Published 10-3-22
$1.276,818 Adams County Med Mal - Plaintiff rehabbing a nursing home fell and sustained a fatal brain injury

The plaintiff was rehabbing at a nursing home after an amputation. He fell getting up from bed and suffered a fatal brain bleed. His estate alleged negligence by the nursing home in failing to supervise him. The jury awarded a total of $1,276,818 including non-economic damages of $800,000 . . .those being reduced to the statutory cap in the final judgment.

Paul Williams (pictured below), Matt Newman and Courtney Williams (Williams Newman Williams, Jackson) tried it for the plaintiff
Rebecca Adelman (Adelman Law Firm, Memphis) defending
Judge Forrest Johnson tried it.

Case Documents:

Pretrial Order

Final Judgment

Published 9-15-22

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Published 9-20-22

$350,000 Hinds County Premises Liability verdict after a fall at St. Dominic's Hospital

The plaintiff (age 76) was leaving the ER (she’d been in an auto accident earlier in the day and broke her rib) and was being wheeled to a waiting vehicle – when she stood up to enter the vehicle, she tripped over a pothole and broke her femur – a Jackson jury found the hospital solely at fault and awarded economic damages of $79,869 and $270,131 more for the non-economic variety all equaling the round number of $350,000.

Yancy Burns (Burns and Associates, Jackson) (pictured below)
John Wade and Alston Ludwig (Brunini Grantham, Jackson) defending
Judge Wooten on the bench

Case Documents:

Pretrial Order
Pretrial Order
The hazard . . .

Yancy Burns for the plaintiff

Published 10-8-22

Wrongful Death Police Shooting Case moves to second week in trial in Jackson

Crystalline Barnes, age 21 and a honor student at Jackson State, was fatally shot in the early daylight hours of 1-27-18 by two Jackson Police officers after a short chase. The police fired 23 shots and Barnes was hit twice. Her estate (representing two young children) has alleged excessive force. The case has been tried for four days and will continue on Monday in federal court in Jackson.

The image is from the scene, Barnes crashing her car into a utility pole. There are significant fact disputes as to how the collision occurred. The plaintiff has relied on its forensics expert, William Harmening, St. Louis, MO, to develop their theory as of course Barnes was dead at the scene. 

We'll report a verdict when we have it.

Judge Carlton Reeves on the bench

Tiffani Collins (Baltimore, MD) and Carlos Moore, Grenada for the plaintiff

Claire Barker, City of Jackson, Michael Cory, Jackson and Francis Springer, Madison defending

Published 10-10-22

Court of Appeals rules in a dispute between a lawyer (Britt Virden) and his former firm (Campbell DeLong) in a Deepwater Horizon fee dispute

Britt Virden, a partner for 25 years with the Greenville law firm, Campbell DeLong, settled a Deepwater Horizon case for $12.344 million. His fee was $3.085 million. Virden thought he was entitled to 92% of the fee or $2.8 million. The firm, looking to the partnership operating agreement, thought the correct disbursement to Virden was $1.9 million. Virden left the firm shortly after the settlement.

Virden sued to recover the difference. The firm sought declaratory relief and looked to the four corners of the detailed 17 page partnership agreement. The trial judge (Barry Ford) sided with the law firm. Virden appealed.

The Court of Appeals ruled on 9-27-22 (McCarty writing) and affirmed the trial court as the fee disbursement was consistent with the agreement. The court further wrote that Virden had sought to evade the agreement and that the whole essence of a law partnership is that it is a "shared enterprise."

Philip Mansour for Virden (Appellant)

David Mockbee for the law firm (Appellee)

Opinion by Judge McCarty

Appeal from Barry Ford, Washington Circuit Court

The Court of Appeals Opinion (External link)

Published 10-12-22

Ole Miss Sophomore complained of post-traumatic headaches after a right-of-way collision -- $52,186 general verdict in Lafayette County, MS

Plaintiff, a sophomore at Ole Miss, was involved in a right-of-way collision in Oxford. The defendant (also a student) turned left in front of her at a red light intersection. It was a hard hit.

The plaintiff has since treated for post-traumatic headaches as confirmed by a plaintiff's IME, Dr. Ralph Bell. Defendant IME, Dr. Rance Wilborn, Neurology, Memphis, diminished the injury.

The jury returned a general verdict of $52,186 for the plaintiff on 9-29-22. That represented medicals of $12,186 ($24,000 were claimed) and $40,000 more for non-economic damages.

