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

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On Thursday a Jackson Division federal court jury returned a verdict for Nationwide Insurance Co. in a dispute with an insured. Here is the verdict in Nationwide v. Doolittle.

Here is Nationwide's Dec. Action Complaint. Nationwide alleged that the Doolittles made material misrepresentations in their fire-loss claim regarding the contents of their home. 

Here is the Doolittle's Answer and Counterclaim, in which the Doolittles alleged bad faith.

Judge Dan Jordan presided in the case. Jason Bush, La'Verne Edney and Wes Mockbee with Baker Donelson represented Nationwide. Lance Stevens and Rod Ward of Jackson represented the Doolittles.

On a somewhat humorous note, the Doolittles were reportedly observed giving the Baker Donelson lawyers the bird in the parking lot after the trial.

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There were at least four significant civil trials last week in Mississippi with the plaintiffs winning 3 of 3 that went to verdict. I did not get much information on all but the Amite County verdict. Here is what I know:

1. A $1.2 million verdict in Hinds County Circuit Court against Manhattan Nursing Home. I believe that Manhattan is in the Tara Cares System. Manhattan has a long tradition of being a bad nursing home dating back at least a decade to when it was in the Beverly system. Howard Thigpen of Morgan & Morgan represented the plaintiff. Barry Ford, Davis Frye and Brad Moody of Baker Donelson represented the defendant. Judge Tommie Green presided. This verdict will presumably be reversed due to the caps.
2. A $1.0–plus million verdict in Rankin County in a medical malpractice trial. I believe that the doctor got a defense verdict and the hospital was found liable. I don't know anymore about this verdict.
3.  A $125,000 verdict in Amite County against Farm Bureau Insurance. The case involved a dispute between former agent Alinda White and Farm Bureau based on Farm Bureau implementing sales quotas. Mitch Tyner of the Tyner Law Firm in Jackson represented the plaintiff. Dale Russell and Ellen Robb of Copeland Cook in Ridgeland represented Farm Bureau. Judge Al Johnson presided.

There was also a medical malpractice trial taking place in Pike County last week before Judge Mike Taylor. I do not know whether there has been a verdict.

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There have been rumors swirling for months that Jackson based Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis will merge with the New Orleans based Jones Walker firm. This would add to Jones Walker's presence as a regional firm. 

Virtually every Mississippi lawyer who I have talked to this week wants to talk about this rumor. Word is that the merger is taking place and most Watkins Ludlam lawyers will be a part of Jones Walker going forward. It sounds like Watkins Ludlam—one of Mississippi's venerable law firms—will no longer exist.

I am hearing that more than a few Watkins Ludlam lawyers will not be joining Jones Walker.

There have also been a lot of rumors about Brunini merging with Baker Donelson. I am hearing that there is no truth to that rumor.    

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On Saturday a Hinds County jury returned a $750,000 verdict in a nursing home case involving Manhattan Nursing and Rehab. Center in Jackson. I believe that Manhattan is part of the Tara Cares chain. All the damages were non-economic damages.

The case was a wrongful death case involving Mannie Williams, aged 87. Ms. Williams fell and suffered a fractured pelvis at home. She went to Manhattan for short term rehab. with a plan to return home. While in the nursing home, she suffered multiple pressure sores, also known as bed sores. The pressure sores included a stage IV sacral (tailbone area) wound that became infected and caused Ms. Williams' death.  

Stage IV pressure sores are serious injuries. If you doubt the severity of a stage IV sacral pressure sore, go to google images and search “stage iv sacral pressure sore.” But don't do it right after a meal. Wikipedia has a good explanation of pressure sores here. Pressure sores are usually preventable with regular turning.

The case was tried before Judge William Gowan. The trial started on Wednesday and ended on Saturday.

Eric Stracener and Andrew Neely of Jackson and Jake Adams of Brandon represented the plaintiff.

Davis Frye, Barry Ford and Brad Moody with Baker Donelson in Jackson represented the defendant. 

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Friday evening a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Jackson Division, returned an $875,000 verdict for Claire Harrison in her discrimination lawsuit against LMA North America, Inc.

Here is the Jury Verdict.

I'm having trouble posting the Complaint.

The plaintiff alleged that the company discriminated against women and had a hostile work environment for women. Plaintiff also alleged that the CEO requested sexual favors from the plaintiff and fired her when she refused. The jury agreed.  

The verdict included $125,000 for lost wages and $750,000 for pain and suffering. The plaintiff can now seek an award of attorney's fees.

Ashley Ogden, Jim Smith and Wendy Yuan represented the plaintiff. Randy Patterson and Jennifer Hall from Baker Donelson represented the defendant. Judge Henry Wingate was the trial judge.

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A Hinds County jury returned a defense verdict on Friday in a nursing home case.

The case involved the alleged wrongful death of a 92–year old resident of Manhattan Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jackson. The woman suffered from pressure sores with infection and sepsis, dehydration and malnutrition.

