R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. King, No. 2004-IA-01170-SCT.

• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi
• Writing for the Court: Randolph, Justice
• Citation: 921 So.2d 268
• Parties: R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, Phillip Morris USA Inc., The Corr-Williams Company, and Fayette Supermarket, Inc. v. Ursula R. KING, Individually and on Behalf of All Wrongful Death Heirs and Beneficiaries of Mary Lee Latham, Deceased.
• Docket Number: No. 2004-IA-01170-SCT.
• Decision Date: 02 March 2006

921 So.2d 268 R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, Phillip Morris USA Inc., The Corr-Williams Company, and Fayette Supermarket, Inc.
v.
Ursula R. KING, Individually and on Behalf of All Wrongful Death Heirs and Beneficiaries of Mary Lee Latham, Deceased. No. 2004-IA-01170-SCT. Supreme Court of Mississippi. June 30, 2005. As Modified on Denial of Rehearing March 2, 2006.

Page 269

Michael B. Wallace, Rebecca L. Hawkins, Walker W. (Bill) Jones, III, Mark C. Carroll, Bruce R. Tepikian, Michael W. Ulmer, Lewis W. Bell, Christopher A. Shapley, Robert L. Gibbs, Andrea La'Verne Ford Edney, Brooke Ferris, III, Ryan Jeffrey Mitchell, Laurel, Thomas M. Louis, Jackson, attorneys for appellants.

Robert C. Latham, Natchez, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

RANDOLPH, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. Mary Lee Latham ("Latham") began smoking cigarettes in 1964 at the age of 13. She continued smoking cigarettes until her death from lung cancer, approximately forty years later on September 20, 2001.

¶ 2. On December 30, 2002, Ursula R. King, individually, and on behalf of the wrongful death heirs and beneficiaries of the deceased, Mary Lee Latham (collectively

Page 270

"King"), filed suit against several manufacturers, distributors and retailers of cigarettes (collectively "RJR") in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Mississippi. In her well-pled complaint, King not only alleged that Latham smoked cigarettes from 1964 until 2001 and "had developed debilitating diseases as a result of cigarette smoking," King also alleged Latham's damages and wrongful death were proximately caused by RJR's: (1) fraudulent misrepresentation; (2) conspiracy to defraud; (3) negligent misrepresentation; (4) breach of express warranty; (5) breach of implied warranty of fitness; and (6) deceptive advertising.

¶ 3. King alleged ten causes of action in her complaint, including: (1) fraudulent misrepresentation; (2) conspiracy to defraud; (3) strict liability; (4) negligence; (5) gross negligence; (6) negligent misrepresentation; (7) breach of express warranty; (8) breach of implied warranty of fitness; (9) deceptive advertising; and (10) wrongful death.

¶ 4. On October 14, 2003, RJR filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings on behalf of all properly served defendants together with a memorandum in support thereof, thereby moving the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety based solely on the inherent characteristic defense of the Mississippi Product Liability Act ("MPLA"), codified in Miss.Code Ann. § 11-1-63 (Rev.2002).

¶ 5. King filed a response to RJR's motion for judgment on the pleadings and memorandum in support thereof on December 4, 2003. In this response, King argued the MPLA did not preclude her claims.

¶ 6. One March 11, 2004, the circuit court entered a memorandum opinion and order denying RJR's motion.

¶ 7. Thereafter, on June 7, 2004, the circuit court entered a supplemental order granting RJR's motion for judgment as to King's strict liability, negligence, gross negligence, breach of express warranty, and breach of implied warranty of fitness claims in light of this Court's decision in Owens Corning v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 868 So.2d 331 (Miss.2004). However, the trial judge denied RJR's motion for judgment as to King's fraudulent misrepresentation, conspiracy to defraud, negligent misrepresentation, deceptive advertising, and wrongful death claims. On August 6, 2004, this Court granted RJR's petition for interlocutory appeal, but denied King's cross petition for interlocutory appeal as untimely. See M.R.A.P. 5. Therefore, as King's cross petition was untimely filed, the issues raised therein will not be addressed by this Court.

¶ 8. On appeal, RJR raises the following singular issue:

Does the inherent characteristic defense of Miss.Code Ann. § 11-1-63(b) (Rev. 2002), as interpreted in Lane v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 853 So.2d 1144 (Miss.2003), bar "any action for damages caused by" manufactured commercial cigarettes regardless of how the plaintiff labels the causes of action in the complaint?

¶ 9. Answering this question in the negative, we affirm the judgment of the trial court and remand this case for further proceedings.

DISCUSSION

¶ 10. Since a motion for judgment on the pleadings under Mississippi Rule of Procedure 12(c) raises an issue of law, this Court's standard of review for the granting of that motion is de novo. Hartford Cas. Ins. Co. v. Halliburton Co., 826 So.2d 1206, 1210 (Miss.2001). Therefore, this Court sits in the same position as did

Page 271

the trial court. Bridges ex rel. Bridges v. Park Place Entm't, 860 So.2d 811, 813 (Miss.2003). A Rule 12(c) motion is similar to a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. City of Tupelo v. Martin, 747 So.2d 822, 829 (Miss.1999). On a Rule 12(c) motion, the allegations in the complaint must be taken as true, and the motion should not be granted unless it appears beyond any reasonable doubt that the non-moving party will be unable to prove any set of facts in support of the claim which would entitle the non-movant to relief. Park Place Entm't, 860 So.2d at 813 (citations omitted).

I. Miss.Code Ann. § 11-1-63(b).

¶ 11. "Products liability is the name currently given to the area of the law involving the liability of those who supply goods or products for the use of others to purchasers, users, and bystanders for loses of various kinds resulting from so-called defects in those products." W. Page Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on Torts § 95, at 677 (5th ed.1984). "It may, infrequently, rest upon intent; but except in rare instances, it is a matter of negligence, or of strict liability." Willaim L. Prosser, Law of Torts 641 (4th ed.1971).

¶ 12. RJR claims that all of King's claims, including the claims¹ not dismissed by the trial court, are within the scope of the MPLA, and thus, subject to the inherent characteristics defense of Miss.Code Ann. § 11-1-63(b). RJR argues:

"Broadly speaking, the second issue is whether the [Mississippi Product [sic] Liability Act] bars all suits based on injuries that arise out of the use [of] tobacco products." Lane v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 853 So.2d 1144, 1147 (Miss.2003). The issue presented in this appeal is whether this Court's affirmative answer in Lane was as broad as its question. Stated differently, when this Court held that the inherent characteristic defense of Miss.Code Ann. § 11-1-63(b) "precludes all products liability actions against tobacco companies," did that mean that the statute precludes "all suits based on injuries that arise out of the use of tobacco products"? Id. at 1147, 1149. Because the inherent characteristic defense applies broadly to "any action for damages caused by" cigarettes, Miss.Code Ann. § 11-1-63, the answer to this question is necessarily "yes."

¶ 13. King argues the inherent characteristics defense does not apply, and the MPLA does not bar suits based on theories other than products liability. King asserts: "[T]he [t]obacco [c]ompanies attempt to convince this Court that there are no legitimate product[s] liability claims....