Miller v. RB Wall Oil Co., Inc.

970 So. 2d 127, 2007 Miss. LEXIS 690, 2007 WL 4260018
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 6, 2007
Docket2005-CT-01966-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 970 So. 2d 127 (Miller v. RB Wall Oil Co., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. RB Wall Oil Co., Inc., 970 So. 2d 127, 2007 Miss. LEXIS 690, 2007 WL 4260018 (Mich. 2007).

Opinion

970 So.2d 127 (2007)

Stephen W. MILLER
v.
R.B. WALL OIL COMPANY, INC.

No. 2005-CT-01966-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

December 6, 2007.

*129 David N. Gillis, Wayne E. Ferrell, Jr., Jackson, attorneys for appellant.

Melton James Weems, Roy A. Smith, Jr., Jackson, attorneys for appellee.

EN BANC.

DICKINSON, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. This is a slip-and-fall case in which the trial court granted summary judgment. Finding genuine issues of material fact which must be decided by a jury, we reverse and remand for trial.

BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

¶ 2. On January 12, 1995, Stephen Miller slipped and fell on diesel fuel spillage at the Bogue Chitto Truck Stop (Truck Stop). At the time of the accident, the truck stop was being operated by Mary Jo Bueto, who was leasing it from R.B. Wall Oil Co. (Wall), a distributor of Shell gasoline products. As a result of injuries he sustained in the fall, Miller filed suit against Bueto, Wall and Shell Oil Company. Wall filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. On appeal, the case was assigned to the Court of Appeals, which dismissed the appeal due to improper Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) certification.[1]Miller v. R.B. Wall Oil Co., 850 So.2d 101, 102 (Miss.Ct.App. 2002).

¶ 3. The trial court re-entered final judgment in compliance with Rule 54(b), and Miller again appealed. The appeal was again assigned to the Court of Appeals, which found no genuine issue of material fact regarding the element of notice. Miller v. R.B. Wall Oil Co., 970 So.2d 157, 160, 2006 WL 3593423 (Miss.Ct.App. Dec. 12, 2006). As such, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Wall. R.B. Wall Oil Co., 970 So.2d at 162.

¶ 4. Miller filed a petition for certiorari, which we granted to review whether there are triable issues as to: (1) whether Wall can be held liable for the alleged negligence of Bueto and her employees, (2) whether Miller is entitled to punitive damages, *130 and (3) whether Miller is entitled to reasonable expenses and attorney's fees for defending Wall's motion for summary judgment and for costs associated with filing this appeal.

DISCUSSION

¶ 5. Summary judgment is appropriate where "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Miss. R. Civ. P. 56(c). The burden of demonstrating that there are no genuine issues of material fact is upon the movant, and the non-moving party must be given the benefit of every reasonable doubt. Moss, 935 So.2d at 398. "Issues of fact . . . are present where one party swears to one version of the matter in issue and another says the opposite." Id. (quoting Tucker v. Hinds County, 558 So.2d 869, 872 (Miss.1990)).

¶ 6. When we review a trial court's grant of summary judgment, our standard of review is de novo (Moss v. Batesville Casket Co., 935 So.2d 393, 398 (Miss.2006)), and we "must confine [our] review to what appears in the record." Pulphus v. State, 782 So.2d 1220, 1224 (Miss.2001).

I.

¶ 7. The record initially before us was scant, rendering it nearly impossible to make any determination on the merits of Miller's assignments of error. Curiously, the Court of Appeals had rendered an opinion as to Miller's claims, setting forth detailed findings of fact throughout its opinion in support of its conclusion that there were no genuine issues of material fact as to whether the Bueto or any of her employees had notice of a spill. This led to the ultimate determination that the trial court had correctly granted summary judgment as to Wall. R.B. Wall Oil Co., 970 So.2d at 160-62.

¶ 8. Specifically, the Court of Appeals referred to the testimony of Bueto, Donnie McWilliams, and Jason Miller, in support of its conclusion that summary judgment was properly granted. R.B. Wall Oil Co., 970 So.2d at 160-61.

¶ 9. Although the transcripts were missing from the record, they were included in the Designation of the Record. Our Rules of Appellate Procedure obligate the appellant to examine the record and submit any proposed changes to the record or certify that the record is correct and complete. The rule states:

For fourteen (14) days after the clerk's notice of completion under Rule 11(d)(2), the appellant shall have the use of the record for examination. On or before the expiration of that period, appellant's counsel shall deliver or mail the record to one firm or attorney representing the appellee, and shall append to the record (i) a written statement of any proposed corrections to the record, (ii) a certificate that the attorney has carefully examined the record and that with the proposed corrections, if any, it is correct and complete, and (iii) a certificate of service. Counsel for the appellee shall examine the record and return it to the trial court clerk within fourteen (14) days after service, and shall append to the record (i) a written statement of any proposed corrections to the record, (ii) a certificate that the attorney has carefully examined the record and that with the proposed corrections, if any, it is correct and complete, and (iii) a certificate of service. Corrections as to which counsel for all parties agree in writing shall be deemed made by stipulation. If the parties propose corrections to the record *131 but do not agree on the corrections, the trial court clerk shall forthwith deliver the record with proposed corrections to the trial judge. The trial judge shall promptly determine which corrections, if any, are proper, enter an order under Rule 10(e), and return the record to the court reporter or the trial court clerk who shall within seven (7) days make corrections directed by the order.

Miss. R.App. P. 10(b)(5).

¶ 10. It appears from the Designation of the Record that only one of the nine documents Miller designated as part of the appellate record actually was included in the record forwarded to this Court from the trial court. Clearly, Miller failed to comply with Mississippi Rules of Appellant Procedure 10(b)(5), which required him to review and certify the record as complete. We point out Miller's deficiency to serve as notice and a warning to all appellate counsel that failure to comply with Rule 10(b)(5) in future cases will be at the attorney's own peril.

¶ 11. On August 21, 2007, this Court ordered Miller to supplement the record with all documents designated, but not included in the appellate record. Miller timely complied by providing the missing documents and properly re-certified the record pursuant to Mississippi Rule of Appellate Procedure 10(b)(5). Thus, this Court agreed to proceed with a review of the case.

II.

¶ 12. Miller first claims there are material facts at issue regarding whether Bueto acted as Wall's agent and whether Bueto was on notice of the allegedly dangerous conditions on the truck stop premises. These issues are addressed separately below.

Agency

¶ 13. This Court has adopted a non-exclusive list of factors for determining whether an agency relationship exists:

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Bluebook (online)
970 So. 2d 127, 2007 Miss. LEXIS 690, 2007 WL 4260018, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-rb-wall-oil-co-inc-miss-2007.