claims existed.
The case concerned a dispute over whether Quitman School District was entitled to a share of funds recovered by Clarke County from the bankruptcy of a delinquent taxpayer, BTH Quitman Hickory, LLC, whose unpaid ad valorem taxes would otherwise have gone to the district. The county had anticipated the delinquencies in 2016 and 2017 and adjusted its tax levies accordingly, resulting in the school district receiving its full requested funding or a surplus for those years without any shortfall. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the chancery court's award to the school district, holding that the district had no entitlement to the bankruptcy recoveries because the state's statutory scheme for school funding operates on a year-by-year basis through adjusted levies, and later recoveries fall outside that scheme.
The case concerned a dispute between Pastor Calvin Melton and Union Hill Missionary Baptist Church over whether Melton should continue serving as pastor after the congregation voted unanimously in 2021 not to retain him. Despite the vote, Melton continued preaching, leading the church to seek an injunction in chancery court. The chancellor initially ordered a new vote and later ruled that Melton was no longer the pastor based on church bylaws. On appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed and vacated the chancery court's orders, holding that the central issue was an ecclesiastical question involving church governance that civil courts lack authority to decide under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine.
This case involves a decades-long dispute arising from the 1994 divorce of Deborah West and Charles Timothy West, including enforcement of a property settlement agreement that awarded Deborah an equitable lien on Tim's stock in family businesses West Quality Food Services, Inc. and Coastal Express, Inc., as well as claims for retroactive child support and challenges to the validity of related judgments and garnishments. On direct appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the chancellor's priority-of-liens ruling and remanded for determination of whether the stock certificates conspicuously noted bylaws restrictions that would affect lien priority. On cross-appeal, the court reversed and remanded because the chancellor failed to address Tim's retroactive child support claim. In the consolidated action, the court reversed and rendered, holding that Tim waived any statute of limitations defense through delay and active participation in litigation, and that his separate suit constituted improper claim splitting, requiring reinstatement of the 2008 judgment and related writs.
Joshua Dukes was convicted of capital murder in the 2016 shooting death of James Hankins and sentenced to life without parole. On appeal, Dukes argued that the trial court erred by permitting an undisclosed rebuttal witness, by allowing evidence of his other crimes in violation of a pretrial order in limine, and by admitting hearsay statements from officers that denied him due process. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, finding no reversible error in the trial court's evidentiary rulings, including that officer testimony about the investigation was not hearsay when offered to explain investigatory steps rather than to prove the truth of asserted facts.
This case concerned whether venue was proper in Hinds County Chancery Court for a lawsuit brought by Gulf South Pipeline Company and its parent against Rankin County, Mississippi, challenging the county tax assessor's attempt to locally assess and tax natural gas stored in a Rankin County facility but owned by Gulf South's customers. Gulf South argued that the Mississippi Department of Revenue had exclusive central assessment authority for its multi-county public service corporation property and joined MDOR as a necessary party. The trial court denied Rankin County's motion to transfer venue, finding Hinds County permissible under general chancery venue rules. On interlocutory appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed, holding that Mississippi Code Section 11-45-17 mandates venue in the county named as defendant (Rankin County) and that no other statute provided an exception allowing Hinds County venue. The case was remanded for further proceedings in the proper venue.
The case involved Dr. Eniola Otuseso seeking to intervene in the administration of Delores Mason's estate to challenge the appointment of Helen McNeal as administratrix, who had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the doctor. The chancellor removed McNeal upon discovering she was not a relative and was a convicted felon, instead appointing Mason's siblings as coadministrators. Dr. Otuseso appealed the denial of intervention and the substitution of administrators. The Supreme Court of Mississippi affirmed the chancellor's authority to appoint the heirs as successors, holding that chancellors have broad discretion in such matters, and dismissed the intervention issue as moot since the unqualified administratrix had been replaced.
