Miss. Supreme Court Reverses and Renders $3.72 Million Hinds County Jury Verdict Against Trustmark in Banking Dispute

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Philip Thomas

On Thursday the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed and rendered a $3.72 million jury verdict in Trustmark National Bank v. Roxco Ltd. Here is the Court's opinion.

Facts:

Roxco was the general contractor on several state construction contracts. State law requires 3% of the cost of construction to be retained to ensure completion, but allows the contractor to access the retained amount by depositing other acceptable security. Based on this statute, Roxco deposited $1,055,000 in securities with Trustmark.

Roxco defaulted and the State instructed Trustmark to transfer the funds to the state treasury account. Roxco told Trustmark not to. Trustmark transferred the funds pursuant to the State's instructions.

The Lawsuit:

Roxco sued Trustmark for breach of contract and conversion in Hinds County Circuit Court. Trustmark defended on the basis that Miss. Code Ann. § 31–5–15 permitted the release of the funds.

The trial court did not grant Trustmark judgment as a matter of law based on the state statute. In February 2009 a jury found for Roxco and awarded it $3,720,000 in damages.     

Chris Shapley and Trey Jones with Brunini represented Trustmark. James Bobo and Precious Martin represented Roxco. Judge Tommie Green presided in the trial court.

The Court's decision:

A unanimous Court agreed with Trustmark that the statute allowed Trustmark to transfer the securities to the State. As a result, the Court reversed the trial court and rendered. Justice King wrote the Court's decision.

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$553,000 Jury Verdict in Hinds County Medical Malpractice Trial

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Philip Thomas

The Clarion-Ledger reported last week on a $553,000 jury verdict in a Hinds County medical malpractice trial against Jackson neurosurgeon Dr. Adam Lewis. The article provided a good description of the plaintiff's allegations:

Joanne Hartwig's negligence lawsuit in Hinds County Circuit Court said Dr. Adam Lewis' surgery on Aug. 1, 2005, left a plate in her back in the wrong position and one of the screws to fuse the lumbar spine bones together floating, not attached to bone.

Hartwig said the problem was discovered after she sought a second opinion because her condition continued to worsen under Lewis' care.

On Nov. 28, 2005, Hartwig said she had to undergo another surgery via her abdomen for the removal of the hardware.

"Ms. Hartwig sustained painful, debilitating injuries of a permanent nature, as well as the pain and suffering associated with having to undergo multiple surgeries and procedures," her lawsuit has said.

The components of the jury's verdict were:

  • $178,000– economic damages
  • $375,000– non-economic damages.

The article states that Dr. Lewis will appeal.

Precious Martin of Jackson represented the plaintiff. Whit Johnson of Currie Johnson in Flowood represented Dr. Lewis. Judge Winston Kidd was the presiding judge.

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$500,000 Bench Trial Verdict Against City of Jackson in Case Where Police Officers Were Having Sexual Relations with Minor who was Murdered

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Philip Thomas

On April 27, 2011 Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd issued a $500,000 bench trial verdict against the City of Jackson in Sandifer v. City of Jackson. Here is the Court's Opinion. Here is the Clarion-Ledger article on the case.

Facts:

In 2006 Toice Wilson murdered Tawana Sandifer, aged 16. Before the girl's death, Jackson police officers Kenneth Talton and Maurice Clark had sexual relations with Tawana. JPD investigated Clark for having sex with Tawana in 2004 (when she was 14), but the investigation did not go anywhere. [I know, big surprise that a JPD investigation against one of its own didn't go anywhere]. Both Talton and Clark admitted having sex with Tawana during the investigation of Tawana's death. Toice Wilson had no connection with JPD.

Tawana's family sued the City and the officers alleging that they were responsible for Tawana's death. The Court rejected the City's defense that the officers were acting outside the scope of employment and that the allegations were excluded from the Tort Claims Act due to the officers' criminal conduct. The Court found that had the officers done what they were supposed to, Tawana would not have been out on the streets and vulnerable to the attack of Wilson. Therefore, the Court found that the officers contributed to Tawana's death.

The Court apportioned 50% of the fault to Wilson and awarded the Plaintiffs the maximum allowed under the Tort Claims Act: $500,000. Precious Martin of Jackson represented the Plaintiffs.

My Take:

The City does not have to post a bond to appeal, so look for this to go up on the issues of causation and whether the City can be liable under these circumstances.

Is it just me, or is the real story here the fact that Talton and Clark were not prosecuted for sexual battery? Talton and Clark admitted that they had sex with the girl. From the Clarion-Ledger article:

A Jackson Police Department Internal Affairs investigator testified at trial that Talton and Clark admitted having sex with the teenager.

Clark resigned and faced no charges.

Talton was fired and charged with sexual battery, but the charge was dropped for lack of evidence.

Since when is a confession not enough evidence to charge someone with a crime? Cops are not above the law and it should not be up to federal authorities to bring non-federal officers to justice. Cases like this send the message to cops that they can do whatever they want and D.A's and other law enforcement officers will look the other way.

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$900,000 Verdict Last Week in Hinds County Premises Liability Case

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Philip Thomas

There was a jury verdict of $900,000 last week in the Hinds County Circuit Court in a premises liability case. The rumor around town this week has been that the verdict was for $2 million, but my investigation revealed a verdict of $900,000.

Judge Malcolm Harrison was the trial judge.

The plaintiffs were victims of armed robbery at the Crossings Apartment on Ridgewood Road in Jackson. The jury's verdict was for one of the two victims. Judge Harrison will determine the damages for the other plaintiff, but I do not know why.

I do not know what the injuries/ damages were. There were no punitive damages in the case.

Precious Martin of Jackson represented the plaintiff. James Holland from Page Kruger in Flowood represented the defendant.

One interesting tidbit I'm hearing is that the spouse of a prominent Jackson defense attorney was on the jury.

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