GRIFFIS, P.J., for the Court: 1. The Washington County Chancery Court ordered Cordell K. Knighten Sr. ("Knighten") to pay $400 per month in child support, which was a downward deviation from the statutory child-support guidelines, to Shimberely Hooper for the care of their son. On appeal, Knighten argues that the chancellor erred when she: (1) failed to make written findings explaining how she arrived at the $400 amount and (2) failed to address which parent would be allowed to claim the...
GRIFFIS, J., for the Court: 1. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. and Scott Jones (collectively "Citigroup") appeal the Pike County Circuit Court's judgment that denied their motion to compel arbitration. Citigroup argues that the circuit court erroneously found that: (1) Citigroup was not a party to the arbitration agreement, and (2) the arbitration agreement was unconscionable. We find reversible error. Accordingly, the judgment of the circuit court is reversed and rendered, and this case is...
ISHEE, J., for the Court: 1. On July 14, 2009, Darrian Ragland was convicted in the Circuit Court of Coahoma County of burglary of a dwelling and petit larceny. Ragland appeals his conviction and asks this Court to consider whether he was denied effective assistance of counsel and whether the circuit court erred in denying his motion for a judgment not withstanding the verdict or new trial, alleging the verdict of the jury was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. Finding no...
ISHEE, J., for the Court: 1. On January 6, 2004, Jean Triplett (Triplett) underwent an elective hip-replacement surgery due to her struggles with bilateral degenerative hip disease. Approximately one day after the surgery, Triplett suffered from a stroke and eventually died on October 25, 2006. Triplett's heirs and estate (Triplett's heirs) filed suit in the Circuit Court of Warren County, Mississippi. River Region Medical Corporation, William C. Porter Jr., M.D., John Adams, M.D., Patty...
MAXWELL, J., for the Court: 1. Bibleway M.B. Church filed a complaint in the Chickasaw County Chancery Court to confirm title to a piece of property it had purchased. Frank Vasser Sr. filed a motion to intervene, which the chancellor denied. Finding that Vasser Sr.'s motion to intervene was not timely under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 24 and that his fraudulent representations to the chancellor weigh quite heavily against his request to intervene, we affirm the chancellor's...
MYERS, P.J., for the Court: 1. Heather and Alex Brumfield were married in July 1998, and they separated in March 2007. The Walthall County Chancery Court granted an irreconcilable differences divorce on May 16, 2008. Heather appeals the chancellor's award of physical custody of the couple's four children to Alex, with both parents to share legal custody. FACTS 2. Alex and Heather have four children — three daughters and one son. The oldest, Debra Alexis ("Lexi") was born about six months...
BARNES, J., for the Court: 1. The case originated from a "slip-and-fall" injury Delfenia Rainey allegedly sustained in 2004 while at what was formerly called the Grand Casino Tunica in Tunica, Mississippi. Rainey filed suit against Grand Casinos, Inc., Caesars Entertainment, Inc. and Harrah's Operating Company (collectively the "Defendants"). This is an appeal from the grant of the Defendants' motion for summary judgment finding that Rainey had not sued the proper defendant. This Court finds...
ROBERTS, J., for the Court: 1. This appeal involves a dispute over approximately four-tenths of an acre of undeveloped property in Scott County, Mississippi. On April 25, 2008, Mitchell Ryan Mahaffey filed a complaint for ejectment and "confirmation of common boundary" in the Scott County Chancery Court. Mahaffey named Shelby Maner and Bonnie Maner as defendants. After Mahaffey presented his case-in-chief, he moved to amend his complaint to conform with the evidence presented at trial. The...
MYERS, P.J., for the Court: 1. Beverly Kay Kendrick, individually and as wrongful-death beneficiary of Thomas Dixon, filed a complaint in the Marion County Circuit Court against Laura Quin. The complaint alleged that Dixon, while an invitee in Quin's home, suffered injuries and death as a result of a fire in and upon Quin's premises, and that such injuries and death were the proximate cause of Quin's negligence in failing to keep her premises free of hazards and in a reasonably safe...
MAXWELL, J., for the Court: 1. In 1973, R.B. Moor, Charles H. Moor, and Marion M. Moor conveyed real property to the state, which promised to fulfill three conditions: to (1) utilize the property to construct a state park, (2) expend $2 million or more in constructing the park, and (3) begin construction before July 1, 1976. The state began construction of the Florewood River Plantation Park (Florewood Plantation) in 1974, spending more than $2 million on the project over the next decade....
