Rian Gatlin v. Hattiesburg Public School District

Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided August 18, 2026·No. 2025-CP-00400-COA·Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI NO. 2025-CP-00400-COA

RIAN GATLIN APPELLANT v. HATTIESBURG PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT APPELLEE

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 03/13/2025 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. BURNICE WESLEY CURRY IV COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: FORREST COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: RIAN GATLIN (PRO SE) ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: JAY MARSHALL ATKINS EMILY MARTIN MORGAN

NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - TORTS-OTHER THAN PERSONAL INJURY & PROPERTY DAMAGE

DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 08/18/2026 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:

BEFORE CARLTON, P.J., WESTBROOKS AND EMFINGER, JJ.

CARLTON, P.J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. Alicia Wallace, as the natural mother and next friend of her minor daughter, Rian Gatlin,1 sued the Hattiesburg Public School District (the School District) under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act (MTCA) for negligent supervision. Following a hearing on the School District’s motion for summary judgment, the Forrest County Circuit Court found that the evidence produced showed the School District used ordinary care and took reasonable steps to minimize foreseeable risks to Rian, and Rian failed to present a genuine issue of

1 In the body of the complaint, the plaintiffs are listed as: “Rian Gatlin, by her natural mother and next friend, Alicia Wallace, and Rian Gatlin, individually.” However, in the style of the case, the plaintiff is listed solely as Rian Gatlin.

material fact as to whether the School District breached its duty of care. The circuit court therefore granted the School District’s summary judgment motion.

¶2. Rian now appeals pro se. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶3. Rian attended Hattiesburg High School (HHS) with classmates Toni and Amaya, who are sisters. Rian, Toni, and Amaya were in the same first period class, and Rian and Toni were also in the same fourth period class.

¶4. On October 5, 2021, Rian reported that Toni had made rude comments about her hair at school. Following this incident, Rian’s mother, Alicia, confronted Toni and Amaya outside of school. Toni and Amaya claimed that during the encounter, Alicia threatened to shoot them. Rian and Alicia admitted that Alicia had confronted Toni and Amaya but denied that Alicia had made any threats.

¶5. The following day, Rian and Alicia met with school administrators to report that Toni had bullied Rian. That same day, Toni, Amaya, and their mother reported the confrontation with Alicia to school administration.

¶6. In response to these reports, Dr. Lashonda Short, the assistant principal of HHS, and Jazmine Holloway, a behavior specialist, met with Rian and Alicia to develop a “safety action plan” designed to prevent further contact between Toni and Rian. Dr. Short also met separately with Toni, Amaya, and their mother. The safety action plan developed for Rian included adjusting Rian’s class schedule, modifying her walking route between classes to avoid any contact with Toni and Amaya, and instructing Rian to report any incident of

bullying or physical contact from Toni or Amaya. The safety action plan was approved by Dr. Victor Hubbard, the head principal at HHS, and was implemented when Rian returned to school on October 11, 2021.

¶7. At the end of the school day on October 11, 2021, Rian claimed that she overheard Toni tell another student that she wanted to “beat up” Rian and Rian’s friend. Rian and Alicia both reported the incident to Dr. Hubbard. The following day, school administrators met with Toni, Amaya, and their mother and required them to sign the school’s “Anti-Conflict Agreement,” acknowledging that any physical altercation on campus would result in suspension or expulsion.

¶8. On November 2, 2021, Rian claimed that Toni intentionally bumped into her between classes. However, Rian did not report this incident to anyone at school until after the subject fight that occurred the next day.

¶9. The subject fight occurred on November 3, 2021, between third and fourth period classes.2 The walking route outlined in Rian’s safety plan required Rian to report directly to her fourth period class after her third period class. That day, Rian deviated from the route—instead of exiting her third period class and going directly to her fourth period class, Rian went to the school office to report the bumping incident from the prior day.

¶10. According to Rian, as she exited the building to go to the office, she heard Toni say, “I’m about to get suspended today.” Seconds later, Toni started swinging at Rian, and a fight

2 The record reflects that after the November 3 fight, Rian filled out an incident report stating that Toni had bumped into her the day before. Toni also reported the November 2 incident after the subject fight, but she claimed that Rian was the one who had bumped into her.

ensued. Rian claimed that although Amaya did not participate in the fight, Amaya stood nearby, shouting profanities and encouraging Toni to keep fighting.

¶11. As part of his administrative duties, Assistant Principal James Grubbs was monitoring the area outside the building where Rian’s third period class met. Grubbs testified in his deposition that when he saw the fight break out, he immediately responded to the altercation and used his walkie-talkie to alert School Resource Officers Adam Kelly and Darius Culberson and other faculty members for assistance. After breaking up the fight, the resource officers escorted Toni and Rian to the school office for disciplinary action.

¶12. On January 31, 2023, Alicia sued the School District for negligent supervision allegedly resulting in Rian’s physical and emotional trauma.3 On March 6, 2023, Alicia sought a default judgment against the School District. An entry of default was entered, and a motion for a default judgment was filed the same day.

¶13. On April 25, 2023, Alicia’s counsel moved to set aside the entry of default, and the circuit court entered an order setting aside the default against the School District. That same day, the School District filed its answer to Rian’s complaint.

¶14. On May 20, 2024, Alicia sent an email to her counsel, Michael Adelman, terminating his legal services. Adelman then filed a motion to withdraw as counsel and attached Alicia’s email to the motion. On May 24, 2024, the circuit court entered an order granting Adelman leave to withdraw as Alicia’s counsel and giving Alicia thirty days to obtain substitute counsel or advise the court that she intended to proceed pro se.

3 The record reflects that Alicia timely filed her notice of claim and complaint pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 11-46-11 (Rev. 2019).

¶15. On June 21, 2024, Alicia filed a request for more time to obtain counsel. On July 2, 2024, the School District filed a motion to dismiss due to Alicia’s failure to comply with the circuit court’s order requiring her to obtain substitute counsel or advise the court that she intended to proceed pro se.4 Although no ruling on Alicia’s request for more time to obtain counsel appears in the record or on the docket, the transcript from the summary judgment hearing indicates that the circuit court granted Alicia’s motion.

¶16. On December 11, 2024, the School District filed a motion for summary judgment based on Alicia’s failure to produce sufficient evidence to prove each element of the negligent supervision claim—specifically, the failure to show that the School District breached its duty to provide a safe environment. The School District attached the following exhibits to its motion: excerpts from the deposition transcripts of Dr. Hubbard, Dr. Short, Grubbs, Holloway, Officer Culberson, Rian, and Alicia; the school discipline reports for Rian, Toni, and Amaya; the incident reports documenting the allegations of bullying; Rian’s safety action plan implemented by the administration; and the Anti-Conflict Agreements signed by Rian, Alicia, Toni, Amaya, and their mother.5 The School District also filed a motion for a trial setting.

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Rian Gatlin v. Hattiesburg Public School District, (Mich. Ct. App. 2026).

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