Crain v. Cleveland Lodge 1532, Order of Moose, Inc.

641 So. 2d 1186, 1994 Miss. LEXIS 376, 1994 WL 418362
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 11, 1994
Docket90-CA-01226
StatusPublished
Cited by116 cases

This text of 641 So. 2d 1186 (Crain v. Cleveland Lodge 1532, Order of Moose, Inc.) 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
Crain v. Cleveland Lodge 1532, Order of Moose, Inc., 641 So. 2d 1186, 1994 Miss. LEXIS 376, 1994 WL 418362 (Mich. 1994).

Opinion

641 So.2d 1186 (1994)

W.B. CRAIN
v.
CLEVELAND LODGE 1532, ORDER OF MOOSE, INC.

No. 90-CA-01226.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

August 11, 1994.

*1187 J. Murray Akers, Greenville, for appellant.

W.O. Luckett, Jr., Luckett Law Firm, Clarksdale, for appellee.

En Banc.

JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr., Justice for the Court:

This appeal arises from an October 23, 1990, ruling of the Bolivar County Circuit Court granting the Appellee's motion for summary judgment in a negligence action. The case had been remanded in Crain v. Cleveland Lodge 1532, Order of Moose, Inc., 560 So.2d 142 (Miss. 1990) (Crain I), wherein this Court held that the Circuit Court's earlier order granting the summary judgment motion was premature in light of its erroneous quashing of subpoenas issued by W.B. Crain compelling two members of the Moose Lodge to testify at the hearing on the motion.

Crain, aggrieved by the lower court's dismissal, appeals to this Court. Finding the lower court did not err in granting summary judgment to appellee, we affirm.

FACTS

W.B. Crain sustained serious head injuries as the result of an attack by an unknown assailant in the parking lot of Cleveland Lodge 1532, Order of Moose, Inc. (hereinafter "Moose Lodge") shortly before 9:00 p.m. on February 23, 1985.[1] He was a member of the band scheduled to play that evening for the Moose Lodge's "Legion Frolic." Crain, who remained unconscious for two to three weeks after the attack, remembers little about what happened. He testified that it was drizzling when he arrived and he parked behind another car in the crowded parking lot. He further stated that the only light in the parking lot was located next to the building, near the stage door he would have used to enter the building.[2] He last remembers being struck in the head from behind as he attempted to open the rear door of his car to unload his guitar.

During discovery in Crain I, Crain had obtained crime reports from the Cleveland Police Department for the period of January 1, 1980, through January 1, 1985. Reports for fifty-five of the sixty months[3] prior to the attack on Crain show that the following crimes were reported within a two block radius of the Moose Lodge:

110 Commercial Burglaries
3 Residential Burglaries
11 Assaults, Robberies and other violent crimes
152 Larcenies (including 75 thefts from vehicles)
2 Miscellaneous (one bomb threat and one indecent exposure)

In his brief, Crain further explains that four of the crimes reported to the police came from the Moose Lodge, including two for thefts from vehicles. Moose Lodge, however, asserts that only two reported crimes had occurred on the premises in the year prior to the assault on Crain. Crain further alleges that in November, 1984, three months before the complained of incident, two white males were beaten and robbed within sight of the Moose Lodge.[4]

*1188 The Moose Lodge filed notice of its new motion to dismiss, or in the alternative, for summary judgment, on August 20, 1990. Although this Court ruled that Crain should have the opportunity during the summary judgment hearing to cross-examine Police Chief Charles Mosely and Bob Avery, both members of the Moose Lodge, it was noted in the Motion for Scheduling Order that the parties agreed to effectuate the mandate via depositions.

The record includes an eleven page excerpt from Chief of Police Charles Mosely's deposition, wherein he is questioned about his credentials, the police chief's role in crime prevention, and his definitions of "violent crimes" and "high crime" areas. When asked about the deterrent value of adequate outdoor lighting, the following exchange took place:

Q. Studies by the National Crime Prevention Institute and other law enforcement agencies have established that adequate lighting by itself has proven to be an effective deterrent to crime.
A. If — if — if your [sic] asking me to agree with their opinion, I don't know. I — I might agree that they may have come up with this, but I don't — I'm not —
Certainly I think lighting has something to do with it. I don't know how much lighting it would take to deter a crime, if you're asking me that. I don't — don't know that. It would depend on what kind of crime we're talking about. If it's assault or something like that, or robbery, I don't think the lighting has anything to do with it. Burglary, I think it does.

Bob Avery, Secretary of the Moose Lodge stated in his deposition that the officers had discussed the safety of its guests and members on several occasions. He said that they have always made sure that there was lighting outside the building, but that no other measures had been taken because, in his opinion, there was no reason. To his knowledge, none of the women who attended meetings in the social quarters of the Lodge had ever requested male escorts when entering or leaving the building.

In its October 23, 1990, ruling granting the Moose Lodge's motion for summary judgment, the Circuit Court opined that:

The pages from the depositions submitted by Plaintiff offer little by way of new support for his claim that the attack on him occurred in a "high crime" area and that his assailant(s) might have been deterred had the Moose Lodge better illuminated the entrance to the Lodge where the attack occurred. This argument by Plaintiff rests entirely upon speculation.
Having reviewed this matter carefully, the Court is forced to the conclusion that Plaintiff has offered nothing new other than an expanded version of arguments previously rejected. Plaintiff invites this Court to ignore the law of Mississippi on a landowner's liability, vel non, to an invitee for criminal attacks by third parties and urges the Court to apply the law of California or some other state. That invitation is declined.

The Circuit Court then entered an order dismissing the case with prejudice on October 23, 1990.

LAW

M.R.C.P. 56(c) allows summary judgment where there are no genuine issues of material fact such that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. When reviewing a decision to grant summary judgment, this Court will conduct a de novo review. Daniels v. GNB, Inc., 629 So.2d 595, 599 (Miss. 1993); Short v. Columbus Rubber & Gasket Co., 535 So.2d 61, 63 (Miss. 1988). Evidentiary matters are viewed in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. Morgan v. City of Ruleville, 627 So.2d 275, 277 (Miss. 1993); Palmer v. Biloxi Regional Medical Center, Inc., 564 So.2d 1346, 1354 (Miss. 1990). However, where the party opposing the motion for summary judgment on a claim or defense upon which it bears the burden of proof at trial, and the moving party can show a complete failure of proof on an essential element of the claim or defense, other issues become immaterial and the moving party is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. Grisham v. John Q. Long V.F.W. Post, No. 4057, Inc., 519 So.2d 413, *1189 416 (Miss. 1988); Galloway et al. v. The Travelers Insurance Co., et al., 515 So.2d 678 (Miss. 1987); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 321-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-53, 91 L.Ed.2d 265, 273 (1986).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Kimberly Smith Horne v. Dolgencorp LLC
Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2025
Connie Good and Donald Good v. Patti Sanders
Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2025
Jeff Snyder v. Estate of Herman Cockrell
Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2023
Charlene Billiot Thomas v. Boyd Biloxi LLC
Mississippi Supreme Court, 2023
Ruff v. Waffle House, Inc.
N.D. Mississippi, 2021
Surratt v. Tractor Supply Company
N.D. Mississippi, 2020
Cox v. JESCO, Inc.
N.D. Mississippi, 2019
O'Bryant v. Walgreen Co.
387 F. Supp. 3d 693 (S.D. Mississippi, 2019)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
641 So. 2d 1186, 1994 Miss. LEXIS 376, 1994 WL 418362, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crain-v-cleveland-lodge-1532-order-of-moose-inc-miss-1994.