The jury returned a 10–2 defense verdict after a one week trial.

Barry Ford, Davis Frye and Brad Moody with Baker Donelson in Jackson represented the Defendant.

Trae Sims of Canton represented the Plaintiff.

Judge Bill Gowan was the trial judge.

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There were two stealth defense verdicts in the Jackson area last week.

The first was in a racial discrimination case in federal court in Jackson. Here is the Complaint in Brown v. Jackson Municipal Airport Authority. The trial started on December 13 and the jury returned a defense verdict on December 14. Here are the verdict and judgment.

Jennifer Hall and Alan Moore of Baker Donelson represented the defendant. Louis Watson, Jr. of Jackson represented the plaintiff. Judge Dan Jordan was the trial judge.

The second defense verdict last week was in a medical malpractice case in Rankin County. Heber Simmons' firm was on the plaintiff side and Watkins Eager was on the defense. I do not know anything about the facts of the case.

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The Brian Cole verdict against Ford Motor Co. is on the front page of today's Clarion-Ledger. Here is the article. A Ford spokesperson is quoted in the article as saying that the trial was unfair.

Judge Billy Joe Landrum was the trial judge and he conducted the trial in Laurel with a Paulding jury. The article identifies Tab Turner from Arkansas as the lead plaintiff lawyer. Barry Ford and Bill Jones of Baker Donelson in Jackson defended the case with Ford's national roll-over counsel. I am not a fan of the national defense counsel model in Mississippi, but I'll save that discussion for another day.  

The verdict was $131 million for Cole (who died) and $1.5 for the passenger of the Ford Explorer (Cole's cousin who survived). The two were in a roll-over accident on I-10 in Florida. Yea, I know: what was the trial doing with a Paulding jury? There was a venue hook somehow.

Yesterday after the verdict came down I received  numerous reports on it that placed the verdict range from $130 million to $235 million. A Ridgeland attorney with absolutely no connection to the case or involved law firms was the only person to provide the exact correct breakdown of the verdict.

The case settled before entering the punitive damages phase. Ford is getting second guessed for settling the case, but I don't have a problem with it conceptually. Since I do not know the amount of the settlement, I can only comment in general terms.

First, a punitive verdict in the case could have easily been over $100 million in addition to the compensatory verdict.

Second, this was the third trial. Ford has probably already spent $30-$50 million in defense costs and expenses. The result of a winning appeal would likely be the chance to try the case again, presumably before the same judge and another Paulding jury. Ford's cost for the appeal and re-trying the case would likely be in the $5-$10 million range. 

So if the Plaintiffs discounted the verdict to settle the case,  Ford might have felt that settlement was the best business decision. 

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On Thursday Circuit Judge Billy Joe Landrum declared a mistrial after a Jones County Circuit Court jury was unable to reach a verdict in a products liability trial against Ford Motor Co. The trial lasted for several weeks.

Baker Donelson and out-of-state lawyers represented Ford. I do not yet know who represented the plaintiffs or the alleged defect at issue.

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On Wednesday a Madison County County Court jury returned a verdict of $856,510 for Jackson area developer Mark Jordan in an eminent domain case against the State of Mississippi involving two acres of land. Here is the Clarion-Ledger article on the verdict.

The State took the took the two acres from Jordan pursuant to the state’s eminent domain laws. Jordan agreed that the State could take the land, but disagreed with Jordan’s demand of $1.5 million. The State valued the land at close to $800,000, so the verdict was a win for the State. Of course, collecting over $400,000 per acre for vacant land in a non-urban area does not sound like a loss for Jordan.

The land is located near the intersection of Steed and Sunnybrook roads, across the interstate from Renaissance at Colony Park in Ridgeland. The State needs the land for a new interstate interchange.

 Jordan’s attorneys included Larry Jones and Brandon Jolly of Baker Donelson.

While the jury deliberated, the alienation of affection trial in Roberston v. Russell continued down the hall. I watched a good bit of that trial yesterday. It’s funny how attentive a jury is in an alienation of affection trial. There was no dozing off after lunch. There will probably be a verdict in the case today. Dr. Russell and his former wife are expected to testify today.

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No, that's not a typo. Ford Motor Co. got a defense verdict in Jefferson County today at the conclusion of a two week trial.  

 The plaintiff was a passenger who was paralyzed in a roll-over of a Ford Explorer that was pulling a trailer. The driver of the Explorer passed out from hypoglycemia and ran off the road. Plaintiff's defect allegation was instability of the vehicle and that the seat belt did not work properly. The plaintiff asked for $9.5 million in closing.  

Barry Ford, Bill Jones and Everett White at Baker Donelson were among a team of lawyers representing Ford. Plaintiff's counsel were lawyers from South Carolina and New Orleans. Plaintiff had Deborah McDonald as local counsel, but it's my understanding that she was not brought in until shortly before trial.