Cucos, Inc. v. McDaniel
| Decision Date | 21 September 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 2005-IA-00626-SCT.,2005-IA-00626-SCT. |
| Citation | 938 So.2d 238 |
| Parties | CUCOS, INC. v. Jerry McDANIEL, and Spouse Laura McDaniel. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Simpson Gray Edmondson, Franklin Williams, attorneys for appellant.
Margaret P. Ellis, Jackson, attorney for appellees.
EN BANC.
¶ 1. This premises liability case is before us on appeal by Cucos, Inc., from an order of the Jackson County Circuit Court granting the motion of Jerry McDaniel and Laura McDaniel to reinstate this case, which was previously dismissed for want of prosecution. The Court will address the two overarching questions brought forth on appeal, considering first, whether sufficient action was taken to prevent dismissal pursuant to Miss. R. Civ. P. 41(d) and second, whether the trial court's grant of relief from dismissal was an abuse of discretion. Finding the actions taken by the plaintiffs and the trial court sufficient to prevent dismissal and thus, no abuse of discretion by the court's relief from dismissal, we affirm the trial court's reinstatement of the case.
¶ 2. On May 18, 2000, Jerry McDaniel and his wife, Laura McDaniel, filed a complaint alleging injuries sustained during a slip and fall accident at Cucos, Inc on June 8, 1997. Cucos timely filed its answer on July 13, 2000. The last action recorded by the clerk was a civil subpoena attested to by a deputy clerk on July 6, 2001. Exhibits presented by both parties reflect active settlement negotiations from September 2001 through August 2002.
¶ 3. After two years void of action in the case, the clerk entered a Motion to Dismiss for Want of Prosecution on October 16, 2002, and sent notice to each of the parties. On or about November 13, 2002, the McDaniels responded to the clerk with a letter, which was at the time a common and sufficient response in that circuit court district. The letter requested the case not be dismissed and asked for notification from the clerk if additional steps were necessary. The clerk failed to place the letter in the court file and never notified the judge of the letter or replied to the letter with notification of additional necessary steps. On November 22, 2002, unaware of the McDaniels' letter to the Clerk, the trial court entered an Order Dismissing Case for Want of Prosecution. The McDaniels sent a letter to Cucos on or about August 20, 2004, regarding settlement. The McDaniels were unaware of the dismissal, the clerk having failed to send notice of the Order and having placed the incorrect docket number on the Order, until Cucos responded on or about August 24, 2004, saying the case was dismissed.
¶ 4. On August 30, 2004, the McDaniels filed a Motion to Set Aside Dismissal asserting that the letter they sent should have been sufficient to prevent dismissal. The trial court held a hearing on December 9, 2004, and found (1) the McDaniels' letter to the Clerk requesting the case remain active was not in the court file at the time she signed the order of dismissal; (2) the McDaniels' letter was an acceptable method of preventing the Clerk's dismissal for want of prosecution; (3) a copy of the Order Dismissing Case for Want of Prosecution was not provided to the McDaniels; (4) the McDaniels provided the circuit court with specific denials and rebutted the presumption they received notice of the dismissal; and (5) the McDaniels were pursuing efforts to schedule conferences between Cucos and his treating physicians in order to facilitate settlement. Based on these findings, the court entered an Order Granting Plaintiff's Motion to Set Aside Dismissal on January 10, 2005, effectively reinstating the case. Cucos subsequently requested an interlocutory appeal, which we granted. See Miss. R.App. P. 5.
¶ 5. Any court of law or equity may exercise the power to dismiss for want of prosecution. This power, inherent to the courts, is necessary as a means to "the orderly expedition of justice" and "the court's control of its own docket". Walker v. Parnell, 566 So.2d 1213, 1216 (Miss. 1990) (quoting Watson v. Lillard, 493 So.2d 1277, 1278 (Miss.1986)). It has been clear since the adoption of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure that the granting of motions to dismiss is a matter within the discretion of the trial court. Roebuck v. City of Aberdeen, 671 So.2d 49, 50 (Miss. 1996) (citing Carter v. Clegg, 557 So.2d 1187, 1190 (Miss.1990)). This Court will not disturb a trial court's ruling on a dismissal for want of prosecution unless it finds an abuse of discretion. Watson, 493 So.2d at 1279.
