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On-Campus Alcohol Abuse "Beer Pong" - Fraternity Liability

September 04, 2008

The on-campus death of a young University of Southern Mississippi alum at the Sigma Nu Fraternity House following a night of “beer pong” and alcohol consumption games is the second death case successfully handled by Smith Phillips Partner Briggs Smith in his quest to save the fraternity system from being destroyed by binge drinking on campuses across the nation today.

On August 18, 2008, the Circuit Court of Forrest County, Mississippi entered a Final Judgment approving the settlement of Covert v. Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc., University of Southern Mississippi, et al, arising from the 2004 death of Sammy Broadhead at the USM Sigma Nu House.  To view a copy of the complete Complaint and Order click here.

“Fraternities perform an important function,” says Smith who is a fraternity member himself, as are his three sons. “They give students experience working together and develop leadership skills that help in the post-college world.  Fraternities promote community responsibility and provide a home away from home. The fraternity system is in danger of being destroyed, however, by systemic on-campus abuse of alcohol rampant in ‘binge drinking’ today.”

When the Covert suit was filed, the defendant fraternity immediately removed from its chapter website photos showing alcohol consumption.  As a part of the settlement, the fraternity paid a confidential settlement amount and the University established and funded a scholarship in the name of Sammy Broadhead.

Investment Fraud Case Certified

August 19, 2007

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, in SPMS&N class action, Roberts, et al v. First Financial Planners, Inc., et al, 1:05cv38-D-D, N.D. Miss., has certified a class of investors who participated in an Insured Money Management Program (“IMMP”) marketed nationwide by IGIC Management Company and Bernard L. Koyen.  The Court approved an initial settlement as to two of six defendants and allowed the case to proceed as to the remaining defendants. The suit, filed by Smith Phillips on behalf of investors who purchased the IMMP through First Financial Planners of St. Louis, Missouri, sought contract damages from First Financial Planners, Inc., FFP Securities, Inc., and FFP Advisory Services, Inc., plus actual and punitive damages for alleged tortious conduct, including civil conspiracy and aiding and abetting fraud, by defendants IGIC, Koyen, and Dorinco Reinsurance Company. For additional information on the Class Action Settlement, visit the Settlement Website at www.firstfinancialsettlement.com.

SPMS&N class members received an initial recovery in late 2006, when the Federal Court approved the Partial Class Action Settlement as to defendants First Financial Planners, Inc. and FFP Securities, Inc. On August 14, 2007, a Motion for Rule 23 Class Certification was filed as to the remaining defendants FFP Advisory, IGIC, Koyen and Dornico. Dorinco Reinsurance is a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company. See www.dorinco.com and www.dow.com.

Landowners Win Pipeline Cases

March 30, 2007

Energy prices have new pipeline construction increasing throughout the Southeast United States. Three new gas pipelines in Mississippi are in various stages of development, regulatory approval, and/or construction.  Ozark Gas Transmission will cross the north part of the State, cutting through private property in Coahoma, Quitman, Panola, Lafayette and Calhoun Counties.  A second company, Mid-Continent Express, has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [FERC] for approval of a pipeline through Central Mississippi.  The third, Gulf South Pipeline Company, LP, is already in litigation taking right-of-way through Warren, Hinds, Copiah and Simpson counties.

Gas pipeline companies are private, for-profit companies.  The government has granted them the power of eminent domain, that is, the power to take private property for the construction of pipelines over the objections of private landowners. Such “takings,” even for easement purposes, are subject to due process requirements of the Constitution, which entitles landowners to compensation and to protection of the courts.

SPMS&N partner Paul Scott, the only Mississippi lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the field of eminent domain, represents landowners throughout the State whose land is being crossed by the new pipelines.  Scott says the pipeline easements have a much greater negative impact on property values than gas companies let on. “These pipelines adversely impact the entire tract of land,” says Scott.

Scott recently completed trials in two of the first new pipeline cases.  In both cases juries returned verdicts for the full amounts requested by Scott and the SPMS&N landowner-clients.  "We are very pleased with these verdicts,” said Paul Scott, the SPMS&N partner who represented both the Martins and the Eleys.  “When given all the facts, jurors understand the negative impact a gas transmission pipeline can have on the value of a piece of property."

Scott, managing partner of the Smith Phillips office in Hernando, is the only Mississippi member of Owners Counsel of America, the national organization of eminent domain and property rights litigation specialists committed to preservation of private land owners’ rights. [click here for more information on Owners Counsel of America] For more information on Smith Phillips eminent domain and property rights litigation [click here].

Two More Class Action Victories

July 26, 2006

Smith Phillips nationwide class actions completed include one on behalf of purchasers of health insurance through Group Associations, and another on behalf of holders of interest sensitive life insurance.

