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Black v. City of Tupelo9/11/2003
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 09/11/2003
. This tort claims act case comes to this Court on appeal from a Lee County Circuit Court order granting the City of Tupelo's motion to dismiss on the grounds that (1) plaintiff Eddie Black failed to serve a "Notice of Claim" as required by the Mississippi Tort Claims Act and (2) that the plaintiff's case is barred by res judicata. We find that Black failed to comply with the notice requirements of the Tort Claims Act and that Black's case is barred by a prior lawsuit. We affirm the trial court.
FACTS
. The plaintiff Eddie Black ("Black"), proceeding pro se, alleged the City of Tupelo and individual police officers employed by the Tupelo Police Department, including Mark Price ("Price"), Clay Hassell ("Hassell"), Jaime Harper ("Harper"), James Moses ("Moses"), Jay Clark ("Clark"), Michael Olive ("Olive") and Paul Howell ("Howell"), harassed him, were negligent in performing their duties, were part of a conspiracy to cause and broke a "Covenant Not to Sue." Specifically, Black complains of the following events: (1) He was put in a jail cell with two inmates who had previously attacked and robbed him; (2) He was arrested in violation of the "Covenant Not to Sue" on February 4, 1998; (3) He was arrested on shoplifting charges on November 11, 1997, which were later overturned; (4) He was frequently stopped by Moses and/or Hassell; (5) He was verbally threatened by Clark; (6) Clark used excessive force; (7) Olive verbally threatened him; (8) Howell reported that Black was a "snitch;" and (9) Harper failed to give Black information regarding an incident with police officers.
. Black made the identical allegations against the same officers and the City of Tupelo in a civil action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. Black's assertions did not meet the Spears v. McCotter test, and the case was dismissed with prejudice on March 24, 1999. Unhappy with the ruling in federal court, Black then filed this case in Lee County Circuit Court. That court granted the City of Tupelo's motion to dismiss. Aggrieved, Black appeals alleging the following errors:
I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DISMISSING THE COMPLAINT WITHOUT A HEARING.
II. WHETHER THERE WERE TOO MANY UNADDRESSED COMPLAINTS FOR THE TRIAL COURT TO DISMISS WITHOUT A HEARING.
III. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT'S REFUSAL TO HEAR BLACK'S COMPLAINTS IN OPEN COURT PUT HIS LIFE IN DANGER AND THUS PRECLUDED GRANTING THE MOTION TO DISMISS.
IV. WHETHER THIS COMPLAINT IS BARRED BY THE DOCTRINE OF RES JUDICATA.
V. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DISMISSING THE CASE UNDER THE NOTICE OF CLAIM PROVISIONS IN THE MISSISSIPPI TORT CLAIMS ACT.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
. This Court's standard of review for a motion to dismiss is well established.
A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) raises an issue of law. This Court reviews questions of law de novo. When considering a motion to dismiss, the allegations in the complaint must be taken as true, and the motion should not be granted unless it appears beyond doubt the plaintiff will not be able to prove any set of facts in support of his claim.
Poindexter v. Southern United Fire Ins. Co., 838 So. 2d 964, 966 (Miss. 2003) (quoting Sennett v. United States Fid. & Guar. Co., 757 So. 2d 206, 209 (Miss. 2000)).
ANALYSIS
I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DISMISSING THE COMPLAINT WITHOUT CONDUCTING A HEARING.
. This Court has not add
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