Watts v. Watts
| Decision Date | 15 November 2022 |
| Docket Number | 2021-CA-00321-COA |
| Parties | TREVOR LEE WATTS, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HEIR AT LAW OF KIMBERLY WATTS, DECEASED APPELLANT v. THOMAS DALE WATTS APPELLEE |
| Court | Mississippi Court of Appeals |
EN BANC
¶1. Trevor Lee Watts (Trevor) sued his father, Thomas Dale Watts (Thomas), for the wrongful death of his mother, Kimberly Watts (Kimberly), after she was found dead in 2014. Thomas filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. Trevor appeals. After a review of the record, this Court holds that Trevor presented sufficient evidence to establish a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Thomas killed Kimberly. Accordingly, we reverse the order granting summary judgment and remand this case to the trial court.
¶2. Kimberly Watts was murdered on the night of November 10 or 11, 2014, in her home. After not reporting to work, her brother-in-law George Bass found her body. Kimberly had been stabbed and strangled. A homicide investigation ensued but apparently was never concluded. No arrest was ever made, no criminal charges were ever filed, and no one was ever indicted. Thomas was questioned as part of the investigation but invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
¶3. Kimberly and Thomas were married in 1996. They had one child Trevor. In 2008 Thomas filed for divorce. In 2009 they agreed to an irreconcilable differences divorce but left some issues for the chancellor to decide. After a two-day trial, the chancellor awarded joint physical and legal custody, ordered Thomas to pay to Kimberly $332 in child support each month $1,000 a month in periodic alimony for the remainder of Kimberly's life, and $15,000 to Kimberly in attorney's fees. Thomas appealed the chancellor's decision.
¶4. In 2012, this Court rendered an opinion addressing the issues in Thomas and Kimberly's contentious divorce. Watts v. Watts, 99 So.3d 751 (Miss. Ct. App. 2012). In that appeal, this Court noted that Thomas had a history of prescription drug abuse and had been to a rehabilitation facility two times before his marriage with Kimberly ended. Id. at 755 (¶¶2-3). Thomas challenged the chancellor's decision requiring him to pay Kimberly permanent alimony, the award of joint custody, and the requirement for him to pay Kimberly's attorney's fees. Id. at 756 (¶6). This Court affirmed the judgment of the chancellor in all respects. Id. at 761-62, 765 (¶¶28, 33, 42).
¶5. On November 8, 2017, Trevor filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Thomas and alleged that on or about November 10, 2014, Thomas entered Kimberly's home and "proximately caused" the "death" of Kimberly. As to the allegations of killing Kimberly, Thomas "denied" those in his answer.
¶6. Written discovery was conducted. In his response to interrogatories, Thomas asserted his Fifth Amendment right and refused to answer the majority of questions or objected to the scope of the question. For example, when asked about all addresses where he has resided since January 1, 2014, Thomas objected to the scope and invoked his Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer.
¶7. Depositions were taken on May 9, 2019. Through their respective attorneys, Thomas took Trevor's deposition, and Trevor took Thomas' deposition. In Thomas' deposition, Thomas began answering questions about his work history and admitted his license was at one time "restricted" due to "drug abuse." He admitted that the drug abuse problem also resulted in two separate medical-license suspensions. Thomas also admitted to knowing where Kimberly lived in Long Beach, Mississippi, after their divorce and stated he had been there on "several occasions" to "drop Trevor off and pick up stuff and drop off stuff for Trevor." When asked how many times he had "driven by her home when on your motorcycle before November 10 or 11th 2014," his attorney objected. Thomas responded, "On Counsel's advice, I invoke my fifth amendment right not to answer." Thomas then invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to answer most questions asked after that point. He even invoked his right not to answer when asked if he owned a motorcycle on the night Kimberly was murdered.
