M.W.F. v. D.D.F.


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Docket Number: 2003-CT-02642-SCT
Linked Case(s): 2003-CA-02642-COA ; 2003-CT-02642-SCT ; 2003-CA-02642-COA

Supreme Court: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 04-20-2006
Opinion Author: Carlson, J.
Holding: The Judgment of the Court of Appeals is Vacated and this Appeal is dismissed.

Additional Case Information: Topic: Divorce: Habitual cruel and inhuman treatment - Jurisdiction - M.R.C.P. 54(b)
Judge(s) Concurring: Smith, C.J., Waller and Cobb, P.JJ., Easley, Graves and Dickinson, JJ.
Non Participating Judge(s): Diaz and Randolph, JJ.
Procedural History: Bench Trial
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - DOMESTIC RELATIONS
Writ of Certiorari: Yes
Appealed from Court of Appeals

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 11-12-2003
Appealed from: Greene County Chancery Court
Judge: Jaye A. Bradley, Sr.
Case Number: 2003-19

Note: The chancellor granted D. D. F. a divorce on the ground of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. M. W. F. appealed, and the Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the decision of the chancellor by an opinion handed down on July 26, 2005. The Court of Appeals denied M.W.F.’s motion for rehearing on October 11, 2005. M.W.F. has filed a petition for writ of certiorari. D.D.F. has not filed a response to the petition. After a careful review of the record, we are constrained, as a matter of law, to find that the chancery court judgment from which M.W.F. appeals was not a final judgment. Because the judgment was not certified pursuant to Miss. R. Civ. P. 54(b), this Court and the Court of Appeals lack jurisdiction to consider the appeal. Thus, having granted the petition for writ of certiorari, we now find the appeal must be dismissed for want of jurisdiction.

  Party Name: Attorney Name:  
Appellant: M.W.F.




BILLY PARLIN



 

Appellee: D.D.F. DARRYL A. HURT, JR.  

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Topic: Divorce: Habitual cruel and inhuman treatment - Jurisdiction - M.R.C.P. 54(b)

Summary of the Facts: D. D. F. sought a divorce from M. W. F. The chancellor granted D. D. F. a divorce on the ground of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. M. W. F. appealed, and the Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the decision. M.W.F. filed a petition for writ of certiorari which the Supreme Court granted.

Summary of Opinion Analysis: Generally, only final judgments are appealable. In the present matter, the parties raised before the chancellor various claims concerning grounds for divorce, as well as custody of the children, child support, alimony, and property division. The “Judgment of Divorce” only addressed the issue of grounds for divorce. The judgment was not certified pursuant to M.R.C.P. 54(b). Thus, the “Judgment of Divorce” was an interlocutory order, and the appeal must be dismissed for want of jurisdiction.


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