Martin, et al. v. Rankin Circle Apartments, et al.
| Docket Number: | 2004-CA-02216-COA Linked Case(s): 2004-CA-02216-COA |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 06-27-2006 Opinion Author: SOUTHWICK, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Wrongful death - Tortious breach of the implied warranty of habitability - Premises liability - Duty to warn Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, ISHEE AND ROBERTS, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): BARNES, J. Procedural History: Summary Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - WRONGFUL DEATH |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 10-13-2004 Appealed from: MARSHALL COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT Judge: Andrew K. Howorth Disposition: SUMMARY JUDGMENT FOR DEFENDANTS Case Number: M2002-451 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | MONICA MARTIN, MOTHER, GUARDIAN, AND
ON BEHALF OF THE MINOR CHILDREN: DENISE
PATRICE MARTIN, PASCHA MONIQUE SMITH,
PATRICK CARNELIOUS SMITH, JR., AND PAYCO
MONTAY SMITH |
BARRETT JEROME CLISBY, D. REID WAMBLE |
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| Appellee: | RANKIN CIRCLE APARTMENTS D/B/A MISSISSIPPI INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE HOMES, INC., D/B/A MISSISSIPPI INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE HOMES, INC. OF THE CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH; BROWN & ROBINSON SYSTEMS & SERVICES, P.A.; MARY FRANCES ROBINSON IN HER CAPACITY AS AN EMPLOYEE OF BROWN & ROBINSON SYSTEMS & SERVICES; AND ROBERT YOUNG, IN HIS CAPACITY AS AN EMPLOYEE OF BROWN & ROBINSON SYSTEMS & SERVICES, ALL JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY | DION JEFFERY SHANLEY, JOHN D. BRADY |
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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 - Tortious breach of the implied warranty of habitability - Premises liability - Duty to warn |
| Summary of the Facts: | Patrick Smith was shot and killed by Dontral Campbell in the parking lot of the Rankin Circle Apartments in Holly Springs. Rankin Circle is owned by a division of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and managed by Brown & Robinson Systems. Monica Martin, who was Patrick Smith’s girlfriend and mother of his children, Smith’s mother, and other relatives brought an action against Rankin Circle, Brown & Robinson Systems, and Mary Frances Robinson and Robert Young, both employees of Brown & Robinson. The court granted summary judgment to the defendants. The plaintiffs appeal. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | The plaintiffs argue that a common law premises liability legal standard should not have been applied, as they seek recovery based on tortious breach of the implied warranty of habitability. The warrantied safety that the plaintiffs argue their deceased was not provided was freedom from criminal actions. At summary judgment, the plaintiffs claimed such defects as that there was no effective management plan to deal with crime, that community counseling and seeking feedback from residents would have helped develop such a plan, and that the security guard was absent the night of the shooting. Though some states have analyzed liability for third party criminal acts against tenants as part of the warranty of habitability, others have not found the warranty controlling. Whatever the doctrinal label, the result of a claim that an atmosphere of violence existed is the one reached under premises liability rules. The broadest duty owed anyone who enters on a landowner’s property is to provide reasonably safe premises and to warn of hidden dangers. The duty to warn disappears entirely when it is shown that the injured person did, in fact, observe and fully appreciate the peril. In this case, it is evident that the deceased Smith was fully cognizant of the developing dangers around him. To the extent his heirs argue that allowing a atmosphere of danger to exist at this location was a breach of the defendant’s duty, the deceased had been participating in that atmosphere for a substantial period of time before the actual shot was fired. Moreover, the deceased was not a stranger to these apartments and whatever atmosphere existed there. Smith had some contact with Rankin Circle for a significant portion of his life. To the extent there was an “atmosphere of violence” surrounding Rankin Circle, Robinson had tried to address the problem. The Mississippi Supreme Court has refused to make owners the insurers of an invitee’s safety. Strict liability is not imposed on them in premises liability cases. |
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