¶8. On August 26, 2019, Thomas filed a motion for summary judgment. He alleged there was "no genuine issue of material fact to preclude summary judgment on all counts of Plaintiff's complaint." Thomas did not attach any exhibits in support of the motion. He did incorporate his memorandum of law and authorities "as if fully set forth herein." The memorandum, which was filed on the same day, asserted that "this motion is directed to the absence of any proof" that Thomas "caused or contributed" Kimberly's death. Further, he asserted "this lawsuit fails due to an absence of proof the Defendant was ever in the presence of Kimberly Watts on the date of her death." Trevor filed a response and attached the following: his deposition, Thomas' deposition, the affidavit of Kimberly's brother-in-law George Bass, the Court of Appeals opinion in the divorce case, and Thomas' appellate brief filed in that case.
¶9. George Bass' affidavit, claims that "[p]rior to her murder, . . . Kim expressed fear of Thomas Watts and specifically she feared he would kill her one day." Bass also stated that "Thomas Watts [was] the only person Kim ever expressed a fear of him murdering her."[1]Bass discovered Kimberly's body and explained there was no evidence of "forced entry, no evidence of burglary, sexual assault or robbery." Kimberly's purse was still on her shoulder, and nothing was missing from the home. Bass stated that "Kim normally entered her home through the garage but on this date she had entered the front door, which was strange." Bass continued, "We later discovered that someone had turned off the circuit breaker so the garage door would not open." Further, Bass stated, Bass also stated that a bag was found "at the back door with bleach and wipes in it." Bass stated neither this bag nor its contents belonged to Kimberly.
¶10. In Trevor's deposition, he stated that his parents' relationship was "strained" after they got divorced. Trevor testified that Thomas used his "stature" as a "threatening or dismissive presence" toward Kimberly. Trevor stated that he saw Thomas "grab [Kimberly's] hair one time, grabbed her by the head." Trevor stated that the night Thomas grabbed Kimberly's head was the same night that Thomas "put a hole through . . . the wall." Trevor explained that this event occurred while Thomas and Kimberly were married, and the police were called in response to the altercation. Trevor explained that "police were . . . called to [his] house on more than on that one occasion."
¶11. Trevor stated in his deposition that after he found out his mother died, he came home and stayed with Thomas. He stated that Thomas did "not look[] upset or distraught ...." Trevor testified that he noticed "scratches" on both of Thomas' hands that night. Trevor stated that when he asked his father about the scratches, Thomas said that they came from a "grinding wheel." Trevor described the scratches as "gouges" and stated that they were "deep enough to leave scabs." Trevor claimed that the scratches looked like they were made from fingernails (on the tops of both hands) and in a crisscross pattern and that the scratches were "not super healed."
¶12. Further, Trevor explained that a few days later, prior to Kimberly's funeral, he had set up a meeting with Thomas "at a conference room at First Baptist Long Beach Church for the purpose of discussing what happened to my mother." Trevor described the conversation:
And then I started to ask him things along the lines of, well, what were you doing during this time? . . . Why he didn't seem more upset .... For instance, the question about my mother's death, he said nothing at first, and then followed up with eventually, ["]is this something that your mother's side of the family put in your head? Is this something they want you to believe? Are they making you ask these questions?["] All just diversional answers. Everything was not a yes or a no. Everything turned into a gray area.
During Trevor's deposition, he answered the following questions about the exchange with his father:
Trevor stated that he learned from an investigator in the Long Beach Police Department that Thomas had "turned off his cell phone during the time of the murder which prevented his whereabouts from being tracked." Trevor explained that Thomas' ability to pick a lock "far exceed[ed] the average ability of a normal person." Trevor claimed that Thomas taught him how to pick a lock at a young age and that he has seen Thomas pick locks.
¶13. Trevor attached Thomas' deposition to his response. In addition to the circumstantial evidence, Trevor argues a closer look at some instances of Thomas' invocation of his Fifth Amendment right during his deposition further creates a genuine issue of material fact:
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