Phillips v. Miss. Dep't of Pub. Safety
| Docket Number: | 2007-CA-00227-SCT Linked Case(s): 2007-CA-00227-COA |
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| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 04-03-2008 Opinion Author: Lamar, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Personal injury - Tort Claims Act - Standard of review - Reckless disregard Judge(s) Concurring: Smith, C.J., Waller and Diaz, P.JJ., Easley, Carlson and Dickinson, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Randolph, J. Concurs in Result Only: Graves, J. Procedural History: Bench Trial; Summary Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 12-27-2006 Appealed from: Forrest County Circuit Court Judge: Robert Helfrich Disposition: The Circuit Court of Forrest County granted summary judgment for the individual defendants, Mississippi Highway Patrol Officers Joseph W. Seals and Thomas E. Little, and after a bench trial found in favor of the remaining defendants, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Case Number: CI-04-0278 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | F. CHARLES PHILLIPS |
SCOTT PHILLIPS |
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| Appellee: | MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, MISSISSIPPI HIGHWAY SAFETY PATROL, JOSEPH W. SEALS AND THOMAS E. LITTLE | WILLIAM E. WHITFIELD, III, KAARA L. LIND |
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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 - Tort Claims Act - Standard of review - Reckless disregard |
| Summary of the Facts: | F. Charles Phillips seeks to recover damages for injuries sustained when law enforcement officers used physical force during the course of an investigatory stop after mistaking him for a suspect. The circuit court granted summary judgment for the individual defendants, Mississippi Highway Patrol Officers Joseph W. Seals and Thomas E. Little, and after a bench trial found in favor of the remaining defendants, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Phillips appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Phillips first argues that the trial court’s findings of fact should be subject to a heightened review since he alleges they are adopted verbatim, in pertinent part, from the defendants’ trial brief. While the trial judge adopted some sentences, portions of sentences and phrases verbatim from the defendant’s trial brief, the majority of the findings are the trial court’s own. Therefore, deferential review of the court’s findings is appropriate. Phillips argues that the troopers’ failure to identify his vehicle as the wrong vehicle, failure to identify him as the wrong suspect and the actions taken against him, resulting in injuries, constitute reckless disregard. In order to recover under the Tort Claims Act, Phillips must prove by a preponderance of evidence that the defendants acted in reckless disregard of his safety and that he, the claimant, was not engaged in criminal activity at the time of injury. Reckless disregard embraces willful or wanton conduct which requires knowingly and intentionally doing a thing or wrongful act. Seals and Little were acting within the course and scope of their duties relating to police protection. They were required to make split-second decisions while involved in the high-speed pursuit of a violent suspect. When Seals requested a description of the vehicle, he was informed that he was looking for a white Ford Explorer and that the registration information was unknown. Unaware that Phillips, a reserve officer, was attempting to participate in the pursuit in his personal vehicle (also a white SUV), Seals pulled over a vehicle which appeared to fit the description he had been given, which was traveling very near to Rayborn at the time Seals was approaching Rayborn to assist him in the pursuit. Seals knew that the suspect had failed to yield to Rayborn, who was attempting to pull the suspect over. After the stop, Phillips, by his own admission, neither identified himself nor complied with Seals’s requests during takedown and handcuffing. Although the officer mistakenly identified Phillips as the suspect, Phillips failed to prove that Seals and Little acted in any way other than reasonably under the circumstances. |
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