Ricks v. City of Winona

858 F. Supp. 2d 682, 2012 WL 843334, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32984
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Mississippi
DecidedMarch 12, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 3:11-CV-00039-GHD-JMV
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 858 F. Supp. 2d 682 (Ricks v. City of Winona) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ricks v. City of Winona, 858 F. Supp. 2d 682, 2012 WL 843334, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32984 (N.D. Miss. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION GRANTING MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

GLEN H. DAVIDSON, Senior District Judge.

Presently before the Court are two motions for summary judgment, [78] and [82], filed by Defendants City of Winona and Winona-Montgomery Airport, Wino[685]*685na-Montgomery Airport Board, Jan Bailey, Jewell Harrison, Jim Corban, Brent Richardson, Clifford Dance, Cecil Austin, Eugene Hathcock, and Jimmy Hayward. Sadly, the Plaintiff, James Vernon Ricks, Jr., passed away on February 19, 2012. See Suggestion of Death [95]. To date, no motion for substitution pursuant to Rule 25 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure has been filed in this case. After due consideration, the Court finds that the motions for summary judgment should be granted and the case dismissed.1

A. Factual and Procedural Overmen)

Plaintiff James Vernon Ricks, Jr. (“Plaintiff’) brought this lawsuit against the City of Winona, Mississippi; the County of Montgomery; the Winona-Montgomery Airport; and the following individually and as representatives of the WinonaMontgomery Board: Jan Bailey, Clifford Dance, Cecil Austin, Eugene Hathcock, and Jimmy Hayward. Plaintiff, a lessee of space at the Winona-Montgomery Airport, alleged that Defendants violated his rights under the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1343(a)(3), 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988, as well as his rights Under state law. Defendants have moved for summary judgment on all of Plaintiffs claims.

B. Summary Judgment Standard

This Court grants summary judgment only “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Weaver v. CCA Indus., Inc., 529 F.3d 335, 339 (5th Cir.2008). The rule “mandates the entry of summary judgment,- after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a sufficient showing to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

The party moving for summary judgment bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion and identifying those portions of the record it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. [686]*686Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Under Rule 56(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the burden then shifts to the nonmovant to “go beyond the pleadings and by ... affidavits, or by the ‘depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,’ designate ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.’ ” Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Littlefield v. Forney Indep. Sch. Dist, 268 F.3d 275, 282 (5th Cir.2001). To survive a motion for summary judgment, the non-movant must present sufficient evidence to support the elements of its prima facie case. Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 321-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548. “In adjudicating a motion for summary judgment, the court must view all facts in the light most favorable to the non-movant.” Adams v. Travelers Indem. Co., 465 F.3d 156, 163-64 (5th Cir.2006) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). However, a district court is not required “to sift through the record in search of evidence to support a party’s opposition to summary judgment.” Id. at 164 (citing Ragas v. Tenn. Gas Pipeline Co., 136 F.3d 455, 458 (5th Cir.1998) (citing Skotak v. Tenneco Resins, Inc., 953 F.2d 909, 915-16 & n. 7 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 832, 113 S.Ct. 98, 121 L.Ed.2d 59 (1992))). “The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiffs position will be insufficient” to preclude summary judgment; “there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

C. Analysis

On May 6, 1993, Plaintiff paid J.A. Olson Company, an Illinois corporation, for a hangar building “excluding the real property upon which it is situated” at the west end of the airstrip at the Winona-Montgomery Airport in which to store his two private aircrafts. See Bill of Sale [86-9] at 1. Subsequently, the airport initiated a lease requirement for all such property at the airport. Plaintiff signed a lease for the hangar building and property under the roof of the hangar, but did not have the lease notarized until 2005. Plaintiff paid $190 per year on this lease, including the time period prior to its full execution. Plaintiff brought this action seeking damages for alleged mistreatment by Defendants related to his occupancy of airport property.

The Court now turns to the motions for summary judgment before it. The Plaintiff has claimed that he was mistreated by Defendants in various ways and maintains that this alleged mistreatment constituted FAA violations, as well as violations of Plaintiffs constitutional rights under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and various causes of action under state law.

The County of Montgomery is a political subdivision located in Mississippi and organized under state law. The City of Winona is a municipality and political subdivision in Montgomery County organized under Mississippi state law. Defendant Winona-Montgomery Airport and the Winona-Montgomery Airport Board are governmental entities that operate under the authority of Mississippi’s Airport Authorities Law, Mississippi Code §§ 61-3-1, et seq. See Joint Agreement for the Operation of the Winona-Montgomery County Airport [78-3] at 14.

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858 F. Supp. 2d 682, 2012 WL 843334, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32984, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ricks-v-city-of-winona-msnd-2012.