Golebiowski v. Mega Life, National Association for the Self Employed, et al. sought relief on behalf of a nationwide class of Plaintiffs who were sold policies of health insurance through so-called "group associations." The Golebiowski case was transferred by the Judicial Panel on Multi District Litigation to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas as part of the In re UICI "Association Group" Insurance Litigation, MDL # 1578. There it was consolidated with Lacy v. Mega Life, Mid-West National Life, Alliance for Affordable Services, et al. with SP Partner Richard T. Phillips as co-lead counsel. The consolidated Golebiowski/Lacy cases were settled on behalf of over a million current and former Association members and insurance purchasers.

Jones v. Jackson National arose from interest crediting practices of Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Originally filed in federal court in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, Jones was transferred by the Judicial Panel on Multi District Litigation to the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. There, the case was consolidated with the South Carolina case of Wood v. Jackson National. After hearings before U.S. District Judge David McKeague, the insurance company defendant entered into settlement negotiations.  Judge McKeague approved a settlement on behalf of approximately 169,000 policyholders nationwide.

Million Plus Gulf Coast Eminent Domain Victory

July 25, 2006

A Harrison County jury in Gulfport, Mississippi, recently returned a verdict in excess of one million dollars for Smith Phillips’ client, Penny Rodrique, in a Katrina eminent domain case.  For more than twenty-five years prior to Hurricane Katrina, Ms. Rodrique operated her business, Mississippi Coast Fireworks, on her property located at the base of the Bay St. Louis Bridge in Pass Christian, Mississippi.  When the Highway 90 bridge was destroyed by the hurricane, the Mississippi Transportation Commission decided to relocate and elevate the bay bridge requiring the taking of a portion of Ms. Rodrique’s property.

Before the MTC taking, Ms. Rodrique’s property consisted of approximately an acre and the storm-damaged remnants of a 4,000 square foot metal building used in her fireworks business.  MTC took approximately two thirds of the property and the building remnants, leaving Ms. Rodrique only a small triangular shaped parcel.  Prior to the taking, the property, the first commercial property coming off the bridge into Harrison County, had high visibility from all directions and easy access from Highway 90.  The small remnant left after the taking had limited visibility and no direct access to the highway.

MTC initially offered Ms. Rodrique $416,700 as compensation for her property, including the building remnants and damage to her remaining property.  Ms. Rodrique retained Smith Phillips’ partner, Paul Scott, of Hernando to represent her in the case.  The landowner’s expert real estate appraiser testified just compensation, including damages, was over a million dollars.  Scott tried the case in the Special Court of Eminent Domain in Harrison County, Mississippi.  The jury returned a verdict for the full amount sought by SPMS&N partner Paul Scott --- $1,136,745.

Water Overdrafting Suits Against City of Memphis

July 11, 2005

Smith Phillips Mitchell Scott & Nowak represents Desoto County and landowners throughout North Mississippi in two suits filed in Federal Court against the City of Memphis and Memphis Light Gas & Water arising from overdrafting of water from the Sparta Aquifer which underlies Desoto County. 

Desoto County, with a 21% increase in population since the 2000 census, is the fastest growing county in Mississippi.  It is the 35th fastest growing county in the United States. Situated on one of the purest fresh-water aquifers in the world, the county’s water supply is a primary economic growth incentive.  Pumping by Memphis, the suit claims, has created a “cone of depression” under Desoto County, which according to scientific studies, has reversed the flow of water in the ancient aquifer so it now flows north, out of Desoto County, instead of south.

The MLG&W suits are among a number of cases in which Smith Phillips represents governmental entities in civil litigation.  For more information, see Business & Governmental Litigation.

SPMS&N Partners Speak at National Seminars

January 30, 2003

SPMS&N Partners Richard T. Phillips and Paul R. Scott were speakers at recent national seminars in Miami, Florida and San Francisco, California.  Phillips spoke on "Institutional Bad Faith Litigation" at the ACI 12th Advanced National Forum on Litigating Bad Faith and Punitive Damages in Miami.  Paul R. Scott was a speaker at the national American Law Institute-American Bar Association advanced seminar on Eminent Domain and Land Value Litigation held in San Francisco.

Drawing on his extensive experience representing landowners in eminent domain, or “land taking” cases, Scott addressed the national audience on the trial of condemnation cases.  Scott served as outside counsel for the Mississippi State Highway Department and initiated numerous eminent domain cases across North Mississippi throughout the 1980s. He joined the Smith Phillips firm in 1993 and now exclusively represents property owners in his eminent domain practice.  Scott is the Mississippi representative in Owners Counsel of America, a national organization that works to defend the rights of private property owners, large and small, locally, and nationally.

“There is no more basic right than the right to private ownership of property” says Scott. “When the government takes private property for public use, it must deal fairly with the landowner and pay full and just compensation for the property taken.”

