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City of Ridgeland v. Fowler2/13/2003
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 8/11/2000
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY
DISPOSITION: REVERSED AND REMANDED - 02/13/2003
EN BANC.
. This interlocutory appeal by the City of Ridgeland presents to this Court the sole question of whether the chancery court has subject matter jurisdiction over a lawsuit brought under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, Miss. Code Ann. §§ 11-46-1 to -23 (Rev. 2002). Adhering to our recent decision in Lawrence County School District v. Brister, 823 So. 2d 459 (Miss. 2001), we hold that it does not and reverse and remand for a transfer of this case to the circuit court.
FACTS
. Karen Ross Fowler, a twenty-year-old minor, was driving along Pear Orchard Road in Ridgeland, Madison County, Mississippi, in March of 2000. At the same time, officers of the City of Ridgeland Police Department were pursuing and attempting to apprehend a suspect near the intersection of North Park Drive and Pear Orchard Road. A collision is alleged to have occurred between the pursued vehicle of the suspect and Fowler when the suspect lost control of his vehicle. Fowler sustained numerous injuries and underwent various surgeries and medical procedures.
. Her parents, Donald and Glenda Fowler, filed suit in Madison County Chancery Court against the City of Ridgeland, City of Ridgeland Police Department, Police Chief Charles Newell and Donald Martin (hereinafter "City of Ridgeland") on behalf of themselves and their daughter seeking remedies in equity and at law. Among other remedies, the suit sought a temporary restraining order to command the City of Ridgeland to preserve Fowler's car, to allow the plaintiffs access to photograph and inspect the car, and to provide an inventory of evidence taken in connection with the collision. Further, the Fowlers sought injunctive relief to ensure the proper training of officers in the use of force and in pursuit situations. The Fowlers also asked for damages against the City of Ridgeland for the negligent supervision and behavior of its employees as well as damages against the individual employees. The Fowlers contend that the Chancery Court of Madison County is vested with jurisdiction over this case because of the equitable nature of the remedies sought.
. The City of Ridgeland filed a Motion to Dismiss or In the Alternative to Transfer Case to Circuit Court, which the city maintains is the court of proper jurisdiction for a tort claims case. The chancellor denied this motion. The City then moved for interlocutory appeal. The trial court granted this motion but refused to stay the proceedings. By order, this Court granted the City's Petition for Permission to File Interlocutory Appeal and Motion for Stay of Proceedings, staying all proceedings pending resolution of the merits of the appeal. See M.R.A.P. 5.
DISCUSSION
. We have previously settled this issue in Lawrence County School District v. Brister, 823 So. 2d 459 (Miss. 2001), where we stated:
While it is true that the Tort Claims Act is silent as to the court of jurisdiction, our constitution is not. Under the Mississippi Constitution, chancery courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and may hear all matters in equity, divorce and alimony, matters testamentary and of administration, minors; business, cases of idiocy, lunacy, and persons of unsound mind, and all cases under the laws in force at the time of the adoption of Constitution. Miss. Const. Art. 6 § 159(a)-(f) (1890). Circuit courts, on the other hand, are courts of general jurisdiction, having `original jurisdiction in all matters civil and criminal in this state not vested in another court.' Id. § 156. 823 So
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