Studdard v. Pitts
| Docket Number: | 2009-CA-01436-COA Linked Case(s): 2009-CA-01436-COA ; 2009-CT-01436-SCT |
|
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 04-26-2011 Opinion Author: Ishee, J. Holding: Affirmed. |
|
| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Real property - Cloud on title - Failure to assert homestead exemption - Doctrine of res judicata Judge(s) Concurring: Lee, C.J., Griffis, P.J., Barnes, Carlton and Maxwell, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Irving, P.J. and Myers, J. Concurs in Result Only: Roberts, J. Without Separate Written Opinion Procedural History: Dismissal Nature of the Case: CIVIL - REAL PROPERTY |
|
| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 07-09-2009 Appealed from: Warren County Chancery Court Judge: Marie Wilson Disposition: Motion to Dismiss Granted Due to Res Judicata Case Number: 2008-237-GN |
|
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | Harry Studdard and Jean Studdard |
CEOLA JAMES |
|
|
| Appellee: | William Robert "Bob" Pitts | PENNY B. LAWSON, DAVID M. SESSUMS |
|
|
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. |
|
| Topic: | Real property - Cloud on title - Failure to assert homestead exemption - Doctrine of res judicata |
| Summary of the Facts: | Harry and Jean Studdard filed suit against Bob Pitts seeking to remove a cloud and confirm the title of real property — property which had previously been conveyed to Pitts. The chancery court entered a final judgment finding that the Studdards’ claims were barred by the doctrine of res judicata because the claims had been adjudicated previously in the United States Bankruptcy Court in favor of Pitts. The Studdards appeal. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | When a party fails to assert his or her homestead exemption and the party’s property rights are then fully adjudicated, that party cannot afterwards claim the property as a homestead exemption in an effort to defeat a purchaser claiming title to the property under a decree of sale. Here, the Studdards failed to raise a homestead-exemption claim on the property until several years after the property was conveyed to Pitts. The Studdards were represented by counsel and participated in the 1998 circuit court case wherein judgment was entered against them in the form of a levy on the property. Thereafter, in 2005, they were further notified that a writ of execution was posted on the property and that the sheriff was proceeding with the sale of the property. Finally, they filed a complaint in bankruptcy court in 2006 which specifically attacked the conveyance of the property in question, and the bankruptcy court entered a final judgment on August 2, 2007, determining that conveyance of the property to Pitts was valid. However, at no point during any of the proceedings did the Studdards attempt to claim the property as a homestead exemption. It was not until 2008, well after their property rights had been adjudicated on numerous occasions and by several different courts, that the Studdards presented their homestead-exemption argument. Accordingly, conveyance of the property to Pitts in the sheriff’s sale was proper. Furthermore, where a final judgment on the merits has been entered, subsequent claims by parties or their privies based on the same cause of action are barred by the doctrine of res judicata. |
Home | Terms of Use | About the JDP | Feedback | Using JDP | MC Law Library | Mississippi Supreme Court
