Cook v. Mardi Gras Casino Corp.

697 So. 2d 378, 1997 WL 333130
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedJune 19, 1997
Docket95-CA-00225-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 697 So. 2d 378 (Cook v. Mardi Gras Casino Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cook v. Mardi Gras Casino Corp., 697 So. 2d 378, 1997 WL 333130 (Mich. 1997).

Opinion

697 So.2d 378 (1997)

Tina Louise COOK, Executrix For The Estate of Cathy S. Cook
v.
MARDI GRAS CASINO CORPORATION and IGT-North America, Inc.

No. 95-CA-00225-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

June 19, 1997.

*379 R. Jack Brantley, Jr., Ridgeland, for appellant.

Richard W. Sliman, Stephen A. Anderson, Bryant Clark Dukes Blakeslee Ramsay & Hammond, Gulfport, W. Briggs Hopson, III, Teller Martin Chaney & Hassell, Vicksburg, Ben H. Stone, Scott E. Andress, Eaton & Cottrell, Jackson, for appellee.

Michael C. Moore, Atty. Gen., R. Stewart Smith, Jr., M. Carole Brand, Special Asst. Attys. Gen., for amicus curiae.

Before DAN LEE, C.J., and McRAE and SMITH, JJ.

SMITH, Justice, for the Court.

The Appellant prays for relief from the judgment of the Circuit Court of Hancock County, wherein that court dismissed her claim on the grounds that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the claim and on the grounds that the appellant had not exhausted all her administrative remedies. Additionally, the appellant alleges as error that the court should have found that it had jurisdiction to hear the appellant's common law claims, and that the lower court should have granted the appellant's motion to amend complaint. This Court finds that the appellant's claims are wholly without merit, and affirms the ruling of the trial court.

FACTS

On June 10, 1993, Cathy Hinckley Cook, also referred to as Cathy Sue Cook and Cathy S. Cook, won $235,293.89 by playing a Quartermania slot machine at Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis. Pursuant to the authority of the State Gaming Commission, jackpots or winnings over $100,000 may be paid out in annual installments over a twenty year period. Upon validation of Cook's win, IGT Corporation, appellee and duly licensed operator *380 of the slot machine, tendered to Cook a check for $11,176.46, which equals 1/20 of the total jackpot minus the mandatory withholding of 5% state income tax. Cook accepted and negotiated this check, as well as all subsequent checks.

Apparently dissatisfied with the periodic payment arrangement, Cook's attorney notified Casino representatives that Cook expected immediate payment of gaming winnings in full, and provided written notice to that effect on July 8, 1993. After Casino Magic responded by letter dated July 14, 1993, that it refused to pay the winnings in one lump sum, Cook formally notified the Commission of this dispute on August 19, 1993, claiming that the slot machines at Casino Magic did not comply with Mississippi Gaming Commission regulations regarding the periodic payment of winnings, and thus Cook should be entitled to full payment of her winnings. Following receipt of Cook's notification, Chuck Patton, interim executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission subsequently conducted an investigation into the matter and determined that Cook's claim had no merit. By letter dated October 28, 1993, the Commission notified Cook's attorney that its investigation found that the Quartermania slot machines at Casino Magic complied with Gaming Commission regulations. Therefore, periodic payment was proper and Cook's claim was without merit. Cook thereafter filed this action in the Circuit Court of Hinds County, demanding that IGT and/or Casino Magic immediately tender her a sum equal to the remaining nineteen installments due to her. The Hinds County Circuit Court gave Cook leave to amend her complaint to include the Gaming Commission, which she subsequently failed to do. The Hinds County Circuit Court then transferred the case to the Hancock County Circuit Court. There, the court found that it had no jurisdiction to hear the case in that Cook had failed to appeal the decision of the executive director to the full Commission as she was required to do under Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-161(1) through (3) (1972). The court also ruled that it was without authority to hear the common law claims attached to the complaint and dismissed Cook's case. Aggrieved, Cook appealed. Subsequent to filing her appeal, Cathy S. Cook died on January 22, 1997. Tina Louise Cook, Executrix for the Estate of Cathy S. Cook is now substitute appellant.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

In Miss. Dept. of Environmental Quality v. Weems, 653 So.2d 266, 273 (Miss. 1995), this Court stated that:

[O]ur Constitution does not permit the judiciary of this state to retry de novo matters on appeal from administrative agencies. Our courts are not permitted to make administrative decisions and perform the functions of an administrative agency. Administrative agencies must perform the functions required of them by law. When an administrative agency has performed its function, and has made the determination and entered the order required of it, the parties may then appeal to the judicial tribunal to the hear the appeal. The appeal is a limited one ... since the courts cannot enter the field of administrative agency. The court will entertain the appeal to determine whether or not the order of the administrative agency (1) was supported by substantial evidence, (2) was arbitrary and capricious, (3) was beyond the power of the administrative agency to make, or (4) violated some statutory or constitutional right of the complaining party.

quoting State Tax Commission v. Earnest, 627 So.2d 313, 319 (Miss. 1993) (emphasis in original).

DISCUSSION OF LAW

The issues raised by Cook can most succinctly be stated as follows:

I. WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT IT HAD NO JURISDICTION TO HEAR THIS CASE.

Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-157(2) (1972) states that "a claim by a patron of a licensee for payment of a gambling debt not evidenced by a credit instrument may be resolved by the executive director [of the Mississippi Gaming Commission] in accordance with sections 75-76-159 through XX-XX-XXX, *381 inclusive." Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-159(1) (1972) states that:

whenever a licensee refuses payment of alleged winnings to a patron, the licensee and the patron are unable to resolve the dispute to the satisfaction of the patron and the dispute involves (a) at least Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), the licensee shall immediately notify the executive director ... The executive director shall conduct whatever investigation is deemed necessary and determine whether payment should be made.

Finally, Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-161(1) through (3) state that:

(1) Within twenty (20) days after receipt of the written decision of the executive director, the aggrieved party may file a petition with the Commission requesting a hearing to reconsider the decision.
(2) The petition must set forth the basis of the request for reconsideration.
(3) If no petition for reconsideration is filed within the time prescribed in subsection (1) of this section, the decision shall be deemed the final action on the matter and is not subject to reconsideration by the executive director or review by the Commission or review by any court.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
697 So. 2d 378, 1997 WL 333130, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cook-v-mardi-gras-casino-corp-miss-1997.