ISHEE, J., for the Court: 1. A high-school student, who was expelled from school for a year for having drugs in her car on campus, attempted to appeal that expulsion to circuit court. The Circuit Court of Pontotoc County found that the appeal was not properly filed; therefore, the court lacked jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal. Finding no error, we affirm the circuit court's judgment. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 2. M.L.R., 1 a minor, was an eleventh-grade student at Pontotoc City...
LEE, P.J., for the Court: FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 1. Nan B. Davis is the paternal grandmother to Mason Conerly. Mason is the son of Charles Davis and Sherry Lynn Conerly. Sherry's parents, Rickey Len Conerly and Linda R. Conerly, adopted Mason in April 1999. Charles's and Sherry's parental rights were terminated at that time. Although Sherry's parental rights were terminated, Mason spends approximately four to five nights a week at her house. 2. In 2006, Davis filed suit in the...
MODIFIED OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING ROBERTS, J., for the Court: 1. The motion for rehearing is granted in part, and the previous opinion of this Court is withdrawn with this opinion substituted in lieu thereof. Michael Perkins appeals the Marshall County Circuit Court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart) and Elijah Detective Wilson. Perkins asserts four assignments of error: (1) the trial court erred in granting summary judgment as to Perkins's claim...
MYERS, P.J., for the Court: 1. In December 2006, Sonja S. Gorden petitioned the Hinds County Chancery Court for a determination of the heirs at law of George H. Kendrick Sr. (Kendrick) who had died intestate in September 2006. Following an heirship hearing, the chancery court determined that Sonja had established by clear-and-convincing evidence that she is the biological daughter of Kendrick. Aggrieved, George H. Kendrick Jr., Cheryl K. Rankin, and Cynthia K. Coleman appeal and argue that...
BARNES, J., for the Court: 1. Dennis and Barbara Henry were granted summary judgment in their boundary-dispute action with their next door neighbor, Georgia Charlot. The judgment found that the Henrys had legal title to the disputed property and ordered Charlot to remove from the Henrys' property steps to a trailer home and a fence that Charlot had constructed on the property. From this order Charlot appeals, raising issues regarding the court's denial of her motion for leave to amend her...
ISHEE, J., for the Court: 1. Charles Anderson was convicted of manslaughter. The Circuit Court of Lamar County sentenced him to twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). He now appeals and asserts: (1) the trial court erred in granting the State's jury instruction S-7, and (2) the "castle doctrine" should be applied retroactively to his case. Finding no error, we affirm Anderson's conviction and sentence. FACTS 2. On the night of April 19, 2003,...
IRVING, J., for the Court: 1. This appeal arises out of a suit and resulting judgment to quiet title filed in the Harrison County Chancery Court by Lloyd A. Smith. After the entry of judgment quieting title, American Public Finance, Inc. (APF) filed a motion requesting that it be allowed to intervene in the suit and that the judgment be set aside. The chancery court denied the motion. Feeling aggrieved, APF appeals and asserts that the chancery court: (1) should have joined APF as a...
MAXWELL, J., for the Court: 1. Michael Whalen sought specific performance or, alternatively, damages for breach of contract, relating to a land-sale agreement he attempted to broker between Gregory Bistes Jr. and the Bradshaw Family Limited Partnership. The chancellor granted summary judgment in Bistes's favor and found that Whalen's undisclosed dual-agency representation of both Bistes and the Partnership made delivery ineffective and rendered the contract unenforceable. The chancellor also...
ROBERTS, J., for the Court: 1. While driving with five passengers, Linda Pettis lost control of her car and crashed into a tree. According to Pettis, she lost control of her car because of the manner in which rainwater collected in ruts in the asphalt on Highway 603 in Hancock County, Mississippi. Pettis and all five passengers sued the Mississippi Transportation Commission (MTC). MTC denied liability and subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment. According to MTC's motion for summary...
GRIFFIS, J., for the Court: 1. Paul Raines appeals the summary judgment entered by the Lee County Circuit Court in favor of Pierce Cabinets, Inc. The circuit court found that Raines, as an electrical contractor, knew or should have known that the sawdust at the Pierce Cabinets' facility was flammable and that Pierce Cabinets was under no duty to warn Raines or his employer of this danger. We find that the circuit court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of Pierce Cabinets as a...
