City of Jackson v. Harris


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Docket Number: 2009-CA-00928-SCT
Linked Case(s): 2009-CA-00928-SCT

Supreme Court: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 08-05-2010
Opinion Author: Lamar, J.
Holding: Affirmed.

Additional Case Information: Topic: Wrongful death - Tort Claims Act - Course and scope of employment - Section 11-46-7(2) - Section 11-46-5(2) - Reckless disregard - Section 11-46-9(1)(c) - Apportionment of fault - Section 63-3-805 - Section 63-3-505
Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Carlson, P.J., Dickinson, Randolph, Chandler and Pierce, JJ.
Non Participating Judge(s): Graves, P.J., and Kitchens, J.
Procedural History: Bench Trial
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - WRONGFUL DEATH

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 04-28-2009
Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court
Judge: W. Swan Yerger
Disposition: The judge found that Harris was not engaged in any criminal activity at the time of his death and that he was traveling south on Highway 18, attempting to make a left turn on a green arrow. He further found that Middleton had entered the intersection against a red light with a preimpact speed of 99 miles per hour and an impact speed of 87 miles per hour. The judge found that Harris had been afforded no opportunity to avoid the accident, due to Middleton’s speed. He concluded that Middleton had been acting in the course and scope of his employment when he recklessly disregarded the safety of others and caused Harris’s death. The judge ruled that the Beneficiaries were entitled to damages for loss of society and companionship, and he also accepted Koerber’s testimony that Harris’s lost earnings amounted to $345,000. The judge awarded the Beneficiaries $500,000 in compensatory damages.
Case Number: 251-05-1065CIV

  Party Name: Attorney Name:  
Appellant: City of Jackson, Mississippi and Jackson Police Department




KIMBERLY BANKS, PIETER JOHN TEEUWISSEN, CLAIRE B. HAWKINS



 

Appellee: Edna Harris, Individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of Desmonde Harris and James Harris, Individually CHARLES R. MULLINS, MERRIDA COXWELL  

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Topic: Wrongful death - Tort Claims Act - Course and scope of employment - Section 11-46-7(2) - Section 11-46-5(2) - Reckless disregard - Section 11-46-9(1)(c) - Apportionment of fault - Section 63-3-805 - Section 63-3-505

Summary of the Facts: Edna and James Harris filed a wrongful-death suit against the City of Jackson, alleging that it was liable for the grossly negligent and reckless driving of its employee, Officer Jeffrey Middleton. They alleged that Middleton’s conduct was the sole proximate cause of the death of Desmonde Harris. The City of Jackson moved for summary judgment which the court denied. After the trial, the judge awarded the Beneficiaries $500,000 in compensatory damages. The City appeals.

Summary of Opinion Analysis: The City of Jackson argues that an employee cannot be acting in the course and scope of employment when the employee’s actions constitute culpable-negligence manslaughter. The City of Jackson is liable for Middleton’s conduct under the plain language of section 11-46-5(2). While section 11-46-7(2) provides immunity for “criminal offenses,” section 11-46-5(2) specifically excludes “traffic offenses” from this immunity. Middleton’s guilty plea to culpable-negligence manslaughter does not change the fact that Middleton caused Harris’s death by violating the traffic laws of this state. Middleton’s conduct constituted speeding and running a red light, traffic offenses that are misdemeanors. It is undisputed that Middleton was not operating his vehicle in response to any emergency or in pursuit of a suspect, but that he was traveling to the hospital to provide insurance information to an injured driver. Substantial evidence supports the trial judge’s findings that Middleton was on duty and responding to a non-emergency call when he drove approximately 98 miles per hour through a red light as Harris was attempting to make a left-hand turn. Every witness (except Middleton) testified that Middleton had been driving at an excessive speed without his emergency lights or siren. Several witnesses saw the collision and testified that Middleton had disregarded a red light when he had proceeded through the intersection and collided with Harris. Middleton thus acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others under section 11-46-9(1)(c). As such, the trial court was correct in holding the City of Jackson liable for Middleton’s actions that occurred in the course and scope of his employment. The City of Jackson argues it established that Harris was a proximate contributing cause of the accident because he violated sections 63-3-805 and 63-3-505, and that the trial judge should have apportioned fault. The City of Jackson did not argue section 63-3-505 before the trial court, and as such, it is procedurally barred from raising this argument on appeal. The trial judge found that Harris had entered the intersection on a green arrow and could not have avoided the collision. The trial judge further found that Middleton was solely at fault in speeding through the intersection against a red light. The trial judge’s findings show that Middleton, not Harris, violated Section 63-3-805. The trial judge did not manifestly err in assigning 100 percent of the fault to the City of Jackson.


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