Alexander v. Brown, No. 1998-CT-01727-SCT.

• Decision Date: 30 August 2001
• Docket Number: No. 1998-CT-01727-SCT.
• Citation: 793 So.2d 601
• Parties: Willie ALEXANDER and Carla Veal Alexander v. Lynell BROWN and Pamela Brown.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

793 So.2d 601

Willie ALEXANDER and Carla Veal Alexander v. Lynell BROWN and Pamela Brown.

No. 1998-CT-01727-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

August 30, 2001.

Wes W. Peters, Jackson, for Appellants.

Davey L. Tucker, Jackson, for Appellees.

EN BANC.

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI

MILLS, Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. Willie and Carla Veal Alexander appealed the Madison County Chancery Court's dismissal of their trespass action against Lynell and Pamela Brown. Willie Alexander also appealed his conviction of contempt which was based upon his actions on July 19, 1998, that were in violation of an agreed protective order. The appeal was assigned to the Court of Appeals which affirmed the contempt conviction and reversed and remanded the dismissal of the trespass action. The Browns petitioned for writ of certiorari seeking reversal of the Court of Appeals' decision regarding dismissal of the trespass action and seeking to reinstate the chancery court decision. We granted certiorari. After finding that the Court of Appeals erred in applying an erroneous standard of review and in reversing the dismissal of the trespass action, we now reverse the Court of Appeals' decision as it affects the trespass action and reinstate the chancery court's dismissal of the trespass action.

FACTS

¶ 2. Lynell and Pamela Brown ("the Browns") purchased Lot 6 in Ingleside East Subdivision in Madison County. Willie and Carla Alexander ("the Alexanders") owned Lots 9 and 5. The Alexanders live on Lot 9. Lot 5 is a vacant lot adjacent to Lot 6, and is the subject of the trespass action. Prior to construction, Mr. Alexander showed Mr. Brown what he considered the boundary between Lots 5 and 6 and suggested that the Browns obtain a survey. Mr. Alexander also told Mr. Brown that he did not want anyone on his property.

¶ 3. The Browns contracted for bulldozer work to prepare their lot for construction. On a Thursday, Mrs. Alexander and her neighbor, Kelly Kersh, owner and resident of Lot 7, witnessed a bulldozer cross onto Lot 5 as it was preparing Lot 6. Mrs. Alexander, accompanied by Mrs. Kersh, approached Buddy McGowan ("McGowan"), the bulldozer operator, and asked him to stay off Lot 5. The following day, Mrs. Kersh again witnessed the bulldozer at work on Lot 5, the Alexanders' property. She informed Mrs. Alexander who called Mr. Alexander at his job and informed him that the bulldozer operator was again damaging Lot 5. Mr. Alexander left work and came to deal with the problem. Mr. Alexander confronted McGowan about the trespass and ascertained that he was working for the Browns. According to Mr. Alexander, the bulldozer had removed dirt, grass and young trees from a strip of Lot 5, measuring 20' wide by 150' long.

¶ 4. The Alexanders requested the Browns to compensate them for the alleged damage to Lot 5. The Browns refused and sought a declaratory judgment that no trespass had occurred on Lot 5. The Alexanders responded by filing an action for damages against the Browns caused by the alleged trespass. The two cases were consolidated for disposition.

¶ 5. The Alexanders were called upon by Chancellor Lutz to present their case-in-chief first. After the Alexanders rested, the Browns moved for dismissal based upon the failure of the Alexanders to make a prima facie case on the issue of liability for trespass. After deliberation, Chancellor Lutz granted the Browns' motion and dismissed the case. The Alexanders filed a motion for reconsideration which was heard a few weeks later. Chancellor Lutz denied the motion and made more specific findings. At the hearing, Chancellor Lutz stated that although he believed that McGowan had moved some dirt from Lot 5, the Alexanders did not prove the elements of trespass and did not prove damages with regard to the Browns. Chancellor Lutz stated "I have nothing in there that ties the removal of that dirt to these people [the Browns]." The Alexanders did not call McGowan to testify.

ANALYSIS

A.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 6. This Court has held that the standard of review applicable on a motion to dismiss under Miss. R. Civ. P. 41(b) is different than that applicable on a motion for directed verdict. Stewart v. Merchants Nat'l Bank, 700 So.2d 255, 258 (Miss.1997).