Wade Alan Willard Sr. was convicted by a jury of possession of methamphetamine and sentenced to twelve years as a habitual offender. On appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court, he argued that the trial court erred by striking two prospective jurors for cause after they expressed reluctance to convict based solely on a law enforcement officer's testimony and by limiting his cross-examination of the arresting officer regarding inconsistencies in police reports. The court affirmed the conviction and sentence, finding no clear error in the juror strikes and concluding that any restriction on cross-examination was harmless because the officer had already answered numerous questions about the reports. The decision rested on standards for for-cause challenges during voir dire and the broad but not unlimited scope of cross-examination of prosecution witnesses.
The case involved landowners who sued an oil production company and related defendants for trespass, negligence, nuisance, and damages stemming from a saltwater disposal line crossing their property, leaks that poisoned their cattle, and a waste reserve pit that disrupted their cattle business. The defendants moved to dismiss, arguing that the plaintiffs had failed to exhaust administrative remedies before the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board. The trial court denied the motions, ruling that the claims were based in common law and outside the Board's jurisdiction, and the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed, reasoning that the agency could not provide adequate remedies for the alleged harms, the claims did not require specialized interpretation of agency rules, and no documentation established a nexus requiring Board involvement.
The case involved Mississippi residents Melissa Dilworth and her husband suing LG Chem, Ltd., a South Korean battery manufacturer, and its Georgia subsidiary after a lithium-ion battery exploded in Dilworth's vaping device, causing severe burns. The trial court dismissed the claims for lack of personal jurisdiction over the nonresident defendants. On appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed, holding that LG Chem had purposefully availed itself of the Mississippi market by placing its batteries into the stream of commerce with the expectation that they would be sold and used in the state, satisfying due process requirements for specific personal jurisdiction. The court also found that dismissal of the subsidiary was premature due to insufficient information on its Mississippi contacts and remanded for jurisdictional discovery.
The case involved David Simmons challenging the rejection of his candidate petition to run for mayor of Goodman, Mississippi, by the town's election commissioners. The commissioners determined that Simmons had not satisfied the two-year residency requirement before the election, as he had been registered to vote and claimed homestead exemption in Lexington until December 2020. The circuit court upheld this decision, and the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed, finding that Simmons failed to provide sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption of domicile in Lexington based on his voting history, driver's license, and other records.
This case involved a premises liability claim brought by Tresyla Davis against Riverboat Corporation of Mississippi, owner of the Golden Nugget Biloxi Hotel and Casino, after a slot machine chair fell backward while she was seated, allegedly causing her injuries. The trial court initially granted summary judgment to Riverboat but later granted Davis's Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1) motion to reopen the case based on claims of fraud related to evidence about the chair. On interlocutory appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the trial court's decision to grant the Rule 60(b)(1) motion and reinstated the summary judgment in favor of Riverboat. The court reasoned that Davis failed to prove all necessary elements of fraud by clear and convincing evidence and that no exceptional circumstances existed to justify relief under the rule, as she had not pursued available discovery procedures to obtain relevant information about the chair.
The case involved a fee dispute between attorneys Don Mitchell and Charles McRae over a contingency fee contract, with Mitchell filing suit in chancery court seeking various forms of relief including an accounting and declaratory judgment. McRae moved to transfer the case to circuit court, but the chancery court denied the motion in an order entered December 2, 2020, later certifying it as final under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b). McRae filed a notice of appeal on January 28, 2021, which the Supreme Court treated as a petition for interlocutory appeal. The court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, reasoning that the December 2 order was ineligible for Rule 54(b) certification because it left all claims pending against all parties and that the petition was filed more than 21 days after the order in violation of the strict, non-extendable deadline in Mississippi Rule of Appellate Procedure 5(a).
This case arose after Ruth Helen Harrion was raped and murdered in her Jackson, Mississippi home following a 911 call reporting a prowler; the dispatcher failed to keep her on the line or gather details as required by city policy, and responding officers conducted a perimeter check but left without entering or locating her. Her wrongful-death beneficiaries sued the City of Jackson under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Mississippi Tort Claims Act (MTCA), alleging constitutional violations and tort liability. The trial court entered judgment against the City on both claims, but the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed and rendered on the § 1983 claim while affirming the MTCA judgment. The Court held that the City was entitled to a directed verdict on the federal claim because the Due Process Clause does not impose an affirmative duty on municipalities to protect citizens from private violence. It left intact the trial court's finding of liability under the MTCA.
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