Smith v. Parkerson Lumber, Inc.

888 So. 2d 1197, 2004 Miss. App. LEXIS 1149, 2004 WL 2860419
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedDecember 14, 2004
Docket2001-CA-00409-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 888 So. 2d 1197 (Smith v. Parkerson Lumber, Inc.) 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
Smith v. Parkerson Lumber, Inc., 888 So. 2d 1197, 2004 Miss. App. LEXIS 1149, 2004 WL 2860419 (Mich. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

888 So.2d 1197 (2004)

Ted SMITH, Appellant,
v.
PARKERSON LUMBER, INC., Appellee.

No. 2001-CA-00409-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

December 14, 2004.

*1199 Andre Francis Ducote, Wayne E. Ferrell, Jackson, attorneys for appellant.

Jeffrey Stephen Moffett, Ridgeland, H. Wesley Williams, Jackson, attorneys for appellee.

EN BANC.

KING, C.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. This Court upon its own motion grants rehearing in this matter. The Court's previous opinion is withdrawn, and this opinion substituted therefor.

¶ 2. The Mississippi Supreme Court granted writ of certiorari to review the judgment of the Court of Appeals dismissing Smith v. Parkerson Lumber, Inc., 850 So.2d 99 (Miss.Ct.App.2002) for lack of jurisdiction due to an untimely appeal. After a determination that Smith's appeal was timely the Supreme Court remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for a decision on the merits. In an opinion dated April 20, 2004, this Court reversed the decision of the trial court and remanded the case for a new trial based on the trial judge's disallowance of certain expert testimony during the trial. No motions for rehearing were filed in this matter. However, this Court after further consideration *1200 has deemed it appropriate to rehear this matter. We now affirm the decision of the trial court, but reverse and remand for a proper determination of attorneys fees.

¶ 3. The following issues were asserted on appeal:

I. Whether or not the trial court erred when it denied Plaintiff's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict based upon the verdict of the jury being contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence of liability and damages under § 95-5-1 covering Parkerson Lumber's trespass, cutting and taking away of trees from two sections of Smith's property, referred to in the trial as the northern fifty foot strip and the southwest corner, as well as committed the common law tort of trespass, after Parkerson had been informed of the boundaries both by flagging and first hand information.
II. Whether or not the trial court erred when it denied Plaintiff's Motion for Additur based upon the fact that the damages awarded by the jury were insufficient and inadequate relief for common law trespass and wrongful cutting of timber proven by the Plaintiff, and were so shockingly low as to be clearly unreasonable.
III. Whether or not the trial court erred when it denied Plaintiff's Motion for Additur based upon the verdict of the jury being inadequate for the reason that the jury was influenced by bias, prejudice, and passion and the damages awarded were contrary to the overwhelming weight of the credible evidence.
IV. Whether or not the trial court erred when it denied Plaintiff's Motion for New Trial based upon the verdict of the jury was [sic] influenced by bias, prejudice, and passion and was contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
V. Whether or not the trial court erred when it denied Plaintiff's Motion for New Trial based upon the trial court's refusal to allow the Plaintiff to present evidence through Plaintiff's expert as to what the standards of the industry, and duties of those cutting timber, are as to the determination of property boundaries and what could constitute a breach or violation of those standards and duties in relation to M.C.A. § 95-5-10 (1972).
VI. Whether or not the trial court erred when it denied Plaintiff's Motion for New Trial based upon the trial court's refusal to allow the Plaintiff to cross-examine the defendant's expert as to what the standards of the industry, and duties of those cutting timber, are to the determination of property boundaries and what would constitute a breach or violation of those standards and duties in relation to M.C.A § 95-5-10 (1972).
VII. Whether or not the trial court erred when it denied Plaintiff's Motion for New Trial based upon the court's denial of Plaintiff's challenge for cause on prospective juror Mary Olene May.
VIII. Whether or not the trial court erred in the amount of its award of Plaintiff's attorneys' and expert witness' fees mandated by M.C.A. § 95-5-10 (1972).

FACTS

¶ 4. In September 1997, Parkerson Lumber was cutting timber on the property of Lena Watson adjacent to fifty-four acres owned by Ted Smith in Choctaw County. After Parkerson completed the job, Nancy Smith, Smith's sister, who was living on Smith's property at the time, inspected his property and found that timber *1201 had been cut from two sections of Smith's property. Smith sued Parkerson, requesting damages for the cutting of the trees, the diminution of property value, and loss of enjoyment pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated Section 95-5-10.[1] Parkerson acknowledged accidentally cutting the timber on a fifty-foot strip of Smith's property, but denied cutting the timber on the southwest corner of Smith's property. On November 1 and 2, 2000, a trial was held to determine the amount of damages to the fifty-foot strip and damages and liability as to the southwest corner. On November 2, 2000, the jury absolved Parkerson of liability for cutting the southwest corner of Smith's land, but found him liable for accidentally cutting the fifty-foot strip. Smith was awarded damages in the amount of $1,650. On December 19, 2000, the trial judge entered an order awarding Smith attorney fees in the amount of $959.06 and expert witness fees in the amount of $450 pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated Section 95-5-10(3).[2] On February 5, 2001, Smith filed a motion for JNOV, or in the alternative a new trial. This motion was denied on February 7, 2001. On March 8, 2001, Smith filed his notice of appeal.

ISSUES AND ANALYSIS

¶ 5. The standard of review for jury verdicts in this state is well established. "Once the jury has returned a verdict in a civil case, we are not at liberty to direct that judgment be entered contrary to that *1202 verdict short of a conclusion on our part that, given the evidence as a whole, taken in the light most favorable to the verdict, no reasonable, hypothetical juror could have found as the jury found." Sivira v. Midtown Restaurants Corp., 753 So.2d 492, 494 (¶ 5)(Miss.Ct.App.1999) (citations omitted).

I.

¶ 6. Smith has placed eight issue before this Court. However, in the interest of judicial economy we have combined and restated the issues.

Whether the trial court erred when it denied Plaintiff's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

¶ 7. Smith asserts that the verdict is contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence, which supports a claim for liability and damages as to the southwest corner of his property and damages pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated Section 95-5-10. Smith contends that the evidence was sufficient to establish Parkerson's timber trespass, his willful cutting of trees from two sections of his property, as well as the committed common law tort of trespass. Smith contends that the evidence was sufficient to support a jury verdict in the amount of $60,000, and as such the trial court erred in denying his JNOV.

¶ 8. In determining whether a trial judge erred in denying or granting a JNOV we look to our familiar standard of review set out in Corley v. Evans, 835 So.2d 30, 36 (¶ 17) (Miss.2003).

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Bluebook (online)
888 So. 2d 1197, 2004 Miss. App. LEXIS 1149, 2004 WL 2860419, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-parkerson-lumber-inc-missctapp-2004.