Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partner Hiawatha Northington II and Senior Counsel Sheridan Carr successfully secured a dismissal with prejudice on behalf of the firm’s client in a premises liability action pending in the Circuit Court of Hinds County, Mississippi.
The lawsuit arose from an alleged third-party criminal incident at an apartment complex in Jackson, Mississippi. The plaintiff asserted negligence-based premises liability claims against the property owner alleging that the defendant failed to implement adequate safety and security measures on the premises.
On behalf of the client, Northington and Carr moved to dismiss the complaint arguing that the plaintiff failed to satisfy the statutory pleading and liability requirements imposed by the Mississippi Landowners Protection Act. Specifically, the motion established that the plaintiff failed to allege facts demonstrating that the defendants affirmatively impelled the conduct of the unidentified third party, failed to establish the existence of a legally sufficient “atmosphere of violence,” and failed to allege actual knowledge of any alleged assailant’s violent propensities as required under Mississippi law.
After reviewing the motion and pleadings, the court granted the motion and dismissed all claims with prejudice. This result highlights GRSM’s continued success in securing early dismissals in high-exposure premises liability matters involving alleged third-party criminal conduct and demonstrates the firm’s experience leveraging Mississippi’s statutory protections for property owners.