T. Jackson Lyons & Assocs. v. Martin

• Decision Date: 12 April 2012
• Docket Number: No. 2011–CA–00167–SCT.,2011–CA–00167–SCT.
• Citation: 87 So.3d 444
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
• Parties: T. JACKSON LYONS & ASSOCIATES, P.A. v. PRECIOUS T. MARTIN, SR. & ASSOCIATES, PLLC.

87 So.3d 444

T. JACKSON LYONS & ASSOCIATES, P.A.

v.PRECIOUS T. MARTIN, SR. & ASSOCIATES, PLLC.

No. 2011–CA–00167–SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

April 12, 2012.

Lee Howell, attorney for appellant.

Precious T. Martin, Sr., Saundra M. Thompson, attorneys for appellee.

Before CARLSON, P.J., PIERCE and KING, JJ.

CARLSON, Presiding Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. Precious Martin and Associates, PLLC (Martin) contracted with T. Jackson Lyons & Associates, P.A. (Lyons) ¹ to handle appeal work on several of Martin's cases. After Martin stopped paying for the work, Lyons filed a complaint in the County Court for the First Judicial District of Hinds County alleging breach of contract and claiming $14,543.19 owed on open account. The county court awarded Lyons $14,543.19 in damages and $4,847.73 in attorney's fees. Martin appealed to the Circuit Court for the First Judicial District of Hinds County, claiming that the trial court erred in awarding attorney's fees. The circuit court reversed the county court judgment on the basis that the agreement between the law firms was an oral contract, not an open account, such that attorney's fees should not have been awarded. Aggrieved, Lyons has appealed to this Court.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. From May 2006 through August 2007, Martin had contracted with Lyons for Lyons to perform certain appeal work on several of Martin's cases. Martin had submitted payment in response to each invoice that Lyons sent until June 2007. At that time, Lyons was co-counsel with Martin on an appeal before the Mississippi Supreme Court. Lyons withdrew from the case because Martin had failed to pay for Lyons's work and Lyons felt that he had a conflict of interest in the case. Lyons, and later his attorney, continued to seek payment from Martin to no avail.

¶ 3. On August 25, 2008, Lyons filed a complaint in the County Court for the First Judicial District of Hinds County for the amount owed. Lyons alleged breach of contract and claimed $14,543.19 was owed on an open account. Martin filed an answer in response to the complaint but did little else to participate in the proceedings. Martin failed to respond to interrogatories and requests for production of documents. He submitted insufficient, and apparently false, responses to requests for admission. He did not appear for a deposition and refused to provide alternative dates for the deposition. Martin did not respond to motions and failed to attend at least two hearings of which he had proper notice. Lyons's attorney repeatedly attempted to reach Martin throughout the proceedings, but Martin would not accept or return his telephone calls or respond to correspondence.

¶ 4. Lyons filed a motion to compel, and the county court judge ordered Martin to respond to discovery and appear for a deposition. Martin filed a motion to reconsider, which was denied. Martin failed to comply with the order, and Lyons filed a motion seeking to prohibit Martin from introducing at trial anything that could have been produced in discovery. The court granted the motion. A bench trial was held on September 2, 2009, and both Lyons and Martin testified. The county court entered its judgment on November 12, 2009, awarding Lyons $14,543.19 in damages as well as $4,847.73 in attorney's fees, plus interest and costs. Martin filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied on February 4, 2010. On the same day, Martin filed a notice of appeal to the circuit court.

¶ 5. On February 22, 2010, Martin filed his designation of the record on appeal and designated the entire record as necessary for the appeal. Martin gave $450 in cash to the court clerk for the estimated cost of preparing the record, and he filed a certificate of compliance in accordance with Mississippi Rule of Appellate Procedure 11(b)(1). However, Martin refused to pay for the trial transcript, so it was not included and was not available for the circuit court to review. Martin also filed a motion to waive supersedeas bond and for a stay or injunction as to execution of the county court judgment pending the appeal. In support of that motion, Martin claimed that he was unable to obtain a bond from his bonding company and that he had legitimate grounds for appeal. A hearing on this motion was held on February 25, 2010, and the county court entered an order requiring Martin to post a bond in the amount of $1,000. Martin gave the court clerk a check for $1,000.

