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

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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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Saturday's Clarion-Ledger reported on a $345,020 jury verdict last week in a workplace retaliation claim filed by Renee Summers-Akers against Hinds Community College. The case was tried in the Jackson Division of the Southern District of Mississippi before Judge Tom Lee.

Here is the jury's verdict form.

Here is the court's judgment.

The C-L article states:

Renee Summers-Akers, who taught at Hinds from 1982 until her retirement this spring, alleged she was passed over for a promotion in 2006 because she had aided a colleague who was accusing the college of racial discrimination.

The verdict consisted of compensatory damages and back pay. Summers-Akers is also entitled to seek recovery of her attorney's fees, since this was a civil rights case. The judgment gives her 14 days to file her motion for attorney's fees. If granted, the motion will probably significantly increase Hinds' total liability.

Louis Watson, Jr. of Jackson represented the plaintiff. Ben Piazza and Thomas Bryson of Jackson represented the defendant.

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On Saturday Jimmie Gates and the Clarion-Ledger reported on Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Swan Yerger throwing out a racial discrimination suit against the City of Jackson by fireman Ricky Haggard.

According to the article:

Ricky Haggard had alleged he was discriminated against after he was removed from overseeing a federal grant's position in 2006 and replaced by a white male when Todd Chandler was interim fire chief.

In dismissing the case:

Yerger said Haggard had to show the city maintained a widespread, persistent practice of racial discrimination of city officials or employees.

"Acts of alleged discrimination that take place in a three-year period in one city department, all under the tenure of one supervisor hardly shows that there existed a persistent, widespread practice that fairly represents municipal policy," Yerger wrote.

Further, Yerger said even Haggard swears that Chandler was demoted as a result of discriminatory remarks Chandler made in the video. "This goes to show that Chandler's alleged conduct was hardly the expected, accepted practice of city employees," Yerger wrote.

 

Haggard apparently rejected a settlement offer from the City:

[City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen] said the city offered a settlement, but an agreement was never reached.

My guess is that it was not a big offer. The City has been trying a lot of cases in the last few years, which suggests that it has not been making large settlement offers.

There will be an appeal:

Haggard's attorneys, Louis Watson Jr. and Nick Norris, said Yerger's dismissal will be appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Who knows what will happen on appeal. But since Hinds County judges seem to have a tendency to rule against the City, you would think that the dismissal has a good chance to be affirmed on appeal.