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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The Clarion-Ledger reported Monday on a January 7, 2011 jury verdict of $38,000 in a gender discrimination case by Mary Beth Watt against the Miss. Dept. of Wildlife. The verdict was in the federal district court in Jackson.

The article states:

Mary Beth Watt, hired in January 2008, said she was fired about six months after she complained about gender discrimination.When Watt, now 33, began working with Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, there were 185 male law enforcement officers, referred to as conservation officers, at the time.

After completing her training, Watt was first assigned to Noxubee County, then reassigned to Hinds County. Watt said she was reassigned in order to make her job circumstances difficult and to pressure her to resign, according to court records.

Watt alleged she was the only academy graduate to be sent to a different county. She also said that as a single parent of a young child the transfer presented a hardship.

Believing that her transfer was because of gender discrimination, Watt complained to DWFP Commissioner Charles Rigdon and state Sen. Terry Brown.

The department then terminated Watt in a letter dated July 24, 2008, "on the grounds that she had 'gone outside the chain of command.' "

That does sound like a b.s. reason for firing someone.

Here is the Plaintiff's Complaint in the case.

Here is Judge Dan Jordan's Order denying summary judgment.

Here is the jury's verdict.

Here is the judgment.

Plaintiff can now recover attorney's fees as the prevailing party in a discrimination case. That presumably could substantially increase the State's total liability.

Plaintiff also plans to file a motion to require the Department to reinstate her to her old job.

Jim Waide and Rachel Pierce of Tupelo represented the Plaintiff. Peter Cleveland of the A.G.'s office represented the State.

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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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On October 21, 2010 a federal court jury in Jackson rendered a plaintiff's verdict of $300,000 in an alienation of affection case. Here is the Complaint in Ainsworth v. Gildea. The case settled before the jury could render a verdict on punitive damages.

Here is the jury's verdict form.

Here is the Court's order of dismissal.

Judy Barnett and Michael Malouf of Jackson represented the plaintiff. Jud Lee and Cynthia Speetjens of Madison represented the out-of-state defendant. Judge Dan Jordan was the trial judge.

I don't really know the alleged facts and don't care enough to try to find out. As previously noted, I am not a fan of the the alienation of affection cause of action.

My Take:

So much for the notion that there are not wing-nut verdicts in federal court. On a lighter note, I bet Judge Jordan never expected to preside over an alienation of affection trial when he was nominated and confirmed for the U.S. District Court. And I bet he didn't mind that one bit. But even alienation of affection cases can be removed to federal court. No word yet on whether Judge Jordan will present on the cause of action at the next 5^th  Circuit Judicial Conference. I'm betting not.

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It took a year and a half, but President Obama finally nominated Jackson attorney Carlton Reeves to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi. The nomination has been expected from the day that Obama won the 2008 presidential election.

Here is Reeves’ profile at his firm’s web site.

Reeves is a Yazoo City native and is a graduate of Jackson State and the University of Virginia School of Law. He clerked on the Mississippi Supreme Court for Judge Rueben Anderson, was the Chief of the Civil Division of the Southern District U.S. Attorney’s Office and has been in private practice with Phelps Dunbar and his current firm of Pigott Reeves Johnson.

Here are my prior posts on Reeves.

Reeves is very popular in the Jackson Bar and the expectation among lawyers is that he will be a fair and popular judge. Reeves will join Bush appointees Judge Dan Jordan and Judge Sul Ozerden as young Southern District judges who will likely be on the bench for thirty or more years.

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There is a rare opening on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals with Judge Rhesa Barksdale taking senior status. President Obama will appoint someone to fill the seat. For a while it sounded like the appointment would go to someone from Louisiana. Later, I heard that Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana all had a shot at the seat.

I am now hearing that the White House is seriously looking at several candidates from Mississippi. The most prominent name that I am hearing as a candidate is Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James Graves. Justice Graves is qualified with eight years on the Supreme Court and experience as a trial judge before that.

You would expect there to be many people maneuvering to influence who gets this major appointment. A lot will depend on what the White House is looking for in court of appeals judges. If it is looking for someone in their fifties, then it will be tough to beat Justice Graves. President Bush often opted to fill appointments with young people who would likely hold the position for thirty years or more. Examples include Judge Sul Ozerden and Judge Dan Jordan. We do not know enough about President Obama yet to conclude if he will follow a similar strategy. All we really know is that Obama is moving slowly at making Mississippi appointments such as U.S. Attorneys, Marshals and Judge Barbour's District Judge seat.