Chaffee ex rel. Latham v. Jackson Pub. Sch. Dist., 270 So. 3d 905

On Feb. 8, 2010, first-grader Fredrick Latham Jr. was injured when his finger was caught in a classroom restroom door; he required fingertip reattachment surgery.
Classroom policy allowed one student in the restroom at a time; students could wait in line outside the restroom.
At the time, teacher Tracy Scott was at the front of the classroom directing students to line up for lunch; teaching assistant Bernice Anderson was at the back nearer the restroom.
Fredrick and another student ran to the back and the other student closed the door, crushing Fredrick’s finger; Scott had instructed them not to go back but did not see the injury occur.
Chaffee (mother) sued the school district for negligence and res ipsa loquitur; the district raised MTCA sovereign-immunity defenses and moved for summary judgment.
The trial court granted summary judgment, finding adequate supervision (two adults present) and that the injury was not foreseeable; the Supreme Court of Mississippi affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether immunity defense was waived for failing to plead discretionary-function exemption	School waived by not pursuing discretionary-function exemption	District argued immunity under MTCA as affirmative defense	Moot on appeal; court limited review to negligence claim
Whether school breached duty of ordinary care by inadequate supervision	Scott failed to follow restroom procedure that allowed only one child; failure to enforce made injury foreseeable	Two adults were supervising; routine supervision was in place and injury was sudden and unforeseeable	No genuine issue of material fact; summary judgment for district affirmed
Whether injury was foreseeable and preventable by reasonable precautions	Injury was foreseeable because students violated single-occupant restroom rule	Even with teachers adjacent, slipping finger was not predictable or preventable	Court held injury was not reasonably foreseeable; no proximate cause from alleged inadequate supervision
Whether Summers precedent required denial of summary judgment	Summers created a triable issue where supervisors were absent/unaware	Facts differ: teachers were present and actively supervising here	Summers distinguished; summary judgment appropriate

Todd v. First Baptist Church of West Point, 993 So.2d 827 (Miss. 2008) (elements of negligence and sequencing duty/breach)
Harmon v. Regions Bank, 961 So.2d 693 (Miss. 2007) (de novo review of summary judgment)
Henderson ex rel. Henderson v. Simpson Cty. Pub. Sch. Dist., 847 So.2d 856 (Miss. 2003) (schools must use ordinary care to minimize foreseeable risks)
Summers v. St. Andrew's Episcopal Sch., 759 So.2d 1203 (Miss. 2000) (reversed summary judgment where supervisors were absent/unaware and prior incidents provided notice)
Slade v. New Horizon Ministries, Inc., 785 So.2d 1077 (Miss. Ct. App. 2001) (distinguishing Summers where supervision was shown and injury was sudden)
Levandoski v. Jackson Cty. Sch. Dist., 328 So.2d 339 (Miss. 1976) (no duty of constant supervision absent special dangerous circumstances)
American Legion Ladnier Post Number 42, Inc. v. Ocean Springs, 562 So.2d 103 (Miss. 1990) (trial judge should deny summary judgment when triable issues exist)