Jackpot Miss. Riverboat, Inc. v. Smith, et al.
| Docket Number: | 2001-IA-01817-SCT | |
| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 06-03-2004 Opinion Author: Cobb, P.J. Holding: Reversed and Rendered |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Malicious prosecution - Statute of limitations - Savings statute - Section 15-1-69 Judge(s) Concurring: Smith, C.J., Waller, P.J., Carlson, Graves, Dickinson and Randolph, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Diaz, J. Dissenting Author : Easley, 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: 10-31-2001 Appealed from: Tunica County Circuit Court Judge: Kenneth L. Thomas Disposition: Denied summary judgment. Case Number: 2001-0097 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Jackpot Mississippi Riverboat, Inc. d/b/a President Casino at King's Landing |
ROBERT H. PEDERSEN |
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| Appellee: | Freddie J. Smith and Gerald Richardson | DANA J. SWAN GARY JAMES MITCHUSSON |
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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: | Malicious prosecution - Statute of limitations - Savings statute - Section 15-1-69 |
| Summary of the Facts: | In Dennis Gaston, an employee of the Jackpot Mississippi Riverboat, Inc., d/b/a President Casino at King’s Landing, filed criminal affidavits against Freddie Smith and Gerald Richardson alleging various violations of the Mississippi Gaming Control Act. The charges against Smith and Richardson were dismissed when certain witnesses failed to appear in court. In 1995, Smith and Richardson filed a complaint against the President Casino and Dennis Gaston, charging malicious prosecution. Over four years later, the civil action was dismissed without prejudice want of prosecution. In 2001, Smith and Richardson filed another complaint against President Casino and Gaston, alleging the same claims made in the 1995 complaint. President Casino filed a motion for summary judgment. The court denied the motion for summary judgment and certified the statute of limitations issue for interlocutory appeal. The Supreme Court granted interlocutory appeal. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Smith's and Richardson's malicious prosecution claim ripened on September 21, 1994, the day that the court dismissed the charges filed against them by Dennis Gaston. A claim for malicious prosecution is subject to the one-year statute of limitations in section 15-1-35. Smith and Richardson filed their first complaint for malicious prosecution a little more than two months shy of the expiration of the statute of limitations. On April 7, 2000, Smith's and Richardson's first complaint was dismissed for want of prosecution. On June 21, 2000, the one-year statute of limitation expired on this claim. Hence, when Smith and Richardson filed the second malicious prosecution complaint on March 30, 2001, the action was time barred. Smith and Richardson argue that the dismissal of the 1995 complaint constituted a dismissal "as a matter of form" under section 15-1-69 and since they filed the 2001 complaint within one year of the dismissal, their suit is not barred by the statute of limitations. However, the saving statute, section 15-1-69, does not apply to dismissal of cases as stale. |
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