Lacy v. Morrison

906 So. 2d 126, 2004 WL 2795889
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedDecember 7, 2004
Docket2003-CA-02059-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 906 So. 2d 126 (Lacy v. Morrison) 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
Lacy v. Morrison, 906 So. 2d 126, 2004 WL 2795889 (Mich. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

906 So.2d 126 (2004)

James D. LACY, Appellant,
v.
Valford MORRISON, Appellee.

No. 2003-CA-02059-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

December 7, 2004.

*127 Mose Lee Sudduth, Jr., attorney for appellant.

Jeffrey C. Smith, Columbus, attorney for appellee.

Before BRIDGES, P.J., CHANDLER and GRIFFIS, JJ.

BRIDGES, P.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. In December of 1995, James D. Lacy filed a complaint against Valford Morrison in the County Court of Lowndes County alleging breach of contract based on material misrepresentations. The complaint was later dismissed for want of prosecution, but Lacy obtained an agreed order allowing the claim to be re-opened. Lacy then retained new legal counsel who, after receiving court approval, filed an amended complaint alleging fraud in the inducement and breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose.

¶ 2. In October of 2001, Morrison filed a motion for summary judgment. The motion was granted by the county court, so Lacy appealed to the Circuit Court of Lowndes County. The circuit court affirmed the decision, so Lacy subsequently appealed to this Court claiming that the *128 grant of summary judgment constitutes reversible error.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

¶ 3. James D. Lacy, at all times relevant to this appeal, worked as a used car dealer buying for wholesale from various individuals and companies. Upon learning that Valford Morrison owned a Chevrolet 3500 series pickup truck with dual rear wheels, Lacy contacted him and inquired as to the possibility of purchasing the truck while also explaining that his interest in the truck was for pulling horse trailers. Morrison informed Lacy that the truck was a 1989 model when, in fact, the truck was a 1986 model. Lacy purchased the truck and subsequently drove it to Oklahoma where it was rendered inoperable due to transmission failure. Lacy paid approximately $500 to have the truck repaired and then drove it back to Lowndes County, where he had the truck returned to Morrison and demanded the return of his money. Lacy additionally sent a written document to Morrison in which he complained that the truck was unfit for his use, not in good mechanical shape, and three years older than promised. Morrison did not comply with his demands, so Lacy filed this action.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

¶ 4. Summary judgment was entered as to Lacy's claims of fraud in the inducement and breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, and they are the subject of this appeal. Lacy, however, in an attempt to reassert the issue, declares in his brief that the lower court completely avoided his breach of contract claim. To have preserved the issue for appeal, however, Lacy was required to bring the avoided claim to the attention of the lower court, giving it the opportunity to address the issue. Failure to do so renders the claim waived and, thus, unavailable for appellate review, so we will not discuss the claim any further. See Brown v. North Jackson Nissan, Inc., 856 So.2d 692, 696(¶ 15) (Miss.Ct.App.2003) (citations omitted).

A.

Standard of Review

¶ 5. The standard employed by Mississippi's appellate courts in reviewing the grant or denial of motions for summary judgment under Rule 56(c) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure is de novo. This Court, in applying the de novo standard of review,

examines all the evidentiary matters before it — admissions in pleadings, answers to interrogatories, depositions, affidavits, etc. The evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion has been made. If, in this view, there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, summary judgment should forthwith be entered in his favor. Otherwise, the motion should be denied. Issues of fact sufficient to require denial of a motion for summary judgment obviously are present where one party swears to one version of the matter in issue and another says to the opposite. In addition, the burden of demonstrating that no genuine issue of fact exists is on the moving party. That is, the nonmovant should be given the benefit of the doubt.

McMillan v. Rodriguez, 823 So.2d 1173, 1177(¶ 9) (Miss.2002).

B.

Fraud in the Inducement

¶ 6. Lacy maintains that the contract was breached by Morrison's material *129 misrepresentations, or more specifically, fraud in the inducement. Fraud in the inducement arises when a party to a contract makes a fraudulent misrepresentation, i.e., by asserting information he knows to be untrue, for the purpose of inducing the innocent party to enter into a contract. Contracts entered under such circumstances are voidable by the innocent party; however, the innocent party must first establish the presence of the misrepresentation or fraud alleged, which requires proving, by clear and convincing evidence, the following elements:

(1) A representation; (2) its falsity; (3) its materiality; (4) the speaker's knowledge of its falsity or ignorance of its truth; (5) his intent that it should be acted on by the person and in the matter reasonably contemplated; (6) the hearer's ignorance of its falsity; (7) his reliance upon its truth; (8) his right to rely thereon; (9) his consequent and proximate injury.

Great Southern Nat. Bank v. McCullough Environmental Services Inc., 595 So.2d 1282, 1289 (Miss.1992) (citing Johnson v. Brewer, 427 So.2d 118, 121 (Miss.1983)).

¶ 7. Claims alleging misrepresentation and fraud are fact based questions, and therefore, they "generally are inappropriate for disposition at the summary judgment stage." Id. (citation omitted). However, in considering the heightened clear and convincing standard for such claims, the "Mississippi Supreme Court has affirmed a grant of summary judgment in a fraud case where the court was satisfied that a jury applying that high standard to the known facts could not reasonably find a fraud to have been committed." McGee v. Swarek, 733 So.2d 308, 312(¶ 13) (Miss.Ct. App.1998) (citation omitted). Based on our review of the record, Lacy failed to produce evidence establishing each of the aforementioned elements, thereby convincing this Court that no reasonable jury could conclude that Lacy was defrauded by Morrison.

¶ 8. The fatal defects we find with Lacy's claim, as did the trial court, is the lack of evidence demonstrating that Lacy relied on any alleged untruth made by Morrison and that said reliance resulted in consequent and proximate injury. In his brief, Lacy refutes his failure to demonstrate reliance arguing that he clearly stated that "he purchased the vehicle from Morrison based on Morrison's claims that the vehicle was a 1989 and had a new transmission suitable for towing." He continues by defending his claimed injury asserting that "the trial court admit[ed] that [he] paid $500.00 to repair the `new transmission' that Morrison represented to [him]." Our examination of the record, however, reveals that Lacy's argument is misguided.

¶ 9. In his amended complaint, the allegations of which may only be considered in our review based on the failure of Lacy's counsel to incorporate by reference the allegations contained within the original complaint, Lacy alleged as follows:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
906 So. 2d 126, 2004 WL 2795889, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lacy-v-morrison-missctapp-2004.