Justia Trusts & Estates Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in Mississippi Supreme Court
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In this interlocutory appeal, Ford Motor Company (Ford) wanted to preserve a confidential settlement agreement between it and the Estate and wrongful-death beneficiaries of Brian Cole (the Coles). The case on appeal was a separate action between the Coles, their attorneys, and among the attorneys themselves regarding expenses, a contingency-fee agreement, and a fee-sharing agreement. The chancellor denied Ford's motion and its "Notice of Intent to Seek Closure of Proceedings and Sealing of Documents." Before the Supreme Court, Ford raised three issues: (1) whether the settlement agreement was a public, judicial record or a private contract, which should be enforced; (2) whether the state's policy encouraging settlement agreements and the parties' interest in abiding by the terms of that agreement were sufficient grounds to protect the settlement from public scrutiny; and (3) whether there was any overriding public interest which would require disclosure of the terms of the settlement agreement. Upon review, the Supreme Court found that the settlement agreement was between private parties, did not involve issues of public concern, and was unnecessary to resolve the parties' disputes. Thus, the Court concluded that chancery court erred, in part, by denying Ford's motions. View "In the Matter of the Estate of Brian Cole" on Justia Law

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Michael Travis died in 1997 when a train struck his vehicle at a railroad crossing. His mother, Mary Travis, filed a wrongful-death suit against Illinois Central Railroad Company and its employees (collectively "Illinois Central") in Circuit Court. Trial was held in October 2009, and the jury assessed damages in the amount of $6.5 million. Based on the jury's allocation of fault, the trial court entered a judgment in favor of Travis in the amount of $4,875,000. Illinois Central filed this appeal. Upon review, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings, finding that the trial court erred in denying Illinois Central's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, because the evidence did not support the jury’s verdict. View "Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Company v. Travis" on Justia Law

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The two subscribing witnesses to Lela W. Holmes’s will testified that they did not know they were witnessing a will; that Lela did not request they witness a will; and that they did nothing to satisfy themselves that Lela was of sound and disposing mind when she executed the will. Still, the chancellor admitted the will to probate, and the contestants appealed, raising numerous issues. Upon review of the matter, the Supreme Court concluded that because the two subscribing witnesses did not satisfy the legal requirements of "attesting" witnesses. The Court reversed the chancery court's ruling, and rendered a decision in favor of the contestants. View "In The Matter of The Estate of Lela W. Holmes" on Justia Law

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This interlocutory appeal came before the Supreme Court from the denial of a motion to dismiss or, alternatively, motion for summary judgment. The issue was whether George Poppenheimer, a volunteer firefighter, was immune under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act (MTCA) for claims arising from an automobile accident. The county court found that a volunteer fire department is not a government entity for purposes of the MTCA and denied Poppenheimer's motion. Aggrieved, Poppenheimer appealed, raising two issues: (1) whether the Bridgetown Volunteer Fire Department (BVFD) and its employees receive protection under the MTCA; and (2) whether the county court erred by denying his motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. The Supreme Court found that the BVFD is not a governmental entity or instrumentality of the state, but an independent contractor. Also, as a volunteer firefighter, Poppenheimer is not immune from suit arising out of alleged automobile negligence. Thus, the Court affirmed the county court's denial of Poppenheimer's motions. View "Poppenheimer v. The Estate of Coyle, " on Justia Law

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Twenty-year-old Xavier Zurndell Moore pled guilty to manslaughter for the shooting death of his mother's live-in boyfriend, Robert Williams. The fatal bullet had been purchased from the Walmart in Indianola, Mississippi. Robert's daughter and his estate filed a wrongful-death suit against Walmart, alleging that it unlawfully had sold ammunition to the underage Moore and that the sale proximately had caused Robert's death. The trial court granted summary judgment for Walmart based on this Court's decision in "Robinson v. Howard Brothers of Jackson, Mississippi," (372 So. 2d 1074 (Miss. 1979)). In that case, the Supreme Court held that, even though the store had violated federal law by selling a firearm and ammunition to a minor, the minor's subsequent murder of a third party had not been foreseeable; the seller, therefore, was not civilly liable for the death. Based on "Robinson," the Court found that Moore's criminal act was not foreseeable and that Walmart reasonably could assume that Moore would follow the law. Therefore, the Court affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of Walmart. View "Williams v. Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P." on Justia Law

