Cuffee v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

977 So. 2d 1187, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 555, 2007 WL 2421734
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedAugust 28, 2007
Docket2006-CA-00621-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 977 So. 2d 1187 (Cuffee v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cuffee v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 977 So. 2d 1187, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 555, 2007 WL 2421734 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

977 So.2d 1187 (2007)

Shirley CUFFEE, Appellant
v.
WAL-MART STORES, INC., Appellee.

No. 2006-CA-00621-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

August 28, 2007.
Rehearing Denied November 27, 2007.

*1188 Alben Norris Hopkins, Mariano Javier Barviè, Gulfport, attorneys for appellant.

Raymond L. Brown, Pascagoula, Steven Benjamin Dick, attorneys for appellee.

Before LEE, P.J., IRVING and CHANDLER, JJ.

*1189 IRVING, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Shirley Cuffee filed an action in the Harrison County Circuit Court to recover damages for personal injuries she claims to have suffered while at a Wal-Mart store in Biloxi, Mississippi. A jury returned a verdict in favor of Wal-Mart. Thereafter, Cuffee filed a motion pursuant to Rule 60(b) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, alleging that a witness for Wal-Mart gave perjured testimony at trial after being instructed by Wal-Mart's attorney to do so. This motion was denied by the circuit court, and Cuffee has appealed, assigning for our review the following issue:

WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW BY DENYING APPELLANT'S RULE 60(b) MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM ORDER FOR REASONS OF FRAUD, MISREPRESENTATION, AND NEWLY DISCOVERED EVIDENCE AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE TRIAL IN THIS MATTER.

¶ 2. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. On January 7, 2002, Cuffee, along with her mother and her grandson, went to a Wal-Mart store in Biloxi, Mississippi, so Cuffee could purchase a Power Wheels motorized car for her grandson. Eugene Huff, a Wal-Mart employee, assisted Cuffee in taking the car to her vehicle.[1]

¶ 4. At trial, during direct examination, Cuffee testified that she told Huff that if the box, containing the motorized car, did not fit into the trunk of her car she could arrange for someone to bring her truck to the store. After realizing that the box was too large for the trunk, Cuffee claims that Huff suggested strapping the box to the top of her car. Cuffee testified that she found three bungee cords and a nylon strap in a toolbox which was located in the trunk of her car. Cuffee further testified that Huff tied the strap and one of the bungee cords together without her assistance. However, on cross-examination, Wal-Mart's attorney pointed that this was inconsistent with Cuffee's deposition testimony where she had stated that "[t]he only thing I can remember is maybe hooking one or two of these [straps and bungee cords] together with him."

¶ 5. During further cross-examination, Cuffee testified that she noticed that her grandson was not properly buckled in his carseat, so she proceeded to buckle him in properly. Cuffee stated that her car was a two-door vehicle, so in order to secure her grandson in his carseat she had to place herself between the front and back seats to reach into the back seat. According to Cuffee, Huff continued to strap the box to the roof of the car. Cuffee stated that, as she was exiting the area between the seats, one of the bungee cords struck her in the eye, causing it to bleed. Cuffee testified that she drove home after Huff finished securing the box to the roof of her car.

¶ 6. Cuffee kept an appointment with her regular physician that had been previously scheduled for later that day. After discussing the accident with her physician, he suggested that she report the incident to management at Wal-Mart. Following her physician's advice, Cuffee returned to the store and reported the accident to the store's supervisor. Later, Cuffee went to the emergency room at Gulfport Memorial Hospital, complaining of vision loss in her right eye. Emergency room personnel called the hospital's ophthalmologist, Dr. *1190 Gene Gaddy, who instructed Cuffee to come to his office the following day for an examination. After conducting his examination, Dr. Gaddy referred Cuffee to Dr. Ivan R. Batlle. Cuffee testified that she drove to Dr. Battle's office in New Orleans, Louisiana, the following day. Dr. Batlle performed laser light surgery on Cuffee's eye. Thereafter, she continued to see him at his New Orleans and Gulfport offices.

¶ 7. In November 2002, Dr. Batlle diagnosed Cuffee as having developed a macular hole in the center of vision in her right eye, and he suggested that she have macular hole surgery to restore her vision.[2] Although Cuffee is legally blind in her right eye, she was cleared by Dr. Batlle to resume working.

¶ 8. Cuffee's attorney called Huff as an adverse witness, who recalled the accident somewhat differently than Cuffee. He testified that he did not strap the box to the roof of Cuffee's car and was four car lengths away from Cuffee at the time of the accident. Huff also testified that, prior to the trial, he had not touched the strap.

¶ 9. On direct examination, Huff stated that it was Cuffee who suggested that the box be strapped to the top of the car after it would not fit into her trunk. Huff admitted that he placed the box on the roof of Cuffee's car; however, he stated that he did not tie the box down. Rather, Huff testified that Cuffee produced the bungee cords and asked him to tie the box down for her, but he refused. Huff said that he told Cuffee that it would be against store policy for him to do so. Huff testified that the box was not strapped to Cuffee's car when he walked away to collect shopping carts from the parking lot.[3]

¶ 10. Huff stated that he was a few parking spaces away from Cuffee's car when he heard someone say "ouch" or something similar. He said that he returned to Cuffee's car, and she told him that the bungee cord had hit her in the eye. Further, Huff stated that Cuffee did not say or imply that he had caused the accident. Wal-Mart has a policy that requires all injuries and accidents to be reported to a supervisor immediately; however, Huff testified that he did not report this incident to Wal-Mart management because "[i]t was not Wal-Mart's fault. . . ." He also testified that he did not strap the box to Cuffee's car after the incident and that he does not know who did. However, Huff gave a statement at Wal-Mart on the day of the incident in which he stated that Cuffee strapped the box to the roof of the car.

¶ 11. As previously stated, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Wal-Mart. On December 4, 2003, Cuffee filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, alternatively, for a new trial. On March 16, 2004, Cuffee noticed a posttrial deposition of Huff, and Wal-Mart responded by filing a motion to quash and for protective order. On March 26, 2004, the court heard arguments regarding Cuffee's right to take a posttrial deposition of Huff, who allegedly admitted, after the trial, to Cuffee's son and to Cuffee's attorney that he did in fact tie the strap and cords together.

¶ 12. On January 12, 2005, the court granted Cuffee's request to redepose Huff, and his posttrial deposition was taken on May 12, 2005. During-his posttrial deposition, Huff testified that he tied the strap *1191 and cords together and gave them to Cuffee, completely contradicting his trial testimony that he had not touched the strap before trial. After considering all of the evidence before it, the trial court denied Cuffee's motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial, as well as Cuffee's Rule 60(b) motion for relief.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUE

¶ 13. The sole issue of this appeal is whether the trial judge erred in denying Cuffee's Rule 60(b) motion.[4]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
977 So. 2d 1187, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 555, 2007 WL 2421734, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cuffee-v-wal-mart-stores-inc-missctapp-2007.