Mississippi Transportation Commission v. Dominique Adams, D

197 So. 3d 406, 2016 Miss. LEXIS 232, 2016 WL 3091194
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedJune 2, 2016
Docket2014-IA-01419-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 197 So. 3d 406 (Mississippi Transportation Commission v. Dominique Adams, D) 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
Mississippi Transportation Commission v. Dominique Adams, D, 197 So. 3d 406, 2016 Miss. LEXIS 232, 2016 WL 3091194 (Mich. 2016).

Opinions

LAMAR, Justice,

for the Court:

¶ 1. This is an interlocutory appeal. The Mississippi Transportation Commission (“MTC”) and the Mississippi Department of Transportation (“MDOT”) (collectively, the “defendants”) filed a motion for summary judgment in the Jackson County Circuit Court and argued that they were immune from liability under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act (“MTCA”). The trial judge denied their motion because the plaintiff had alleged — and provided evidence — that they had violated specific regulations.1 The trial judge rejected the defendants’ argument that, notwithstanding-certain narrower regulations requiring specific actions, they were immune from liability because the broader function of traffic-control-device placement is discretionary. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. Christopher Adams died from injuries he sustained when his motorcycle wrecked on Interstate 10 in Jackson County. After traveling north on Interstate 110 in Harrison County, Adams merged onto an eastbound lane of I — 10, where he entered a construction zone. According -to the complaint, Adams inadvertently drove into a closed lane and then, when he tried to navigate back into an open lane, his motorcycle hit an uneven surface between lanes and “rotated.” Adams was thrown from his motorcycle and into traffic, where two other vehicles hit him, causing injuries from which he later died.

¶ 3. Adams’s spouse, Dominique, filed suit against the defendants2 and alleged eight causes of action:

1., Failing to comply with the Mississippi Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction;
[409]*4092. Failing to comply with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices;
3. Failing to place proper warnings in advance of the lane closures; :
4. Failing to place proper warnings in • advance of the uneven pavement;
5. Failing to act with ordinary and reasonable care under the circumstances of the subject construction zone;
6. Creating and allowing a known and unreasonably dangerous and hazardous condition to exist in the subject construction zone in reckless'disregard for the safety of citizens traveling through the subject construction zone;
7. Failing to erect and/or maintain warning signs to alert travelers along the subject construction zone to the fact that dangerous conditions existed as a result of said construction being performed; and
8. Further negligent acts or omissions to be shown a[t] trial.

• ¶ 4. The defendants answered Adams’s complaint and denied all claims. Soon thereafter, the defendants filed two motions; a motion to dismiss or for summary judgment based on MTCA immunity and a motion asking the trial judge to hold their summary-judgment motion in abeyance and to enter a scheduling order for discovery on its immunity defenses. The trial judge ultimately entered an agreed scheduling order setting various deadlines for discovery on the defendants’ immunity-related defenses.

Moody’s Affidavit

¶ 5. During the discovery period, the defendants designated two experts, Dean Moody and Gary McCollom, both of whom were also MDOT employees. Moody, the project engineer for the 1-10 expansion where the accident occurred, submitted an affidavit. He stated that “MDOT employees monitored compliance with the Temporary Traffic Control Plan routinely and frequently throughout the duration of the Construction project.”3 Moody also stated that “Mallette Brothers was in compliance with, the Construction Plans and the Temporary Traffic Control Plan during the entire course of. the Construction Project.” Moody’s affidavit continued:

The MDOT had and has no knowledge of any noncompliance by Mallette Brothers relating to the Temporary Traffic Control Plan for the Construction Project and site. During Phase 4 of the Project and before the accident which is the subject of the claims against the MDOT, I examined the traffic control devices set out by Mallette Brothers and found that the traffic control devices complied with the Temporary Traffic Control Plan. . The Temporary Traffic Control Plan for Phase 4 of the Project also did not require additional pavement markings other than those specified in the Temporary Traffic Control Plan.

Tekell’s Affidavits

¶ 6. Adams designated V.O. “Dean” Te-kell Jr. as an expert. Tekell, submitted two affidavits. In the first affidavit,' he opined — based on his review of the “pleadings, documents and photographs of the parties” — that the defendants “ha[d] a duty to maintain, repair and inspect state-maintained highways,” and that the defendants “breached this duty by failing to regularly inspect the area where the subject incident occurred.”

¶ 7. According to Tekell, the defendants “knew or should have known of the' absence of a solid white traffic stripe in the area of the subject incident and that the [410]*410plastic drums were placed too far from the edge of the travel lane.” Tekell also stated that “[b]y failing to place a solid white traffic stripe and by failing to place the drums in conformance with their details, they breached this duty.” Tekell stated further that the defendants had a duty to designate a responsible person to monitor Mallette Brothers’- compliance with the project’s Construction Plan and Traffic Control Plan pursuant to Section 618.01.2 of the Red Book, and that they had failed to monitor for at least five days prior to the incident. According to Tekell, the defendants “knew or should have known of Mallette Brothers’ non-compliance with the Traffic Control Plan,” and they “failed to require Mallette Brothers to place a solid white traffic strip in the area of the subject incident and failed to require the placement of drums in conformance with the traffic control detail.”

¶8. Tekell submitted a supplemental affidavit and opined that the defendants also had violated Red Book Section 618.03.3 (mandating that lane lines and edge lines that have been covered or removed during the day’s operations be replaced before work is discontinued for the day or soon thereafter):

Based on the deposition testimony of Frank Mallette ... and the photographs produced by the parties, Mallette Brothers did not place any striping or edge lines in the area where the subject incident occurred.

Tekell further opined, “[i]n fact the contractor and MDOT permitted an edge line from a prior phase to remain in conflict with their barrels,” which is a violation of Red Book Section 619.03.2 and a breach of their duties.

Motion Hearing

¶ 9. After the immunity-defense discovery period, the defendants filed their supplemental motion to dismiss or for summary judgment. At the hearing on the motion, the defendants argued primarily that they enjoyed discretionary-function immunity for anything related to traffic-control devices. They argued further that this discretion conferred immunity even if there were other specific statutes and regulations that addressed traffic-control-device placement.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Untitled Case
N.D. Mississippi, 2026
Claire C. Flowers v. Knox Lemee Flowers
264 So. 3d 775 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2019)
Roger Dale Latham v. Michele Ann Latham
261 So. 3d 1110 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2019)
Fanny Hudson v. City of Yazoo City, Mississippi
246 So. 3d 872 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2018)
Horton on Behalf of Estate of Erves v. City of Vicksburg
268 So. 3d 504 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2018)
Samuel Wilcher, Jr. v. Lincoln County Board of Supervisors
243 So. 3d 177 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2018)
Bobbie Jean Lowe v. City of Moss Point, Mississippi, a Municipal Corporation
243 So. 3d 753 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2017)
Cynthia Renee Crider v. DeSoto County Convention and Visitors Bureau
201 So. 3d 1063 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
197 So. 3d 406, 2016 Miss. LEXIS 232, 2016 WL 3091194, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mississippi-transportation-commission-v-dominique-adams-d-miss-2016.