¶ 6. The first issue in dispute is over the satisfaction of Miss. R. Civ. P. 41(d) which governs dismissals for want of prosecution. Rule 41(d) calls for the clerk to mail notice to attorneys of civil cases identified as having an inactive record for twelve or more months. Miss. R. Civ. P. 41(d). Id.
¶ 7. One possibility for preventing dismissal under Rule 41(d) is that the plaintiff perform an "action of record." In 2000, this Court in Wilson v. Freeland acknowledged that "there are no Mississippi cases construing what constitutes an `action of record.'" That statement holds true today as there still exist no cases defining what constitutes an "action of record." 773 So.2d 305, 309 (Miss.2000). Cucos relies on Wilson for the proposition that an action of record must "hasten the suit to judgment." This is incorrect. The Court simply arrived at the conclusion that the Order signed in that case was sufficient as an action of record, and the Court used as its foundational reasoning citations to the holdings of various jurisdictions from which the Court noted "[m]any of these cases focus on whether the action is `hastening the suit to judgment.'" Id.
¶ 8. For several reasons, Wilson is weak precedent when used for defining or placing limits on what constitutes an action of record. In Wilson only five justices participated, and three votes constituted the majority. Also, this Court is not bound by decisions from other jurisdictions. Griffith v. Gulf Refining Co., 215 Miss. 15, 61 So.2d 306, 307 (1952). While the Court may regard such decisions as persuasive authority if well reasoned, the Court is at complete liberty to disregard them. Id. The Court may refuse to follow such decisions which are contrary to the public policy of the state. Id.
¶ 9. Wilson is only controlling in cases where the trial court decides to use the "hasten the suit to judgment" analysis in determining whether an action satisfies Rule 41(d). The sole significance of Wilson is the finding that an "action of record" encompasses actions that "hasten the suit to judgment." The decision does not hold, however, as Cucos argues, that an action of record only consists of actions that "hasten the suit to judgment," but, instead, those actions that "hasten the suit to judgment" are merely one category of actions now deemed sufficient. In providing its analysis, the Court did not create a new standard that in every situation where a claimant attempts to prevent dismissal in compliance with Rule 41(d) by performing an action of record that action must "hasten the suit to judgment." See Wilson, 773 So.2d at 309. No such requirement exists, and the Court will not acknowledge Wilson as putting forth such a requirement for the purpose of resolving the issue at hand.
¶ 10. The Court of Appeals, whose propositions of law are only binding upon this Court if adopted by this Court, has twice decided whether particular action was sufficient to be deemed an action of record, but neither decision provides a clear standard or defines the phrase. See Curry v. Walls, 871 So.2d 762 (Miss.Ct. App.2004) (); Guidry v. Pine Hills Country Club, 858 So.2d 196 (Miss.Ct.App.2003) (). Cucos attempts to use the holdings in Curry and Guidry to strengthen the proposition it puts forth that Wilson requires an action of record to hasten the suit to judgment. Each of these decisions is faulty in its analysis, misstating what is simply a means of analysis in Wilson as a mandate. See Curry, 871 So.2d at 764; Guidry, 858 So.2d at 198-99.
¶ 11. Cucos argues that the McDaniels' letter was insufficient to constitute an action of record under Rule 41(d) and uses the "hasten the suit to judgment" analysis from Wilson, Curry, and Guidry as the bases for this argument. However, that analysis is not mandatory for trial courts. These findings merely provide analytical options for trial courts. As dismissal for want of prosecution is within the trial court's discretion, the trial court judge may find that the plaintiff has performed an action of record without that action being in accord with the "hasten the suit to judgment" analysis, and likewise, a trial court judge may, within his discretion, use those cases to support a decision to dismiss a case with similar facts, such as this one. Without an explicit definition or standard, what suffices as an action of record is left to the reasonable discretion of the trial court. Additionally, Curry and Guidry do not affect the trial court's decision in this case since in 2...
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