Mississippi Litigation Review & Commentary : Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Phillip W. Thomas Law Firm : MS Litigation Review & Commentary

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In the next few weeks the Mississippi Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the appeals of three cases that resulted in substantial verdicts for the plaintiff. The cases are:

1. Denbury Onshore v. Precision Welding. Oral argument January 18 at 10:30 a.m. This is the appeal of a 2010 verdict of $1.5 million in a Lincoln County breach of contract case. Here is my 2010 post on the verdict.
2. Phillips Petroleum v. Lofton. Oral argument January 30 at 1:30 p.m. This is the appeal of a 2010 verdict of $15.2 million in a Jones County asbestos drilling mud case. My posts on the verdict are here, here and here. This case has a record of 88 volumes.  
3. Miss. Valley Silica Co. v. Eastman. Oral argument February 1 at 1:30 p.m. This is the appeal of a 2009 verdict of $7.6 million in a Warren County silica case. Here is my post on the verdict. The record in this case is a mere 49 volumes.

Here is the Court's master docket calendar for the Court's first sitting (January 2 –  March 2). The vast majority of cases are submitted for decision without oral argument.

If you've ever witnessed an oral argument in a case where there is nothing to add to the brief, then you know why most cases don't have oral argument. In cases where the Court does schedule oral argument, the Justices typically get the lawyers focused on whatever issues the Court has questions about.

You can watch the oral arguments live here on the Supreme Court's website. I prefer to attend in person so I can see the Justices at all times. But being able to watch from your desk is great. It would be nice if the courtroom had a video screen so people sitting in the gallery could see the front of the lawyers who are arguing the cases, since the podium faces away from the gallery.