Gasparrini v. Bredemeier

802 So. 2d 1062, 2001 WL 1610107
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedDecember 18, 2001
Docket2000-CA-01537-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 802 So. 2d 1062 (Gasparrini v. Bredemeier) 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
Gasparrini v. Bredemeier, 802 So. 2d 1062, 2001 WL 1610107 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

802 So.2d 1062 (2001)

William G. GASPARRINI, Individually and as Agent for Applied Psychology Center, P.C., Appellants
v.
Gregory BREDEMEIER and Sandra Bredemeier, Appellees.

No. 2000-CA-01537-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

December 18, 2001.

*1063 Chester D. Nicholson, Gulfport, Gail D. Nicholson, Austin, TX, Attorneys for Appellants.

Brett K. Williams, Kevin C. Bradley, Pascagoula, Attorneys for Appellees.

Before McMILLIN, C.J., BRIDGES, and CHANDLER, JJ.

CHANDLER, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Dr. William Gasparrini appeals the summary judgment entered by the trial court against him in this suit. Gasparrini brought suit in the Harrison County Circuit Court on February 27, 1997. He sought damages against Major Rogers and several other fictitious parties for false light, invasion of privacy, civil conspiracy, tortious interference with business relations, defamation, abuse of process, and malicious prosecution. After discovery, Gasparrini filed a motion to substitute Sandra and Gregory Bredemeier for two of the designated fictitious parties. The Bredemeiers moved for summary judgment and all claims against them were dismissed. Gasparrini appeals assigning as error:

I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE BASIS THAT STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS BARRED THE CLAIMS OF DEFAMATION, FALSE LIGHT, INVASION OF PRIVACY AND CIVIL CONSPIRACY.
II. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE CLAIM OF TORTIOUS INTERFERENCE WITH BUSINESS RELATIONS.
III. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF THE BREDEMEIERS ON THE CLAIMS OF MALICIOUS PROSECUTION AND ABUSE OF PROCESS AND CONTEMPT OF COURT.

We conclude that the trial court erroneously granted summary judgment on issues I and II; therefore, we reverse and remand for further proceedings. However, we find that the appellant failed to cite any authority in support of his argument pertaining to issue III; as such, we affirm the trial court's dismissal of Gasparrini's malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and contempt of court claims.

*1064 STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

¶ 2. In 1993, Dr. William Gasparrini, a psychologist, was appointed by Chancellor J.N. Randall to perform a psychological evaluation on Sandra Bredemeier and her two children who were the subject of a custody dispute. After extensive testing, Gasparrini concluded that Sandra's former husband, Gary Jackson, should have primary custody of the two children. Chancellor Randall entered a judgment consistent with Gasparrini's findings and his decision was later affirmed by the Mississippi Supreme Court in Bredemeier v. Jackson, 689 So.2d 770 (Miss.1997). Thereafter, Sandra and Gregory Bredemeier, her second husband, began placing advertisements in the local newspaper, seeking others who, like Sandra, had lost custody of their children through an order by Chancellor Randall after being evaluated by Dr. Gasparrini. People began responding to the advertisements and congregating at the Bredemeier's house. One of the individuals was named Rhonda Rogers, a. k. a. Major Rogers, a U.S. Army retiree.

¶ 3. Major Rogers, just like Sandra, lost the primary custody of her children after Gasparrini, at the request of Chancellor Randall, performed a standard custody evaluation. Unlike Sandra, Major Rogers never appealed the chancellor's decision. Instead, Major Rogers, along with the Bredemeiers, filed ethical complaints against Gasparrini with the Mississippi Board of Psychological Examiners (MBPE). The MBPE dismissed the complaints as frivolous. Aggrieved, both Major Rogers and the Bredemeiers filed similar ethical complaints with the American Psychological Association (APA). Upon receipt of Rogers's complaint, the APA decided to conduct an administrative investigation and informed Major Rogers accordingly. After receiving notice of the investigation, Major Rogers sent a letter to each of Gasparrini's employers and persons he dealt with on a professional basis, stating that Gasparrini was being investigated for ethical violations by the APA. Major Rogers never mentioned that the MBPE had already dismissed the claims. Furthermore, after the APA rejected Major Rogers's complaint, she refused to inform the recipients of her letters that Gasparrini had been absolved of all fault.

¶ 4. As a result of Major Rogers's letters, Gasparrini's business suffered. In addition to other economic injuries set out in the record, Gasparrini lost a contract with Keesler Air Force Base which provided him with the exclusive right to provide psychological testing to children inside the Keesler Pediatric Clinic, Keesler Psychiatric Outpatient Mental Health Center, and Keesler Family Advocacy Program. Likewise, Gulfport Memorial Hospital terminated Gasparrini's services after receiving a letter from Major Rogers; Gasparrini had worked with Memorial Hospital for over nine years without incident. In all, Gasparrini demonstrated that his annual gross receipts decreased from $800,000 to approximately $600,000 after the letter had been mailed.

¶ 5. Gasparrini filed suit against Major Rogers on February 27, 1997, exactly one year after Major Rogers mailed out the letters to Gasparrini's employers and business associates. Also included in the suit was a set of fictitious parties designated as "other persons yet unknown." Gasparrini deposed the Bredemeiers on July 15, 1997. The Bredemeiers denied any involvement in the letter campaign. Thirteen days later Gasparrini deposed Major Rogers. During the deposition Major Rogers contradicted the Bredemeiers' testimony and linked them to the letter writing campaign. On August 1, 1997, four days after the *1065 Rogers deposition, Gasparrini filed a motion to substitute parties, swapping Gregory and Sandra Bredemeier for the designated fictitious parties.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 6. This Court conducts de novo review of orders granting summary judgment and will review all evidentiary matters before it. Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Berry, 669 So.2d 56, 70 (Miss.1996). We will view all evidence in a light most favorable to the party against whom the motion was made. Id. Where there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law, summary judgment should be granted in favor of the moving party. Cothern v. Vickers, Inc., 759 So.2d 1241, 1245 (¶ 5) (Miss.2000). The moving party has the burden of demonstrating that there is no genuine issue of material fact. Id. Where there is the slightest doubt as to whether a factual issue exists, the court should resolve the issue in favor of the non-moving party. Id.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

I. DID THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS RUN ON THE CLAIMS OF DEFAMATION, FALSE LIGHT, INVASION OF PRIVACY AND CIVIL CONSPIRACY?

¶ 7. Gasparrini argues that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the Bredemeiers for the claims of defamation, false light, invasion of privacy and civil conspiracy on the basis that the one year statute of limitations had run. Gasparrini asserts that he filed the original complaint against Major Rogers and several fictitious parties within one year from the date on which the cause of action on each of the stated claims had accrued. Furthermore, he contends that Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure 9(h) and 15(c) permitted him to substitute the Bredemeiers for a fictitious party and that such substitution related back to the date of the original filing.

¶ 8. Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 9(h) provides:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
802 So. 2d 1062, 2001 WL 1610107, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gasparrini-v-bredemeier-missctapp-2001.