CARLTON , P.J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. Mueller Industries and its insurance carrier, Stonington Insurance Company, 1 appeal the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission's (the Commission) order finding that Shannon Waits suffered a 100% industrial loss of use in his right upper extremity and awarding Waits temporary total disability benefits, as well as permanent partial disability benefits. 2. On appeal, Mueller Industries asserts the following assignments of error: (1) the...
WESTBROOKS , J. FOR THE COURT: 1. Joseph Rucker is appealing an order from the Lee County Chancery Court granting the Mississippi Department of Revenue's (MDOR) motion to dismiss. Rucker claims that the chancery court erred by granting MDOR's motion and dismissing his claim. After review of the record, we affirm. FACTS 2. In September 2010, Rucker purchased a building located at 2702 North Gloster Street, Tupelo, Mississippi, with the intentions of starting a restaurant, Papa Joe'...
WILSON , J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. This appeal involves an assessment levied by the Workers' Compensation Group Self-Insurer Guaranty Association (the Group Guaranty Association or "GGA"), an association established by the Legislature to pay workers' compensation claims on behalf of any group self-insurer that becomes insolvent. Miss. Code Ann. 71-3-153 & -159 (Rev. 2011). The dispute in this case arises out of the cessation of operations and withdrawal of one of the GGA's members, the...
GRIFFIS , P.J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. Debra Darlene Burns and her husband William Dale Burns filed a complaint against their landlords, Matthew and Jody Gray, and alleged injuries related to a fall they claim was "as a result of the irregular pattern of the basement stairs." The circuit court found the Burnses' expert witness's testimony and opinions regarding causation were based on speculation and, therefore, struck his testimony and entered summary judgment in favor of the Grays. The...
GRIFFIS , P.J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. This case involves the alleged sexual battery of an unconscious seventeen-year-old girl by three young men, one of whom recorded a portion of the sexual conduct on Snapchat. Martin Blake Pugh, Jayland Christipher Brittmon, and Matthew Anderson Craddock were indicted on the charges of conspiracy to commit sexual battery and sexual battery of an incapacitated person. Craddock was further indicted on the charge of depicting a child under the age of eighteen...
BARNES , J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. On November 9, 2003, Tony and Linda Smith entered into a real estate contract (Contract) with John Hendon for the purchase of a home in Rankin County, Mississippi. The Smiths were represented by Cindy Smith and Century 21 Maselle & Associates (Century 21). Coldwell Banker Graham & Associates Inc. (Coldwell Banker) and Cindy Lai represented the seller, Hendon. 2. On January 14, 2005, the Smiths filed a First Amended Complaint in Hinds County Circuit...
WESTBROOKS , J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. In June 2014, Michael Malouf filed a complaint against Lisa Evans, Lake Harbour Marine, and Michael Evans, in the County Court of Rankin County, alleging breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, breach of trust, breach of warranty, fraud, misrepresentation, deceit, deception, conversion, unlawful taking, unjust enrichment, assault, duress, negligence, and gross negligence. In June 2016, upon the conclusion of Malouf's case in chief,...
CARLTON , J. 1. This case concerns a default judgment entered in a lawsuit in which Greater Greenville Housing & Revitalization Association ("Greater Greenville") sought to reform a warranty deed conveying certain property to Odis Emery in 2011. Over four years after executing and delivering the warranty deed to Emery, Greater Greenville discovered that the legal descriptions in the warranty deed contained four additional properties that Greater Greenville claims it did not intend to...
LEE , C.J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. In this medical-malpractice case, we must determine whether the trial court erred when it granted Dr. Elizabeth Trest's and Woman's Group of Meridian's motions for summary judgment, finding that Valerie Yerks's medical expert failed to establish the necessary element of causation. Finding no error, we affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 2. On January 2, 2004, Yerks, who was 40-weeks pregnant, was seen by her OBGYN, Dr. Trest, at Woman's Group of...
CARLTON , J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. Marcia Robles filed a complaint for divorce against her husband, Jose Gonzalez. The Rankin County Chancery Court entered a judgment granting Robles and Gonzalez an irreconcilable-difference divorce. In his judgment, the chancellor also made an equitable division of the marital property and awarded Robles and Gonzalez joint legal and physical custody of their two minor children. 2. Robles now appeals the chancellor's final judgment, arguing that the...
