Davis, et al. v. Biloxi Public Sch. Dist., et al.
| Docket Number: | 2010-CP-00338-COA Linked Case(s): 2010-CP-00338-COA ; 2010-CT-00338-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 07-19-2011 Opinion Author: Carlton, J. Holding: AFFIRMED |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Wrongful termination - Workers' compensation claim - 42 U.S.C. § 1983 - Statute of limitations - Section 15-1-49 - Tort Claims Act - Sanctions - M.R.A.P. 38 Judge(s) Concurring: Lee, C.J., Irving and Griffis, P.JJ., Myers, Barnes, Ishee, Roberts and Russell, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Maxwell, J. Procedural History: Dismissal Nature of the Case: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 02-05-2010 Appealed from: Harrison County Circuit Court Judge: Lisa P. Dodson Disposition: DISMISSED THE ACTION AND FOUND THE CLAIMS TO BE TIME-BARRED Case Number: A2402-2009-00035 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | Gilda H. Davis and Joseph Davis, Jr. |
PRO SE |
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| Appellee: | Biloxi Public School District, Biloxi Public School Board, Board of Trustees, Dr. Paul A. Tisdale, Superintendent, Biloxi Public School District, Dr. Robert W. Bowles, Deputy Superintendent, Biloxi Public School District, Dr. Larry Drawdy, Biloxi Public School District, Lawyer Gerald Blessey, Biloxi Public School District, Bonnie Granger, Controller/Director of Business Management, Susan Brand, Principal, Beauvoir Elementary School, Biloxi Public School District, Individually | SILAS W. MCCHAREN EDWARD F. DONOVAN MATTHEW TOXEY VITART | ||
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: | Wrongful termination - Workers' compensation claim - 42 U.S.C. § 1983 - Statute of limitations - Section 15-1-49 - Tort Claims Act - Sanctions - M.R.A.P. 38 |
| Summary of the Facts: | The Biloxi Public School District terminated Joseph Davis Jr. from his position as a teacher’s aide based on his “repeated acts of unprofessional and disrespectful conduct.” The School District complied with Joseph’s request to have the Board of Trustees conduct a hearing to determine whether his termination should be upheld. After conducting a hearing, the Board upheld the School District’s decision to terminate Joseph’s employment. In 2004, Joseph filed a complaint which the circuit judge subsequently dismissed after finding that Joseph was not entitled to judicial review because he was an at-will employee. Joseph appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. In 2007, Joseph filed a second suit asserting the same allegations against the same defendants as the first suit. The circuit judge dismissed Joseph’s complaint, holding that the claims raised were essentially the same legal claims which were raised by Joseph in his first legal action and finding that the claims asserted which were not otherwise barred by collateral estoppel and/or res judicata were barred by the statute of limitations. The decision was affirmed on appeal. In 2004, the School District notified Joseph’s wife, Gilda, a physical education teacher’s aid, that the School District would not renew its employment contract with her for the following school year. A month later, Gilda claimed that she received injuries to her side, back, and legs while on the premises of Beauvoir Elementary School in Biloxi. In 2007, both Gilda and Joseph filed suit alleging wrongful termination and age discrimination. The School District filed for dismissal or in the alternative for summary judgment. The county court issued a judgment of dismissal, finding that Gilda’s claims were barred by the applicable statutes of limitation. The county court also held that Joseph’s claims were barred by collateral estoppel, res judicata, and the applicable statute of limitations, and sanctioned Joseph in the amount of $2,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The Davises appealed to circuit court which affirmed. The Davises appeal. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | In her appeal from county court to circuit court, Gilda seeks relief for injuries she sustained on May 26, 2004, and claims that she never received worker’s compensation for her injury. However, as noted in the circuit court’s judgment, Gilda failed to raise this issue in her original complaint filed in the Harrison County County Court. Gilda’s appellate brief asserts that she was injured on the job, but it does not appear to raise any error regarding the circuit court’s dismissal of this claim. Additionally, although Gilda cites an assortment of case law, none of the cases relate to her worker’s compensation claim. The Court is not required to address any issue on appeal that is not supported by reasons for the contentions and authority. Gilda states that she was acting in the course and scope of her employment when she received her injuries on May 26, 2004. Such a claim falls under the Mississippi Worker’s Compensation Act but Gilda failed to make an application for benefits within two years from the date of her injury, as required under the Act. Therefore, any right to compensation is barred. Gilda also argues that the School District violated 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by willfully depriving Gilda of her constitutional and civil rights and that the statute of limitations for this wrongful-termination claim began to run on May 31, 2004, the day that she claims that the School District terminated her employment. A state’s personal-injury statute of limitations should be applied to all section 1983 claims. Therefore, Mississippi’s general three-year statute of limitations, section 15-1-49, is applicable to Gilda’s 1983 claims. Thus, Gilda’s alleged section 1983 and constitutional rights claims began to run on April 29, 2004, when she admittedly received the non-renewal notice from the School District. Gilda waited to file her suit until May 30, 2007, thirty-one days after the expiration of the statute of limitations. Gilda also alleges various Mississippi state-law tort claims against the School District. The record shows that Gilda filed her complaint over two years after the Tort Claims Act statute of limitations had expired. The School Board submits that under M.R.A.P. 38, it is entitled to damages and double costs as a result of defending the Davises’ frivolous suit and appeal. The question this presents is whether a reasonable person would have any hope for success. The county court and circuit court properly informed Gilda in proficient, written opinions that her claims were barred by the statute of limitations; thus, she was fully aware that she had no “hope for success” on appeal and double costs of this appeal are imposed against Gilda as the most appropriate sanction pursuant to Rule 38. |
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