¶ 6. On March 12, 2010, Lyons filed a motion to dismiss the case in the circuit court, claiming lack of subject matter jurisdiction on the grounds that Martin had not filed an appeal bond. Lyons claimed that the county court order regarding Martin's motion to waive supersedeas bond did not state that the $1,000 bond would supersede the judgment. It was Lyons's position that Martin did not submit any form of bond to the clerk for approval. Lyons asserted that, under Mississippi Code Section 11–51–79 (Rev.2002), Martin had thirty days from entry of the order denying his motion for a new trial to perfect his appeal in the circuit court, which included providing a bond, and that Martin had failed to do so. Martin responded that the $1,000 was sufficient and that the circuit court had jurisdiction. In his rebuttal, Lyons claimed that bonds are not cash; they are written obligations for which the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure provide a form. Lyons again stated that bonds are jurisdictional and that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction due to Martin's failure to post a bond. Lyons's motion to dismiss was denied on June 7, 2010.

¶ 7. The appeal continued in the circuit court, and the parties submitted briefs. Martin's sole issue on appeal was whether the trial court had erred in awarding attorney's fees. Martin did not contest the damages awarded. Martin claimed that the agreement between the parties was contractual, not an open account, and that attorney's fees are not available under Mississippi Code Section 11–53–81 (Rev.2002) where the claim is based on a contract rather than on an open account. Lyons responded that, although the county court did not state the reason for the award of attorney's fees, there were “at least three independent bases for the award.” Those bases were that (1) Lyons had proved that the matter dealt with an open account; (2) Martin's contempt of court during the proceedings warranted sanctions under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 37; and (3) Martin had failed to admit in his responses to requests for admission matters that later were proven at trial, thus an award of reasonable expenses was proper under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 37(c).

¶ 8. On December 9, 2010, the circuit court entered its order reversing the county court judgment on the grounds that attorney's fees should not have been awarded, because the agreement between the law firms was an oral contract, not an open account. Lyons appealed to this Court.²

DISCUSSION

¶ 9. Lyons presents two issues on appeal: (1) whether the circuit court had jurisdiction of the appeal from county court; and (2) whether the county court's award of attorney's fees was proper.

¶ 10. Factual determinations made by any trial judge (be it a county, circuit, or chancery judge) sitting without a jury are accorded the same deference as that given to a chancellor, thus, on review, this Court employs the substantial-evidence standard. See e.g., Setzer v. State, 54 So.3d 226, 230 (Miss.2011). “We will not disturb the findings of a chancellor when supported by substantial evidence unless the chancellor abused his discretion, was manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous[,] or an erroneous legal standard was applied.” Classic Coach, Inc. v. Johnson, 823 So.2d 517, 520 (Miss.2002) (quoting Church of God Pentecostal, Inc. v. Freewill Pentecostal Church of God, Inc., 716 So.2d 200, 204 (Miss.1998)). However, jurisdictional matters are questions of law, which are reviewed de novo. Tyson Breeders, Inc. v. Harrison, 940 So.2d 230, 232 (Miss.2006). A trial judge's award of attorney's fees is reviewed under the abuse-of-discretion standard. Miss. Power & Light Co. v. Cook, 832 So.2d 474, 486 (Miss.2002).

I. Whether the circuit court had jurisdiction over the appeal from county court.

¶ 11. Lyons argues that filing an appeal bond in an appeal from county court is required by Mississippi Code Section 11–51–79 (Rev.2002), and that the circuit court does not have jurisdiction over a matter in which the appellant has failed to post the required bond. Lyons maintains that the record on appeal does not reflect that Martin filed any bond, therefore, the circuit court did not have subject matter jurisdiction,³ and the appeal should have been dismissed. Notably, Martin failed to address this issue in his reply brief.

¶ 12. Mississippi Code Section 11–51–79 applies to appeals made from county court, and it provides, in pertinent part:

.... Appeals from the law side of the county court shall be made to the circuit court, and those from the equity side to the chancery court on application made therefor and bond given according to law, except as hereinafter provided. Such appeal shall operate as a supersedeas only when such would be applicable in the case of appeals to the Supreme Court.... Appeals from the county court shall be taken and bond given within thirty (30) days from the date of the entry of the final judgment or decree on the minutes of the court....

Miss.Code Ann. § 11–51–79 (Rev.2002). According to this statute, a party seeking to appeal a county court judgment must do so within thirty days of the entry of the judgment. Id. Within that time, the appellant must file notice of the appeal and post a bond. Id.

¶ 13. The parties in this case use the term “appeal bond” interchangeably for “supersedeas bond” and “cost bond.” The same is true of the language used in prior cases. This is problematic, because these terms are not synonymous. The bond required to perfect an appeal is a cost bond,...