Hand down list Brian Burns v. Sonador Rei LLC –  standing/tax sale – Burns owned property at  469 Rockdale Drive in Jackson.  When he failed to pay his property taxes in 2012, the State of Mississippi acquired the possessory rights to the property.  Burns allowed the two year redemption period to expire without payment, and the State sold the property to Sonador Rei LLC in October 2016.  In November Burns  sued Sonador for trespass and  Sonador filed suit in accordance to confirm the tax patent and quiet title.  The chancellor confirmed the tax patent.  Burns had not been a party to the la ..read more

Hand down list Curtis Giovanni Flowers  v. State of Mississippi –  racial bias in jury selection –  In On June 21, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed Flowers’ conviction based on racial bias in jury selection.   Flowers v. Mississippi, 139 S. Ct. 2228, 2235 (2019).  It remanded the case to the MSSC which also reverses and remands for a new trial. Jeremy Shane Fogleman  v. State of Mississippi – crime of violence enhancement based on facts found by judge – Fogleman was convicted of failing to stop a motor vehicle pursuant to the signal of a law enforcement officer whi ..read more

Hand down list The Estate of Claud L. Johnson, Deceased: Michael Johnson, Executor v. The Kitchens Law Firm, P.A. –  contingency fee contract survives death – The Kitchens law firm represented Claud Johnson in his quest to be declared the only heir of famous bluesman Robert Johnson.  He entered into a contingency fee arrangement with the law firm where the law firm. If successful, would receive 40% of the income derived from Robert Johnson’s estate.  Ultimately Claud was declared to be Robert Johnson’s son.  When Claud died, the law firm no longer received 40% of the revenue stream.  The l ..read more

Hand down list Derrick Nelson  v. State of Mississippi – imperfect self defense – Nelson  was convicted of murdering his mother’s boyfriend Willie Hood, Jr. after he, Hood, and others had been drinking at a party to celebrate Nelson’s younger brother’s graduation.  Nelson stated that they started to argue after Nelson tried to stop Hood from driving.  The COA reversed because the trial court failed to grant an instruction on imperfect self defense.  The state filed a cert. petition which the MSSC granted. It now reverses the COA finding that there was no evidence to support an imperfect se ..read more

Hand down list Lisa Diann Crew v. Sidney Ellis Tillotson Jr  –  equitable division of property –  A North Carolina court granted Sidney Ellis Tillotson Jr. (Ellis) and Lisa Crew a divorce.  Lisa then filed a complaint for equitable distribution in the Warren County Chancery Court.  The chancellor determined that certain stock and other assets Ellis acquired during the marriage from Tillotson Enterprises Inc.  failed to constitute marital property.  On appeal, Lisa argues the chancellor erroneously classified TEI’s stock and other assets as nonmarital property, which resulted in an inequita ..read more

Hand down list Mississippi Department of Human Services and Richard Berry, in His Capacity of Executive Director of MDHS v. D.C., by and through his Next Friend and Natural Mother, Georgia Morin –  suit against DHS for sexual abuse by foster parent – D.C. sued MDHS after he was sexually abused by his foster parent Jason Case.  Jason Case applied with DHS to be a foster parent. He passed the requisite background checks but he was later accused of having sexually abused two  brothers who had been placed in his care.   DHS determined that the allegations of physical abuse were unsubstantiated ..read more

Hand down list Itta Bena Plantation III and Benchmark Insurance Company v. Raymond L. Gates – workers compensation – Gates suffered a work-related back injury while employed as a tractor driver for Itta Bena Plantation.  Gates’s employer stipulated that the injury was compensable and that his average weekly wage at the time was $718.05.  After a hearing, the AJ found that Gates had suffered a 75% loss of wage-earning capacity and awarded Gates $359.02 per week in permanent partial disability  benefits beginning July 13, 2015, for 450 weeks.  The Employer appealed to the Commission, which a ..read more

Hand down list Mississippi Sand Solutions, LLC v. Bessie Otis, et al. – trespass – Mississippi Sand Solutions (M had been hauling gravel and sand off its property via a private road on property belonging to the Fisher heirs. At some point, any agreement between the parties ended, and MSS sued in chancery court, asking the chancery court to find that it had an easement over the Fisher heirs’ property. The chancery court ruled that MSS did not have an easement over the Fisher heirs’ property. MSS appealed that decision, and this Court unanimously affirmed the chancery court’s ruling ..read more

At 1:00 the COA will hear the case of Charles Dalton Shoemake v. the State of Mississippi. Shoemake and his friend Nicholas Walker murdered his former drug dealer. This was after Miller outlawed automatic life sentences for juveniles yet the trial court heard all the testimony and sentenced him to life without parole. Shoemake argues that given the evidence adduced, this was error. Shoemake’s brief State’s brief Shoemake’s reply brief Watch the argument here ..read more

Hand down list Linda Hayes v. Howard Industries, Inc – workers comp. – Linda Hayes sustained a neck injury while working at Howard Industries, Inc. and filed a compensation claim.  The AJ Judge entered an order finding Hayes sustained a loss of wage-earning capacity and requiring Howard Industries to pay Hayes permanent partial disability benefits and future medical benefits. On appeal the Commission entered an order declining to accept the AJ’s  determination and found that Hayes did not sustain a loss of wage-earning capacity.  Hayes appeals. Melvin Grayer v. State of Mississippi – b ..read more