Mississippi Crime Victim Compensation Fund

 I spent part of the morning assisting a client with the Mississippi Crime Victim Compensation fund.    It is a way for victims of crimes to get at least some financial relief when there are not other sources of recovery.   A link to the application is here. 

Rule Changes

The Mississippi Supreme Court announced several Rule Changes today.   The most significant is that an attorney can issue a subpoena now after a case is filed.  

EN BANC
 89-R-99001-SCT

In Re: The Rules of Civil Procedure; Disposition: On motion of the Supreme Court of Mississippi's Advisory Committee on Rules, Rule 37 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure is amended as set forth in the attached Exhibit A effective 30 days after the entry of this order. All Justices Agree. Order entered 1/20/23.

 

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EN BANC
 89-R-99001-SCT

In Re: The Rules of Civil Procedure; Disposition: The Motion of the Advisory Committee on Rules to Amend M.R.C.P. 45 is granted in part. Rule 45 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure is amended as set forth in attached Exhibit A, and the amendments are effective 30 days after entry of this order. All Justices Agree. Order entered 1/23/23.

Tennessee Issue of Interest

 The Tennessee Supreme Court has accepted review of a case presenting this issue:                 "[W]hether a plaintiff can assert direct negligence claims against an employer if the employer admits that it will be vicariously liable for the conduct of its employees under the doctrine of respondeat superior ?"

Briefing has not yet begun, but you can read the Defendant's position in its Rule 9 Application by clicking here.

You can follow the progress of the case through the TSC by monitoring this link.

Dogs Attacking Cattle

 For all the small town and even not so small town lawyers, here is your random statute of the day to be aware of in Mississippi.   

§ 95-5-19. Poultry or livestock-killing dog; how dealt with.

The owner, or the immediate family, employee or agent of the owner, of any poultry or livestock, including cattle, horses, mules, jacks, jennets, sheep, goats and hogs, may kill any dog in the act of chasing or killing any such poultry or livestock, and any such person shall not be liable therefor to the owner of the dog.

Interesting Issue on Tennessee Depositions

Depositions proceeding under the Tennessee Rules of Evidence provide that  no one is excluded from attending them. See Tenn. R. Evid. 615, Advisory Commission Comment, “Under Rule 101, the Evidence Rules apply to rulings in “trial courts.” Strictly speaking, Rule 615 is intended to apply only to sequestration of witnesses at trial. A lawyer who wishes to exclude nonparties from oral deposition must resort to T.R.Civ.P. 26.03(5), allowing on motion a protective order “that discovery be conducted with no one present except persons designated by the court.”

Process Server Changes

 EN BANC

  89-R-99001-SCT

In Re: The Rules of Civil Procedure; Disposition: On the en banc Court's own motion and effective upon the entry of this order, Form 1A of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure is amended to remove the requirement that a process server include his or her Social Security Number on Form 1A, and Forms 1A-38 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure are amended to change the date references from 19__ to 20___. Entered: 12/21/2022.

App of Interest

 I recently came across an App called Speechify.   It will let you scan in a document and then will read it back to you.   It has the option to change the voices also.    Snoop Dog reading the Bible is  kind of interesting.    

Taxability of Injury Claims

 For the most part, injury settlements are largely non-taxable depending on what the settlement is meant to compensate for.   As a result, it matters how the release is drafted.  You can see how the IRS taxes settlements on the link here.  

Sexual Abuse and DHS

On Tuesday, the Missisippi Court of Appeals decided Andrew Cornell f/k/a Andrew Faulkner v. Mississippi Department of Human Services located here.   Andrew was placed in the foster home (and later adopted) by Ricky Faulkner. MDHS did not frequently visit the home as policy required and ignored a report from another foster parent that the Faulkner foster home was not safe. Ricky Faulker was ultimately convicted of unlawful touching of a minor and sexual assault. 

Circuit Court granted summary judgment ruling that causation was "too remote" The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded 8-1. This case is a huge win for sexual abuse victims and giving them some ways to recover against the State for negligence in the foster system.