Milburn v. Vinson

850 So. 2d 1219, 2002 WL 31421103
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedOctober 29, 2002
Docket2000-CA-01394-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 850 So. 2d 1219 (Milburn v. Vinson) 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
Milburn v. Vinson, 850 So. 2d 1219, 2002 WL 31421103 (Mich. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

850 So.2d 1219 (2002)

Scott MILBURN, Top Bail Bond, Albert A. Milburn, ABC and Hampton Gardner d/b/a The Hampton Company, Appellants,
v.
Vergie VINSON, Appellee.

No. 2000-CA-01394-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

October 29, 2002.
Rehearing Denied March 18, 2003.

*1222 Sanford E. Knott, Jackson, attorney for appellants.

Eugene Coursey Tullos, Mark K. Tullos, Raleigh, attorneys for appellee.

EN BANC.

CHANDLER, J., for the court.

¶ 1. Vergie Vinson brought suit against Scott and Albert Milburn, Top Bail Bond, and the Hampton Company for unlawful trespass and emotional distress. The case was tried on December 22, 1999, in Smith County, Mississippi. Judgment was found in Mrs. Vinson's favor in the amount of $200,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages. The appellants, feeling aggrieved by the judgment against them, have appealed this award and allege three assertions of error. Firstly, the appellants allege that the trial court erred in not granting the appellants' motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict as to whether a trespass was committed. Next, they argue that the trial court erred in not setting aside the jury verdict as against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. Finally, the appellants argue that the trial court erred in refusing to grant their motion for remittitur.

¶ 2. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. On Christmas Day 1996, Scott and Albert Milburn, bail bondsmen employed by the Hampton Company, went to the home of the appellee, Vergie Vinson. The Milburns were hoping to find Alfred Robinson at Mrs. Vinson's home. Robinson, Mrs. Vinson's son, failed to appear in court on a bond held by the Milburns' employer.

¶ 4. The Milburns arrived at Mrs. Vinson's home at approximately 1:00 p.m. Christmas Day and knocked on the door. Mrs. Vinson, who was eighty-three years old at the time, opened the door to find the Milburns outside. At this point the events of the afternoon are highly disputed. Mrs. Vinson testified that she opened her door and greeted the Milburns. One of the men responded that they were there to search her home. Mrs. Vinson asked if they had a search warrant. In answer, one of the men quickly held out a piece of paper. Because of recent eye surgery, Mrs. Vinson was unable to read the document and therefore, believing it to be a search warrant, she let them in her home. At that point, Mrs. Vinson testified that Mr. Albert Milburn remained in the living room with her and Mr. Scott Milburn searched every room in her home, including the closets and her bedroom. She further testified that although the men never removed their guns from under their jackets, she could tell that they were both armed. As soon as the Milburns left, Mrs. Vinson contacted the Smith County Sheriff's Department to report the incident.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

I. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN REFUSING TO GRANT THE APPELLANTS' MOTION FOR JUDGMENT NOTWITHSTANDING THE VERDICT?

¶ 5. The appellants argue that the trial court erred in refusing to grant their motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict as to whether a trespass was committed. They argue that, as bail agents, the Milburns had the authority to search Mrs. Vinson's home and properly exercised that authority.

¶ 6. Directed verdict and JNOV motions challenge the legal sufficiency of the evidence. Woodard v. Turnipseed, 784 So.2d 239 (¶ 13) (Miss.Ct.App.2000).

*1223 When such motions are made, the court must consider all of the evidence, not just evidence that supports the non-movant's case, in the light most favorable to the party opposed to the motion, giving the non-movant all favorable inferences that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence. Id. If, after examining the facts and inferences, the facts and inferences point so overwhelmingly in favor of the movant that no reasonable person could have arrived at a contrary verdict, the motion must be granted. Id.; Stubblefield v. Jesco, Inc., 464 So.2d 47, 54 (Miss.1984). On the other hand, if there is substantial evidence opposed to the motion, evidence of such quality and weight that reasonable and fair-minded people might reach a different conclusion, the motion should be denied and the jury's verdict allowed to stand. City of Jackson v. Locklar, 431 So.2d 475, 478 (Miss.1983); Hammack v. Czaja, 769 So.2d 847 (¶ 9) (Miss.Ct.App. 2000). Only when a directed verdict at the close of the plaintiff's or the defendant's case would have been proper, will a judgment notwithstanding the verdict be proper. C & C Trucking Co. v. Smith, 612 So.2d 1092, 1098 (Miss.1992); Hammack, 769 So.2d at (¶ 9).

¶ 7. The appellants rely upon Mississippi Code Annotated § 99-5-27(2)(b) (Rev. 2000) to support their argument that they had the right to enter Mrs. Vinson's home to search for Robinson. That statute reads as follows: "[b]ail or its agent, at any time, may arrest its principal anywhere or authorize another to do so for purpose of surrender...." Miss.Code Ann. § 99-5-27(2)(b) (Rev.2000).

¶ 8. Appellants further rely upon Taylor v. Taintor, 16 Wall. 366, 371, 21 L.Ed. 287 (1872). In Taylor, the United States Supreme Court held that a bail agent had the authority to seek and arrest a person fleeing the court's jurisdiction. Id. The court noted that the bail agent could arrest the principal at any time and in any state. Id. The court further stated that the bail agent was within his authority to enter the principal's home to arrest him and return him to the court's jurisdiction. Id. This line of authority was adopted by the Mississippi Supreme Court in Cartee v. State, 162 Miss. 263, 265, 139 So. 618, 620 (1932) and codified as Miss.Code Ann. § 99-5-27 (Rev.2000).

¶ 9. While the above cited authority would give the Milburns the right to search Robinson's home, it does not grant the authority to search a third party's home. The appellants testified that Robinson received some mail at his mother's home and that her address was on the title to his vehicle; however, testimony from Mrs. Vinson and her other children, including her son and next-door neighbor Hillman Vinson, indicated that Robinson seldom visited his mother's residence and actually lived out of the state.

¶ 10. A trespasser is defined as one who enters upon another's premises "without license, invitation, or other right, and intrudes for some definite purpose of his own, or at his convenience...." Saucier v. Biloxi Reg'l Med. Ctr., 708 So.2d 1351(¶ 28) (Miss.1998) (quoting Kelley v. Sportsmen's Speedway, Inc., 224 Miss. 632, 644, 80 So.2d 785, 790 (1955)). Mrs. Vinson testified that only after the Milburns showed her what they represented to be a search warrant, did she allow them in her home. Because they did not have a search warrant or other authority to search Mrs. Vinson's home, there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find that a trespass had been committed.

II. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN FAILING TO FIND THAT THE JURY'S VERDICT WAS AGAINST THE OVERWHELMING *1224 WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE?

¶ 11. The appellants argue that the trial court erred in failing to set aside the jury's verdict and awards of compensatory and punitive damages as against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. They argue that Mrs.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
850 So. 2d 1219, 2002 WL 31421103, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/milburn-v-vinson-missctapp-2002.