Forrest County General Hosp. v. Conway, 93-IA-00639-SCT
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi |
| Citation | 700 So.2d 324 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-IA-00639-SCT,93-IA-00639-SCT |
| Parties | FORREST COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL, Dr. Charmaine McCleave, South Mississippi Emergency Physicians, P.A., Darrell Ellzey, Dorothy Denham and Miriam Jarrell v. Ronnie CONWAY and Christy Conway, Individually, and on Behalf of Their Minor Daughter, Megan Conway. |
| Decision Date | 02 October 1997 |
Page 324
South Mississippi Emergency Physicians, P.A.,
Darrell Ellzey, Dorothy Denham and Miriam Jarrell
v.
Ronnie CONWAY and Christy Conway, Individually, and on
Behalf of Their Minor Daughter, Megan Conway.
J. Robert Ramsay, Bryant Clark Dukes Blakeslee Ramsay & Hammond, Hattiesburg, R. Mark Hodges, Wise Carter Child & Caraway, Jackson, R. Web Heidelberg, Heidelberg Sutherland & McKenzie, Hattiesburg, for appellant.
Shane F. Langston, Langston Frazer Sweet & Freese, Jackson, Joseph C. Langston, Langston Langston Michael & Bowen, Booneville, for appellee.
En Banc.
Mills, Justice, for the Court:
¶1 Ronnie Conway and Christy Conway, individually and on behalf of their minor daughter, Megan Conway (hereinafter "Appellees"), filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds
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County, Mississippi on February 22, 1993. The complaint alleged medical malpractice against Charmaine McCleave, M.D., and Forrest County General Hospital.¶2 Forrest County General Hospital and Charmaine McCleave, M.D., (hereinafter "Appellants") answered the complaint and objected to the improper venue of Hinds County. The Appellants moved the court to transfer venue to Forrest County, Mississippi, the domicile of Forrest County General Hospital ("Forrest General"), or Lamar County, the domicile of Charmaine McCleave, M.D.
¶3 By order dated May 24, 1993, the Circuit Court of Hinds County denied Appellants' motion for change of venue finding that although the cause of action first accrued in Forrest County, the Appellees' damages continued to occur in Hinds County making venue proper in Hinds County pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 11-11-3.
¶4 South Mississippi Emergency Physicians (hereinafter "SMEP"), along with Darrell Ellzey, Dorothy Denham and Miriam Jarrell, all nurses at Forrest General (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Appellants"), were named in Appellees' amended complaint filed on November 23, 1993. The three employees filed a separate answer, which incorporated a motion to dismiss for lack of venue, or alternatively, to transfer the cause to Forrest County. On December 23, 1993, SMEP moved separately to transfer venue, and on February 3, 1994, the Hinds County Circuit Court denied this motion. Aggrieved by the lower court's ruling, Appellants filed a petition for interlocutory appeal on June 7, 1993. This Court granted the petition on March 14, 1994.
¶5 The Appellants raise four issues on appeal. However, we find the following issue to be dispositive of this appeal and will not address the remaining issues:
WHETHER PLAINTIFFS, ALL OF WHOM ARE RESIDENTS OF FORREST COUNTY, CAN MAINTAIN AN ACTION PURSUANT TO MISS. CODE ANN. § 11-11-3 (SUPP.1993) IN HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, FOR ALLEGED MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE THAT IS SAID TO HAVE OCCURRED IN FULL IN FORREST COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, AGAINST SIX DEFENDANTS, NONE OF WHOM RESIDE IN HINDS COUNTY, BASED SOLELY UPON PLAINTIFFS' ALLEGATIONS THAT THE MINOR CHILD'S "INJURIES AND RESULTING DAMAGES SUFFERED BY HER AND HER PARENTS OCCURRED FOR THE MOST PART IN ... HINDS COUNTY."