IRVING , P.J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. The Estate of Francis N. Burgess Sr. (Burgess) appeals the judgment of the Hinds County Circuit Court, First Judicial District, rendered in favor of H. Alex Trotter (Trotter). Burgess submits three alleged errors: (1) the trial court's order was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence; (2) the amount of damages awarded was not supported by the evidence; and (3) the trial court erred by failing to articulate its findings of fact and conclusions of...
WILSON , J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. Adam Isaac Lewis alleges that his obligation to pay alimony to his ex-wife Karen Conway Lewis should be terminated because Karen is cohabiting or in a de facto marriage with her longtime boyfriend. Adam's complaint to terminate alimony proceeded to trial, and after Adam rested his case, the chancellor found that he had not met his burden of proof and dismissed his complaint pursuant to Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). The chancellor also awarded...
WESTBROOKS , J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. Lacedric D. Gipson appeals a judgment from the Chancery Court of Tippah County. After a review of the record, we affirm the chancery court's decision to hold Gipson in contempt for unpaid medical bills; however, we reverse the chancery court's upward modification of child support and remand for the court to make specific on-the-record findings regarding the child-support guidelines and deviation criteria. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 2. At the time...
CARLTON , J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. On March 22, 2012, Reinaldo Bacallao filed a complaint against Madison County, Mississippi, and Attorney Lisa M. Ross, individually, alleging Ross committed legal malpractice while acting as Bacallao's public defender. After a trial, the county court, sitting without a jury, found that Bacallao failed to provide sufficient proof to show that Ross had committed malpractice. Bacallao appealed the county court's decision to the Madison County Circuit Court,...
GRIFFIS , P.J. 1. Hunter Lane Sarrett was convicted of Count I, sale of cathinone within 1,500 feet of a school; Count II, conspiracy to sell cathinone; Count III, sale of alprazolam within 1,500 feet of a school; and Count IV, conspiracy to sell alprazolam. He was sentenced to serve sixteen years, with six years suspended, on Count I; twenty years, with ten years suspended, on Count II; sixteen years, with six years suspended, on Count III; and twenty years, with ten years suspended, on...
IRVING , P.J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. Renee Baggett filed a complaint for divorce from her husband James Baggett on the bases of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment and habitual drunkenness, or, alternatively, irreconcilable differences. The Chancery Court of Wayne County dismissed her complaint after a short trial. Renee appeals, asserting that the chancery court erred in (1) dismissing her complaint in light of the overwhelming weight of the evidence proving her alleged grounds for divorce,...
IRVING , P.J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. Joseph Thompson, individually and as the administrator of the estate of Vickie Thompson, appeals the judgment of the Harrison County Chancery Court, Second Judicial District, arguing that the chancellor erred in denying his Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6) motion. 2. Finding no error, we affirm. FACTS 3. This is a breach-of-contract case that was dismissed for want of prosecution. In 2003, Thompson and his wife Vickie (hereinafter the...
GRIFFIS , P.J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. Shannon and John Westfall appeal the circuit court's dismissal of their negligence claims based on discovery violations. This case considers whether the dismissal was appropriate under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 37 and Pierce v. Heritage Properties, Inc., 688 So.2d 1385 (Miss. 1997). We find reversible error and remand for further proceedings. FACTS 2. On June 3, 2013, Shannon was involved in an automobile accident in Pontotoc,...
IRVING , P.J. , FOR THE COURT: 1. Joshua Seymour, administrator of the estate of Brenda F. Seymour, appeals the judgment of the Jackson County Chancery Court, arguing that the parties' joint tenancy was terminated by Brenda's filing of her partition suit, and that the chancellor erred in failing to award Brenda's estate with one-half of the ad valorem tax payments made on the property from 2008-2012. Joshua is not alleging that the chancellor's decision was an abuse of discretion, since...
FAIR , J., FOR THE COURT: 1. John Cathcart, the alleged victim of a crime, seeks to collaterally attack a decision of the Rankin County Justice Court finding no probable cause to issue misdemeanor arrest warrants for the alleged perpetrators. The circuit court dismissed Cathcart's petitions for a writ of certiorari and mandamus. We find that Cathcart lacks standing to seek either remedy, and so we affirm. DISCUSSION 2. Cathcart alleges that, when he attempted to attend a neighborhood...