Briggs Smith Named Mississippi Law Alumnus of Year

January 18, 2003

Smith Phillips founding partner Briggs Smith was honored as the University of Mississippi Law School Alumnus of the Year. The award was presented at the Mississippi Bar Convention in Destin, Florida. Law School Dean, Samuel Davis, lauded Briggs for his contributions of time and talent to the Ole Miss Law School. Briggs, active in numerous community, church, and charitable organizations, is a past president of the UM Law Alumni Association. He served as 2002-2003 Chairman of the Lamar Order, the organization of most substantial financial contributors to the UM Law School. “Ole Miss gave me the opportunity to practice a profession I chose and enjoy,” said Smith at the award ceremony. “There is nothing more enjoyable to me than representing the Ole Miss law school.”

New Office Buildings Completed

January 17, 2003

New Batesville Office at Mississippi Crossroads

The SPMS&N Batesville team of six attorneys and their staff have moved into the new two-story, 18,500 sq. ft. facilities at the intersection of I-55 and Highway 6 in Batesville.

The firm’s new Batesville facility, designed by Dale & Associates, Architects, of Jackson, MS, and built by Yates Construction Company of Philadelphia, was featured in a front page story in the Northwest Mississippi newspaper, The PANOLIAN, as “changing the city’s look,” and “indicative of growth” in the Northwest Mississippi region. Interviewed for the article, Partner Richard Phillips, stated: “Batesville and Northwest Mississippi have seen lots of progress since Briggs Smith and I founded the Smith Phillips law firm here 30 years ago. Our firm and many of the clients we represent have been fortunate to be part of that progress.”

For a virtual view of the new SPMS&N Batesville facility, click here.

Historic Hernando Office Renovation Complete

Renovation of the firm’s Hernando, Mississippi offices located on the Historic Hernando Square was also recently completed, restoring the firm’s Wilroy Building to its authentic early 1900 motif.

Directly facing the Desoto County Courthouse in the nationally protected Hernando Historic District, the SPMS&N Hernando offices occupy the circa-1903 building named for former partner, Col. W. E. Wilroy (deceased). Under supervision of Hernando managing partner, Paul R. Scott, the Wilroy Building was completely restored in 2004, exposing the original high wood ceilings and wood floors of the early 1900 mercantile-drug store it once was. The building was consolidated with the adjoining building on the Historic Hernando Square combining conference room and work space with the historically-accurate law offices of firm attorneys Rebecca Thompson, Paul R. Scott, Tony Nowak, Jody Neyman, Megan Willoughby and staff.

Smith Phillips $3.4 Million Cooper Tire Verdict Stands in U.S. Supreme Court

January 16, 2003

A jury verdict of $3.4 million against Cooper Tire, including punitive and actual damages, in the Smith Phillips case, Tuckier v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company and Ford Motor Company, affirmed by the Mississippi Supreme Court, was allowed to stand as to both actual and punitive damages, when the United States Supreme Court recently denied Cooper’s petition for certiorari on the issue of punitive damages.

The wrongful death action filed by Smith Phillips partner Briggs Smith and attorney Tab Turner of Little Rock arose from the death of 33-year-old Laura Tuckier of Rienzi, Mississippi. Ms. Tuckier was killed in 1995 when the Ford Bronco II vehicle she was driving rolled over on I-55 north of Sardis.

Evidence at the trial of the products liability action showed the accident was caused by tire failure, the result of a tread separation on one of the Cooper tires on the vehicle. Three of the four tires on the vehicle were found by X-ray to be defective. All three tires were manufactured during the same week at the same Texarkana, Arkansas plant. Testifying in the week-long trial in Mississippi, former Cooper Tire employees described employee disputes and manufacturing problems at the Cooper plant during the time of the tires’ manufacture. Two former employees of the plant testified that the Cooper compensation system was tied to the number of tires found to be defective – a system the plaintiffs described as putting profits over safety. The employees described contamination of rubber compounds used in the tires and lack of proper bonding on tires manufactured at the plant, a condition that can result in tread separation.

The jury returned a verdict for the Tuckier family for compensatory damages in the amount of $485,000 and punitive damages of $3 million against Cooper Tire. The Mississippi Supreme Court, affirmed the jury verdicts, holding that Cooper Tire and Rubber Company manufactured a defective tire and was responsible for the death of Laura Tuckier. The Court also affirmed the amount of the verdicts, finding that both compensatory and punitive damages were in order and were not excessive.

Cooper petitioned the United States Supreme Court for certiorari, seeking a review of the punitive award.  The U.S. Supreme Court denied cert, letting the verdict stand as to both compensatory and punitive damages. Co-defendant Ford Motor Company settled prior to trial. The amount of the Ford settlement was confidential.

Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. v. Tuckier, No. 2000-CA-00404-SCT, Supreme Court of Mississippi.

For a full version of the Mississippi Supreme Court decision, click here.

FedEx Drivers Litigation

January 15, 2003

Smith Phillips represents Mississippi drivers for FedEx Ground in nationwide Multidistrict Litigation pending in Indiana.  For more information click here for the litigation website www.fedexdriverslawsuit.com .