Gilbert v. Ireland
| Docket Number: | 2004-CA-02340-COA Linked Case(s): 2004-CT-02340-SCT ; 2004-CA-02340-COA |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 08-29-2006 Opinion Author: MYERS, P.J. Holding: Reversed and Rendered |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Personal injury - Discovery violation - M.R.C.P. 37(b)(2) - Expert testimony - M.R.E. 702 Judge(s) Concurring: LEE, P.J., SOUTHWICK, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE AND ROBERTS, JJ. Dissenting Author : KING, C.J. Dissenting Author : Irving, J., without separate written opinion Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 10-30-2003 Appealed from: Bolivar County Circuit Court Judge: Kenneth L. Thomas Disposition: JUDGMENT ENTERED ON $3,000,000 JURY VERDICT FOR PLAINTIFF Case Number: 95-0012 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | ROY GILBERT |
SUSAN NEELLEY O’NEAL, ANDREW N. ALEXANDER |
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| Appellee: | MARTHA JEAN IRELAND | JAMES H. WALKER |
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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: | Personal injury - Discovery violation - M.R.C.P. 37(b)(2) - Expert testimony - M.R.E. 702 |
| Summary of the Facts: | This personal injury action is before the Court for a second time. In the prior appeal, the Court reversed and remanded a one million dollar judgment on an evidentiary issue. In the new trial, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Martha Ireland for three million dollars on a theory of post-traumatic stress stemming from a minor automobile accident. The defendant, Roy Gilbert, appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Discovery violation Gilbert filed a motion to dismiss the action and for attorney’s fees as a sanction pursuant to M.R.A.P. 37(b)(2) after it was disclosed that Ireland had been untruthful in both her testimony, as well as her statements to her expert witness going to her medical history and psychological condition. He argues that the court erred by failing to grant his motion. The fact of the matter is that the circuit court imposed no sanctions whatsoever. The circuit court merely ruled Ireland could not give false testimony a third time. Thus, she was only deprived of something she had no legal right to pursue in the first place. This was an inadequate sanction as a matter of law. Without sanctions that extract a penalty, litigants actually have an incentive to bring false claims. Issue 2: Expert testimony Gilbert argues that the court erred in denying his motion to exclude the testimony of Ireland’s expert. Prior to allowing expert testimony into evidence under M.R.E. 702, trial courts must first assess that the expert testimony is relevant and will assist the trier of fact; the opinion is reliable in that it is based upon sufficient data and founded upon reliable principles and methods; and the proposed witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the case. According to medical records of the healthcare facility where Ireland sought medical treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, during the same time period that she was telling the expert witness she had no interest in sex, she was able to remember when she had had sexual relations, and with whom she had had them. Therefore, the expert’s opinion was at odds with the facts introduced at trial and was not based upon sufficient facts or data. The circuit court thus erred in admitting the expert’s testimony into evidence. The record fails to contain any information that could tend to show Ireland suffered any psychological injury stemming from the accident, aside from her verbal representations, which even her expert witness stated were not factually accurate. Therefore, the circuit court erred in denying Gilbert’s motion for directed verdict or JNOV. |
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