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Robert Lee Kitchens, Jr., and his wife, Mary L. Kitchens, died as a result of injuries received in a collision between their automobile and a train owned and operated by Illinois Central Railroad Company ("Illinois Central"). The Administratrix and wrongful-death beneficiaries of the Kitchenses' estate filed a wrongful-death action against several parties, including the parent company of Illinois Central, Canadian National Railway Company. Canadian National moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim. The circuit court granted the plaintiffs ninety days to conduct discovery "to justify piercing the corporate veil" and reserved ruling on the motion to dismiss pending completion of the discovery. Canadian National filed a petition for an interlocutory appeal, and the Supreme Court granted the petition. Upon review, the Court found that the plaintiffs did not allege with particularity the applicability of piercing the corporate veil to the facts of this case. Accordingly, the Court vacated the circuit court's order permitting further discovery, reversed the circuit court's failure to grant Canadian National's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, and remanded the case to the circuit court for the entry of a final order of dismissal without prejudice. View "Canadian National Railway Co. v. Waltman" on Justia Law

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Robert Eastman claimed Mississippi Valley Silica Company, Inc. ("MVS"), the company that supplied sand to his employer Marathon LeTourneau, failed to warn him of the dangers posed by sandblasting. At trial, MVS requested a "sophisticated user/learned-intermediary" jury instruction. Although the requested instruction was an incomplete statement of the law, the trial judge refused the instruction for an erroneous reason and failed to instruct the jury properly on the submitted defense. The jury returned a verdict for Eastman, and MVS timely appealed, raising eight issues, including the trial judge's refusal to grant the sophisticated-user jury instruction. Upon review, the Supreme Court found that issue dispositive, and reversed and remanded for a new trial. View "Mississippi Valley Silica Company, Inc. v. Eastman" on Justia Law

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Henry Gibson was a resident of Arnold Avenue Nursing Home (AA) in Greenville from 2001 until 2002. After being hospitalized in December 2002, Gibson was moved to another nursing home and died on January 26, 2003. Gibson's estate filed a wrongful-death action in 2004 seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The plaintiffs averred that Magnolia Healthcare, Inc., the owner of AA, and Foundation Health Services, Inc. were negligent in causing various injuries, some of which contributed to Gibson's death. The jury awarded $1.5 million in compensatory damages, which the trial court reduced to $500,000 for noneconomic damages and $75,000 for permanent disfigurement. The trial court refused to allow the jury to consider punitive damages. Plaintiffs appealed asserting: (1) whether the trial court erred in refusing to allow the jury to consider punitive damages; and (2) whether the statutory cap for noneconomic damages was constitutional. Upon review, the Supreme Court found no error in the trial court's refusing to allow the jury to consider punitive damages. The Court found that Plaintiffs failed to raise the constitutionality of the statutory cap before the trial court; thus that issue was procedurally barred. View "Estate of Henry Gibson v. Magnolia Healthcare, Inc." on Justia Law

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A circuit court dismissed Plaintiff Jimmy Steven Fowler Jr.'s wrongful-death action for failing to timely serve presuit notice on the defendants as required by Mississippi Code Section 15-1-36(15) (Rev. 2003). The trial court denied Plaintiff's motion for reconsideration. Plaintiff appealed, arguing that: (1) he presented evidence which raised a presumption of timely presuit notice; (2) the trial court erred by denying his motion for reconsideration; and (3) the defendants, John Paul White, M.D., Marilyn Lehman, R.N., and The Sanctuary Hospice House, Inc. (collectively, Sanctuary), waived the affirmative defense of lack of presuit notice because they failed to timely pursue the defense while actively participating in the litigation. Upon review of the circuit court record, the Supreme Court affirmed, finding the trial court's finding that Plaintiff failed to present sufficient evidence to create a presumption of presuit notice was supported by substantial evidence. The trial court was within its discretion in denying Plaintiff's Rule 59(e) motion for reconsideration. And Plaintiff's waiver argument was procedurally barred because he raised it for the first time on appeal. View "Fowler v. White" on Justia Law

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This case involved fifteen years of litigation relating to two testamentary trusts. Plaintiff Veronica Baumgardner McKee Arrington (Arrington), claimed that the trustee of both trusts, William Ready, mismanaged the trusts' property, improperly allocated the trusts' funds, and wrongfully refused to render an accounting of the trusts' assets. The Chancery Court of Lauderdale County found that the trustee had acted properly and within his discretion in managing the trusts and that the trustee should not be required to render an accounting. Aggrieved, Plaintiff appealed to the Supreme Court. After review, the Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the Chancery Court. "A chancellor’s factual findings will not be overturned absent an abuse of discretion." If Plaintiff's assertions were correct, then almost $225,000 difference between the chancellor's total and Plaintiff's purported total amounts to an abuse of discretion by the court. The Supreme Court noted that it was unclear from the record how Plaintiff arrived at her allegations. Accordingly, the Court found find that upon remand, a formal accounting of the decedent's expenses should be conducted and that her conservatorship should be reimbursed for any expenses relating to her care and maintenance. View "In The Matter of the Estate of Baumgardner" on Justia Law