Woodard v. Turnipseed

784 So. 2d 239, 2000 WL 1725506
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedNovember 21, 2000
Docket1999-CA-01028-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 784 So. 2d 239 (Woodard v. Turnipseed) 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
Woodard v. Turnipseed, 784 So. 2d 239, 2000 WL 1725506 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

784 So.2d 239 (2000)

Kenwyon WOODARD, a Minor, by His Father and Next Friend, Billy Woodard, Appellant,
v.
John TURNIPSEED, Appellee.

No. 1999-CA-01028-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

November 21, 2000.
Rehearing Denied February 6, 2001.
Certiorari Denied May 10, 2001.

*240 Charles T. Yoste, Starkville, Attorney for Appellant.

C. Hugh Hathorn, Louisville, Ronald Stephen Wright, Ackerman, Attorneys for Appellee.

EN BANC.

IRVING, J., for the Court:

¶ 1. Kenwyon Woodard, a minor, by his father and next friend, filed a complaint against John Turnipseed in the Choctaw County Circuit Court seeking personal injury damages. The complaint arises from an assault and battery committed with a broom against him by Turnipseed,[1] a large dairy farmer who, along with his two sons and brother, owned seventeen hundred acres of dairy land.[2]

¶ 2. The jury returned a verdict for Turnipseed. After the denial of his post-trial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or in the alternative, for a new trial, Kenwyon has appealed, raising the following issues: (1) the verdict is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, and (2) the trial court erred (a) in not granting his motion for a directed verdict, (b) in granting Turnipseed's jury instruction on self-defense and denying Kenwyon's counter instruction on self-defense.

¶ 3. We find merit in Kenwyon's argument that his motion for a directed verdict as to liability should have been granted. Accordingly, we reverse and render as to liability but remand for a new trial on damages only.

FACTS

¶ 4. On September 7, 1996, Kenwyon was employed as a minimum wage milker with Turnipseed Dairy Farms of Ackerman, Mississippi. He had been working for Turnipseed Dairy Farms approximately six months during his latest employment but had worked for the dairy once before. His first employment with the dairy ended when he, according to Turnipseed, was fired by Turnipseed for not cleaning the cows prior to attaching the milker. On September 7, he was fired again for the same reason. According to Kenwyon, he did not know why he was fired the first time.

¶ 5. On September 7, according to Turnipseed, Kenwyon, along with two other boys, were preparing cows to be milked. One boy was driving the cows into the stalls, another was dipping the cows' udders in disinfectant, and Kenwyon was using paper towels to clean the udders. Turnipseed observed that Kenwyon had passed over three filthy cows. Upon making this observation, Turnipseed told Kenwyon, "you are fired, and go punch out."

¶ 6. Turnipseed claims that when he fired Kenwyon the first time Kenwyon had threatened to get him. Specifically, Kenwyon had said at that time, "I will get you for this." Remembering the previous threat, Turnipseed "thought this boy may vandalize my time clock." Because of this, Turnipseed decided to escort Kenwyon to the time clock. According to Turnipseed, Kenwyon started with a verbal assault as they walked out of the barn. Turnipseed heard the same threat he had heard upon the first firing of Kenwyon. In any event, Turnipseed escorted Kenwyon to the time clock, and Kenwyon changed clothes and *241 telephoned his father to get a ride home.[3] Turnipseed further explained what happened:

A. And as he walked out of the barn Keywon [sic] started a verbal assault. The same one I had heard one repetition of the last time I fired him, except he did it over and over and over the whole time we walked to the time clock.
Q. Now, Mr. Turnipseed, are you telling me that he continued and repetitively told you I am going to get you for this?
A. That is correct.
Q. As he was walking out for minutes and minutes and minutes, I am going to get you for this. I am going to get you for this.
A. He didn't say he was going to hit me. He said I am going to get you.
Q. He said this more than once.
A. Many more times more than once.
Q. How come you didn't tell me that back on May 11, 1998, when I took your deposition?
A. Did we have a deposition?
BY MR. YOSTE: I have a copy, Your Honor. May I approach the witness?
A. May I have a moment to read this?
Q. You certainly may.
* * * *
Q. Would you please point out to me on what page, Mr. Turnipseed?
A. Okay. I have to find it. Okay, It is not in there. It certainly isn't.
Q. Thank you very much.
A. As to why I didn't say that, I don't know.

(emphasis added.).

¶ 7. Turnipseed gave this account of the physical assault:

And now listen to this. Shirley is my foreman. I told her Shirley, I don't care if the cows go dry, don't allow this boy back on the farm. I passed him off to her and went back to the barn and milked.... Ten minutes later I step out of the barn and there is Kenwyon. I said Kenwyon, didn't I tell you not to come back on my farm. Which wasn't quite the truth because I didn't address him. I addressed her in his presence.
* * * *
Kenwyon didn't say anything. I said Kenwyon I am telling you to get off of my property. Kenwyon said I am not going anywhere. I stood there a minute. I looked down. There was a broom leaning against the barn. I picked the broom up. I said Kenwyon, you see this broom. I am telling you to get off my property. Kenwyon didn't respond in any way. I walked the eight steps to Kenwyon, and I hit him three times with the broom. The last lick I hit him, the broom handle cracked. Didn't break. Cracked. Kenwyon decided he wanted to leave my farm, and he did.

(emphasis added).

¶ 8. As might be expected, Kenwyon had a different version as to what transpired. According to Kenwyon, this is what happened:

A. Mr. Turnipseed comes into the barn and, and takes the bar that I was cleaning with from me and touch under the cow tit and tell me I *242 wasn't doing my job right. And he tells me that I am fired and to go and change clothes, change clothes. So I leave out the barn and as I am doing [that], he followed behind me to the place you clock in, clock in and clock out. He followed me in there, and as I am changing clothes he tells me to go outside and change clothes, but I tell him it's too cold. So when I tell him it's too cold he go ahead and let me change.
And he open [sic] the shop so I can use the telephone. And I call my mom house but nobody there. I called my grandma's. So nobody at either one of those houses, so I walk back outside and I walk to the end of the road. After I been out there about five minutes, five, ten minutes I walk back onto the—walk back to my friend's car and sit on it, and sit on my friend's car.
Q. Where did you sit on the car?
A. On the bumper.
Q. Then what happened?
A. Mr. Turnipseed comes out and start cursing, telling me I thought I told you to leave my property and as he walks toward his shop, I turned my head to look at Shirley and Jonathon to see what they were doing.
Q. What were they doing?
A. Feeding some calves.
Q.

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Bluebook (online)
784 So. 2d 239, 2000 WL 1725506, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/woodard-v-turnipseed-missctapp-2000.