Richard v. Supervalu, Inc.
| Docket Number: | 2006-CA-00749-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 02-05-2008 Opinion Author: CHANDLER, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: False arrest - Malicious prosecution - Tortious interference with business relations - Defamation of character Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): IRVING, J. 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: 04-12-2006 Appealed from: Bolivar County Circuit Court Judge: Al Smith Disposition: Summary judgment granted in favor of appellees. Case Number: 2000-54 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | CHARLES RICHARD, FORMERLY D/B/A TRIPLE "C" TRUCKING, INC. |
ROBERT E. BUCK |
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| Appellee: | SUPERVALU, INC. AND BARRY DICKERSON | MITCHELL ORVIS DRISKELL, ROBERT F. STACY |
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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: | False arrest - Malicious prosecution - Tortious interference with business relations - Defamation of character |
| Summary of the Facts: | Charles Richard filed claims for false arrest, malicious prosecution, tortious interference with business relations, and defamation of character against Supervalu, Inc. and Barry Dickerson. The court granted summary judgment in favor of Supervalu, Inc. and Barry Dickerson, and Richard appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Richard argues that the trial court erred by granting the motion for summary judgment. A claim of malicious prosecution will not lie if there was probable cause to make the arrest. The uncontradicted evidence in this case established that Supervalu employees found Supervalu merchandise in Richard’s trailer that should have been empty. The man who loaded the trailer claimed that he and another man had loaded the product onto the trailer for Richard. Thus, there was probable cause to arrest Richard. As with a claim for malicious prosecution, a claim of false arrest must fail where there was probable cause to make the arrest. With regard to his defamation claim, truth is an absolute defense to a defamation lawsuit in Mississippi. Informing the police about potentially stolen product was not an untruthful statement. Furthermore, the communication of such information to the police was privileged and, therefore, not defamatory. With regard to his claim of tortious interference with business relations, there is no evidence in the record that Dickerson or Supervalu intended to cause damage to Richard’s business. Richard did not include intentional infliction of emotional distress as one of his claims in his complaint, instead he listed “infliction of emotional and mental distress” as a type of damage suffered. As a type of damages, it was properly dismissed when the court dismissed all of Richard’s underlying claims through summary judgment. |
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