Rocky Wilkins (Morgan & Morgan) for the plaintiff

Goodloe Lewis (Hickman Goza & Spragins) defending

Judge Gray Tollison behind the plate calling the balls and strikes

Published 10-13-22

Defense verdict on qualified immunity in a deadly excessive force shooting verdict in Jackson

The verdict is in (yesterday) the fatal shooting case of Crystalline Barnes on 1-27-18 in Jackson. Two officers fired 23 shots. 19 hit the plaintiff's car. 2 hit the plaintiff. 2 more hit a nearby house on this residential street.

It was a curious verdict. The jury found the officers used excessive force, but the jury made an additional factual finding that the officers were excused by qualified immunity. The jury also rejected the plaintiff's municipal liability claim. The court's actual jury instructions are not in the record so its not clear how the "qualified immunity" charge was worded.

Tiffani Collins (Baltimore, MD) and Carlos Moore, Grenada for the plaintiff

Claire Barker, City of Jackson, Michael Cory, Jackson and Francis Springer, Madison defending

Judge Carlton Reeves on the bench

Published 10-18-22

$254,044 Slip and Fall Verdict from Yazoo County -- Verdict 10-7-22

Plaintiff tripped in a gas station parking lot on an empty pallet that had been left by a beer distributor. He sustained a hand injury and underwent two surgeries. A Yazoo County jury awarded the plaintiff medicals of $34,044 and $220,000 for pain and suffering. Fault was assessed 80% to the distributor and the remainder to the plaintiff. The judgment will be reduced to $200,000 (the County Court jurisdictional limits) less the 20% comparative fault for a $160,000 net.

Yancy Burns (Burns & Associates) Jackson for the plaintiff

Robert Thompson and Chase Wynn, McAngus Goudelock & Courie, Ridgeland defending

Judge Mary Barnette Cotton tried it

The verdict and the scene of the fall depicted below.

Published 10-19-22

Post-Trial Motions Filed in the $10,457,858 Bad Faith Verdict in Minor v. USAA (Jackson Circuit Court)

Just after the October 2022 issue was published (13 MsJVR 10), we learned new post-trial motions were filed in Minor v. USAA from Jackson Circuit Court. on 9-23-22 a Pascagoula jury awarded the plaintiff $10,457,858 in damages regarding a Hurricane Katrina bad faith claim. That included punitive damages of $10,000,000.

The case was first tried in 2013 on the original coverage claim and the plaintiff took damages of $1,547,291. However the trial court (Judge Richard Bennett then presiding) granted summary judgment on bad faith. The plaintiff appealed and in 2017 the Court of Appeals. The bad faith trial then was conducted this September more than 17 years after the hurricane struck.

The plaintiff has sought attorney fees of $4.5 million representing a 45% contingency of the punitive damage award. The insurer (USAA) has filed a triumvirate of separate motions too, JNOV, Motion for New Trial and Remittitur. USAA has challenged the damages as excessive and a violation of its due process rights. The insurer has also argued honest mistakes and the prior jury verdict decision don't rise to the level of bad faith. Finally bias was argued the plaintiff referencing how the next hurricane case will be argued, this occurring just as Hurricane Ian was swirling in the Gulf.

David Baria (Cosmich Simmons & Brown) and James Reeves (Reeves & Mestayer) for the plaintiff

Charles Copeland and Timothy Sterling (Copeland Cook Taylor & Bush) for the insurer

Judge Forrest Johnson (Special) called the balls and strikes.

The links to the motion are below. The report on Minor v. USAA appears on page 1 of the October 2022 edition.

Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney Fees

USAA JNOV Motion

USAA Motion for a New Trial

USAA Motion for Remittitur

Published 10-20-22

Surgical Med Mal Defense Verdict in Alcorn Circuit Court

Plaintiff alleged her bowel was injured during a laparoscopic cholecystectomy and then her surgeon failed to detect it for 12 days, all of which led to a long and grueling recovery. The doctor defended that there were two CT scans in the intervening period and they didn't indicate bowel leakage.

The case was tried for four days in Cornith. The jury deliberated 30 minutes on 10-6-22 and returned a defense verdict.

Brad Morris, Oxford and Marc Boutwell, Oxford for the plaintiff

Tommie Williams, Sr. and Tommie Williams, Jr., Upshaw Williams, defending

Judge Paul Funderburk on the bench

Case Documents:

Pretrial Order

The Jury Verdict