¶6 On February 20, 1992, at approximately 2:50 a.m., Ronnie Conway and Christy Conway brought their seven-month-old infant daughter, Megan Conway, into the emergency room at Forrest County General Hospital. She was seen by various nursing personnel. According to the complaint, Megan had a temperature in excess of 104 degrees and "blue spots." The charge nurse had refused to call a pediatrician and sent Megan to the general emergency room physician, Dr. McCleave who diagnosed Megan with a virus and prescribed an antibiotic. Megan was discharged at approximately 4:30 a.m. with a 102 degree temperature.
¶7 Later that day at 1:30 p.m., Megan's condition worsened. Her parents took her to the office of Dr. Frank Dement, a pediatrician. Megan was then taken back to Forrest General, where she was diagnosed with meningitis at approximately 2:00 p.m. After the staff determined that the infant's condition had substantially worsened and had reached the critical stage, a decision was made to transport her to the University Medical Center Hospital (hereinafter "UMC") in Jackson, Mississippi.
¶8 After arriving in Jackson, Megan remained in the intensive care unit for several weeks and was hospitalized for a total of sixty-nine days at UMC. During the course of the infant's treatment and care at UMC, and in order to save her life, Megan's arms and legs were amputated.
¶9 The facts relevant to the issues concerning venue are largely taken from the pleadings and are summarized herein.
1. The Appellees, at the time of the operative events and the filing of the complaint,
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were and continue to be residents of Forrest County, Mississippi.2. Forrest County General Hospital is a community hospital organized under and operating pursuant to Title 41, Chapter 13 of Mississippi Code Annotated. The Hospital is owned by and is a political subdivision of Forrest County.
3. Charmaine McCleave, M.D., was a resident of Lamar County, Mississippi, at the time the complaint was filed.
4. South Mississippi Emergency Physicians, P.A. is a professional association domiciled in Forrest County, Mississippi.
5. Darrell Ellzey, Dorothy Denham and Miriam Jarrell are residents of Covington, Jones and Pearl River counties, respectively; thus, none are residents of Hinds County.
¶10 This interlocutory appeal concerns our venue scheme in Mississippi as set forth in § 11-11-3 of the Mississippi Code of 1972 Annotated. We may properly consider issues pertaining to venue via an interlocutory appeal. See Tideway Oil Programs, Inc. v. Serio, 431 So.2d 454 (Miss.1983) (ruling on venue issue proper as it avoids unnecessary expense and delay).
¶11 Appellants assert the following arguments for reversing the lower court's denial of their venue motion. First, they point to the fact that not one of the named Appellees is a resident of Hinds County. Second, they assert that the Appellants are residents of Forrest County. Third, they contend that all acts of alleged negligence "occurred" or "accrued" in Forrest County.
¶12 Appellees contend that the lower court, in interpreting § 11-11-3, correctly...
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...in both the county where the negligent act occurred and where the infant died)). However, in Forrest County General Hospital v. Conway, 700 So.2d 324, 325 (Miss. 1997), we stated that a "medical malpractice action against a hospital and physician at the hospital, which was based on alleged ......
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Bullock v. Lott, 2005-CA-01613-SCT.
...in the end there is no factual basis for the claim of venue." Sumlin, 942 So.2d at 769 (citing Forrest County Gen. Hosp. v. Conway, 700 So.2d 324, 326 (Miss.1997) (quoting Flight Line, 608 So.2d at 1155)). Put another way, the trial court "must give the plaintiff the benefit of the reasonab......
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...choice to decide where to sue the defendant among the permissible venues." Forrest County Gen. 866 So.2d 1096 Hosp. v. Conway, 700 So.2d 324, 326 (Miss. 1997). See also Clark v. Luvel Dairy Prods., Inc., 731 So.2d 1098, 1106 (Miss. 1998). A plaintiff's choice of a forum should not be distur......
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...It is the plaintiff's prerogative to decide where, among permissible venues, to sue the defendant. Forrest County Gen. Hosp. v. Conway, 700 So.2d 324, 326 (Miss.1997). Therefore, absent weighty reasons, a plaintiff's choice of forum should not be disturbed. Purdue Pharma, L.P. v. Estate of ......