Bateman, et al. v. Gray
| Docket Number: | 2006-CA-01441-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 09-04-2007 Opinion Author: ROBERTS, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Intentional interference with business relationship - Recusal of judge Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE AND CARLTON, JJ. Procedural History: Summary Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - TORTS-OTHER THAN PERSONAL INJURY & PROPERTY DAMAGE |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 07-28-2006 Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court Judge: Bobby DeLaughter Disposition: SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF THE DEFENDANTS Case Number: 2004-42 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | MARIE BATEMAN AND LAWRENCE PELLETIERD/B/A MAGIC WIGGLER WORM RANCH |
JAMES L. MARTIN |
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| Appellee: | MARTIN T. GRAY, SR. AND MARTIN T. GRAY, JR. | JOHN DENVER FIKE |
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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: | Intentional interference with business relationship - Recusal of judge |
| Summary of the Facts: | Magic Wiggler Worm Ranch, Marie Bateman and Lawrence Pelletier sued Martin Gray, Sr. and Martin Gray, Jr. and claimed the Grays interfered in Magic Wiggler’s business relationship with Cal-Maine Farms. The Grays successfully moved for summary judgment. Magic Wiggler appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Bateman and Pelletier alleged that the Grays intentionally interfered in Magic Wiggler’s verbal agreement relationship with Cal-Maine. When the Grays filed their motion for summary judgment, they attached Gill’s affidavit as an exhibit. Gill was the director of Cal-Maine Farms’s dairy division at the time Cal-Maine stopped supplying Magic Wiggler with manure. By his affidavit, Gill swore that, “out of kindness and generosity,” he allowed Cal-Maine’s dairy division to give Bateman and Pelletier manure for use on Magic Wiggler’s worm farm. Gill also swore that Martin Gray, Sr., Martin Gray, Jr., and Don Nail complained that Magic Wiggler produced excessive flies and that is why Cal-Maine would not provide any more manure. When Bateman and Pelletier responded to the Grays’ motion for summary judgment, they attached six documents to support their position. Three of Bateman and Pelletier’s neighbors signed affidavits and swore that Magic Wiggler never caused them to have problems with flies. Bateman and Pelletier included the affidavit of Willie Thompson, the Cal-Maine employee that Gill sent to inspect Magic Wiggler’s property. According to Thompson, when he inspected Magic Wiggler’s property, he “did not see any fly problem.” Finally, Bateman and Pelletier included a letter from a medical entomologist employed by the Mississippi State Department of Health who inspected Magic Wiggler’s property and found no evidence of excessive flies. Bateman and Pelletier argue that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Magic Wiggler generated excessive flies. While that may very well be, there is no dispute that the Grays withdrew their complaint regarding flies on Magic Wiggler’s property. That is, the Grays told Gill that they had no problem with Cal-Maine supplying Magic Wiggler with manure. Gill’s reasons behind his decision to stop giving manure to Bateman and Pelletier did not involve the Grays or any complaint of excessive flies. Instead, Gill stopped giving manure to Bateman and Pelletier because they spilled it on Cal-Maine’s property when they left, because it was a fraction of the amount that Cal-Maine produced, and because loading their trailer interrupted their normal operations. While there may be a dispute regarding whether Magic Wiggler’s operations generated excessive flies, there is no genuine issue of material fact as to whether the Grays calculated to cause damage to Magic Wiggler. Magic Wiggler also argues that the trial judge should have recused himself, because the judge had a personal relationship with Martin Gray, Sr. Not only did Magic Wiggler fail to file a motion to recuse, but There is no evidence that the judge was connected with the Grays by affinity or consanguinity or that the judge had an interest in the outcome. |
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