Jackson v. McGee

922 So. 2d 823, 2006 Miss. App. LEXIS 123, 2006 WL 399239
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedFebruary 21, 2006
DocketNo. 2004-CA-01930-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 922 So. 2d 823 (Jackson v. McGee) 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
Jackson v. McGee, 922 So. 2d 823, 2006 Miss. App. LEXIS 123, 2006 WL 399239 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

LEE, P.J.,

for the Court.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 1. Roy Guillory was rear-ended by Shameka West as he drove a car down Bailey Avenue in Jackson on February 6, 1998. West’s vehicle was rented from Enterprise Reni>-A-Car (Enterprise) by Terry McGee. Guillory filed suit against West, Enterprise and McGee. Guillory died during the course of the litigation, and in 2001 Mary Alice Jackson was substituted as Guillory’s representative. Jackson settled the claims with Enterprise and obtained an entry of default against West, and neither Enterprise nor West are a party to this appeal.

¶ 2. Prior to trial, the trial court entered a default judgment against McGee on the issue of liability due to his failure to cooperate in discovery; however, this issue is not presented to this Court for review. The case was tided by jury in the Hinds County Circuit Court on November 27, 2001, solely on the issue of damages. Jackson argues that as the jury began deliberations, three documents which were marked for identification purposes only were submitted to the jury along with the trial exhibits. These documents consisted of a letter from Dr. Joseph Pierre, who owned the clinic which treated Guillory, to Jackson’s attorney; the Jackson Police Department’s accident report; and a page bearing four photographs depicting the vehicle driven by Guillory. The jury returned a verdict for Jackson in the amount of $1500.

¶ 3. Aggrieved, Jackson now appeals, arguing the following three points of error [825]*825which we quote verbatim: “(1) the introduction of extraneous evidence into the jury room during jury deliberation and the consideration of such evidence by the jury in reaching a verdict is improper and error to the trial court and the circuit court in failing to so find is reversible error; (2) the trial court erred in its refusal to grant a new trial when inadmissible evidence was examined by the jury during deliberations thereby limiting the damages awarded to the Plaintiff; and (3) the verdict is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.” Issues I and II involve substantially the same analysis and, therefore, will be addressed together.

¶ 4. Finding no error, we affirm.

DISCUSSION OF ISSUES

I. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN FAILING TO GRANT A NEW TRIAL BECAUSE OF PURPORTED JUROR MISCONDUCT?

¶ 5. In Gladney v. Clarksdale Beverage Co., 625 So.2d 407 (Miss.1993), the Mississippi Supreme Court instituted its own procedure to address juror inquiry under Mississippi Rule of Evidence 606(b) when making an inquiry into the validity of a jury verdict. This procedure was an endeavor by the supreme court to prevent “fishing expeditions” in the attempt to change an unfavorable jury verdict. Alpha Gulf Coast, Inc. v. Jackson, 801 So.2d 709, 731(¶ 82) (Miss.2001). Rule 606(b) provides as follows:

(b) Inquiry Into Validity of Verdict or Indictment. Upon an inquiry into the validity of a verdict or indictment, a juror may not testify as to any matter or statement occurring during the course of the jury’s deliberations or to the effect of anything upon his or any other juror’s mind or emotions as influencing him to assent to or dissent from the verdict or indictment or concerning his mental processes in connection therewith, except that a juror may testify on the question whether extraneous prejudicial information was improperly brought to the jury’s attention or whether any outside influence was improperly brought to bear upon any juror. Nor may his affidavit or evidence of any statement by him concerning a matter about which he would be precluded from testifying be received for these purposes.

¶ 6. Rule 606(b) is a rule of competency, allowing a juror to testify whether extraneous prejudicial information was improperly brought to the jury’s attention. Salter v. Watkins, 513 So.2d 569, 571 (Miss.1987). Once an allegation of juror misconduct arises, the court must determine whether an investigation is warranted. Gladney, 625 So.2d at 418. An investigation is warranted if the party alleging misconduct overcomes the presumption that the jury was impartial. Id. “At the very minimum, it must be shown that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that good cause exists to believe that there was in fact an improper outside influence or extraneous prejudicial information.” Id. at 419. “The sufficiency of such evidence shall be determined by the trial court if a post-trial hearing is indeed warranted under these standards.” Id. The scope of such a hearing is limited. Id.

¶ 7. Once the trial court has determined that there was communication, as well as the contents of the communication, the court must then decide if it is reasonably possible the communication altered the verdict. Id. A new trial may be ordered “[w]here such extra-record facts affect an issue of importance in the case and are qualitatively different from the evidence properly before the jury.” Salter, 513 So.2d at 571.

[826]*826¶ 8. The trial court held a hearing on the issue, finding that the allegations were without merit. We review this decision, as well as the ruling denying the motion for a new trial under the familiar abuse of discretion standard. Id. at 574.

¶ 9. Three members of the jury were called to testify at the posttrial hearing. When shown the three documents, juror Brenda Funchess testified that she recalled seeing the accident report and the letter in the jury room. Funchess testified that she could not recall specifics about the letter, but did recall seeing “some letters” in the jury room. Fun-chess also testified that she recalled seeing some pictures depicting the rear of the vehicle. Darlene Jointer also served as a juror. She testified that she could only recall seeing medical bills and seeing half of the photographs. She did not recall seeing the letter from the chiropractor or the accident report. Finally, juror George Anderson testified that he was unsure whether he saw the accident report, but he did recall seeing some pictures in the jury room. Anderson did not recall seeing the letter from the chiropractor.

¶ 10. We find no abuse of discretion. At best, the testimony at the hearing established that some pictures were submitted to the jury. We note that Funchess was the only person with any recollection of reviewing the offending documents. We do not agree that this is sufficient to overcome the presumption that the jury was impartial. Assuming, arguendo, that Funchess’ testimony is accurate and the documents were actually submitted to the jury, we do not agree that the documents contained facts which conflicted with the evidence presented at trial. Jackson was cross-examined regarding the letter, and the jury was aware of the letter’s content, specifically that Dr. Pierre wrote a letter to Guillo-ry’s attorney regarding treatment for an accident on March 24, 1998, on Woodrow Wilson Avenue in Jackson.

¶ 11. We are not aware, and Jackson does not assert, how the accident report and the photographs would have presented evidence that was qualitatively different from the evidence presented at trial. The issue of liability was not contested, and there was conflicting testimony regarding the ownership of the car. Additionally, Robert Hill, a mechanic, testified on Jackson’s behalf regarding the damage to the car. Jackson elicited testimony from Hill regarding the damage he observed in the pictures which were marked for identification.

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Related

Gaines v. K-Mart Corp.
860 So. 2d 1214 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2003)
Gladney v. Clarksdale Beverage Co., Inc.
625 So. 2d 407 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1993)
Teasley v. Buford
876 So. 2d 1070 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2004)
Salter v. Watkins
513 So. 2d 569 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1987)
Jackson v. Brumfield
458 So. 2d 736 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1984)
Pruitt v. MISSISSIPPI FARM BUREAU CAS.
724 So. 2d 473 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 1998)
Alpha Gulf Coast, Inc. v. Jackson
801 So. 2d 709 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2001)
Rodgers v. Pascagoula Public School Dist.
611 So. 2d 942 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1992)
Allstate Ins. Co. v. McGory
697 So. 2d 1171 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
922 So. 2d 823, 2006 Miss. App. LEXIS 123, 2006 WL 399239, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jackson-v-mcgee-missctapp-2006.