McFarland v. Leake
| Docket Number: | 2001-CA-01200-COA Linked Case(s): 2001-CT-01200-SCT ; 2001-CT-01200-SCT ; 2001-CA-01200-COA |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Date: 02-18-2003 Opinion Author: Lee, J. |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Wrongful death - Evidence of causation Judge(s) Concurring: McMillin, C.J., Southwick, P.J., Thomas, Myers and Chandler, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Bridges, Irving and Griffis, JJ. Dissenting Author : King, P.J. Nature of the Case: CIVIL - WRONGFUL DEATH |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 06-28-2001 Appealed from: Wilkinson County Circuit Court Judge: Forrest Johnson Case Number: 96-0075 |
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| Note: | Link Inactive | |
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Gordon McFarland, Individually and as Administrator of Estate of Robert McFarland, Deceased |
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| Appellee: | Mildred Leake |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Wrongful death - Evidence of causation |
| Summary of the Facts: | The motion for rehearing is denied, and this opinion is substituted for the original opinion. When Robert McFarland was killed in an accident, Gordon McFarland, on behalf of McFarland’s estate, filed a wrongful death suit against Mildred Leake seeking two million dollars in actual damages and five million dollars in punitive damages for physical and mental pain and suffering experienced by the deceased, for loss of future earnings, and for loss of companionship and society. Leake filed a motion for summary judgment which the court granted. McFarland appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | McFarland argues that the central issue is the alleged negligence of Leake in breaking the posted speed limit and the causal relationship of that negligence in causing the death of the victim. In a negligence action, the plaintiff must prove duty, breach of duty, proximate causation, and injury. Although committing a misdemeanor traffic offense is negligence, such negligence does not constitute a prima facie case of vehicular manslaughter if a death results. The negligence must have caused the accident. McFarland's lone supporting evidence in response to Leake's motion for summary judgment was the affidavit of his expert, who reviewed photographs of the vehicles and the scene, the accident report, and "on scene" measurements. Even were Leake proven to have exceeded the speed limit by ten miles per hour, which the affidavit suggests, evidence of causation relating this negligence to the wreck had not been shown. |
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