In considering a motion to dismiss, the judge should consider "the evidence fairly, as distinguished from in the light most favorable to the Plaintiff," and the judge should dismiss the case if it would find for the defendant. "The court must deny a motion to dismiss only if the judge would be obliged to find for the plaintiff if the plaintiff's evidence were all the evidence offered in the case." "This Court applies the substantial evidence/manifest error standards to an appeal of a grant or denial of a motion to dismiss pursuant to M.R.C.P. 41(b)"

Id. at 259 (interior citations omitted).

B.

¶ 7. The Browns contend that the Court of Appeals applied an incorrect standard in reviewing the trial court's decision. The Browns assert that the Court of Appeals applied the standard of review applicable to a directed verdict in a jury case, rather than the standard of review applicable to a case before a trial judge sitting as the trier of fact.

¶ 8. The record reveals that at the close of the Alexanders' case-in-chief the Browns moved to dismiss the case based upon the Alexanders' failure to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the Browns committed any trespass either directly or indirectly through McGowan. The chancellor on the record stated "I have come to the inescapable conclusion that the Alexanders failed to make a prima facie case, and I am therefore granting the Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice."

¶ 9. It is clear from its recitation of the facts that the Court of Appeals realized that the trial judge had granted a motion to dismiss rather than a directed verdict. However, the Court of Appeals erroneously applied the standard of review of abuse of discretion, which is applicable to directed verdict. In utilizing this erroneous standard, the Court of Appeals stated that "[b]ecause there was no proof, nor any attempt at proof, of an independent contractor relationship, this Court finds that the chancellor abused his discretion."

¶ 10. Clearly, the Court of Appeals' application of an erroneous standard of review in its analysis rendered its decision in conflict with prior cases of this Court providing the applicable standard of review for motions to dismiss under Rule 41(b).

C.

¶ 11. We now turn to the issue of whether, utilizing the proper standard of review, the motion to dismiss was properly granted. In deciding to reverse the chancellor's decision, the Court of Appeals majority states:

There are two basic flaws in the chancellor's decision. They are his findings (1) there was nothing to connect Mr. McGowan to the damage done on Friday, and (2) Mr. McGowan was an independent contractor.

Kelly Kersh testified to seeing the bulldozer digging on the Alexanders' property on that Friday. This testimony is found in the trial transcript at page 30. Mr. Alexander testified to confronting Mr. McGowan on his property on Friday.

His testimony is found in the record on pages 92-94. The testimony of these two witnesses is sufficient to connect Mr. McGowan to the Friday damage. The chancellor found that Mr. McGowan was an independent contractor and that therefore the Browns were not responsible for his actions. An employer is not generally liable for the torts of an independent contractor. Hester v. Bandy, 627 So.2d 833, 841 (Miss.1993). However, the trial court cannot assume that an independent contractor relationship exists. There must be some proof of that relationship. The record is absolutely devoid of any evidence to establish that Mr. McGowan was an independent contractor. In the absence of such evidence, the chancellor committed reversible error in holding that McGowan was an independent contractor for whom the Browns had no responsibility.

¶ 12. The Court of Appeals was correct in noting that there was testimony linking McGowan to the damage done on Friday. However, the issue was not whether McGowan had committed trespass, but instead whether the Browns had committed trespass, either directly or indirectly through McGowan. As noted by Chancellor Lutz, and the Court of Appeals' dissent, the Alexanders failed to prove that McGowan was an "employee" of the Browns. This was an element on which proof was necessary in order for the Alexanders to make a prima facie case of trespass. McGowan was not called to testify though he would have in all likelihood provided the link necessary to hold the Browns liable for trespass. The failure to establish employment was fatal to the Alexanders' case.

¶ 13. The Court of Appeals majority, however, turns the chancellor's view around, and holds that absent proof that McGowan was not the Browns' employee, the case should have been permitted to proceed. We disagree. McGowan's status as an independent contractor was not an affirmative defense. To the contrary, the burden of proving that McGowan was an agent or employee of the Browns' was on the Alexanders. When the Alexanders rested their case, McGowan's status should have already been proven. If McGowan's status as an employee or independent contractor was an affirmative defense, the Browns would have accepted as true all the assertions of the complaint, and then would have raised McGowan's status as a basis for avoidance of liability. Hertz Commercial Leasing Div. v. Morrison, 567 So.2d 832, 834-35 (Miss.1990). However, in order to make out a prima facie case against the Browns for trespass, the Alexanders needed to prove that the Browns were liable for McGowan's actions because he was their employee. This they failed to do. The Browns' position that McGowan was an independent contractor was not an acceptance of the Alexanders' assertions. It was a denial.

¶ 14. While others testified, only two witnesses' testimony bears substantially on the present...