Charles Shortie v. Rochelle George
233 So. 3d 883
| Miss. Ct. App. | 2017Background
- Married South Carolina residents Charles and Oner Shortie were in a car accident in Sunflower County, Mississippi; Oner died.
- Rochelle George (one of Oner’s children) filed a wrongful-death suit in Mississippi under Miss. Code § 11-7-13; Charles later joined and was appointed personal representative of Oner’s South Carolina probate estate.
- Parties settled at mediation for wrongful-death and personal-injury claims. After settlement, Charles asserted South Carolina law should govern distribution (he would get 50% under SC intestacy), while Mississippi law would split equally among husband and five children (each 1/6).
- The circuit court ruled Mississippi law applied, held Charles waived timely challenge to choice-of-law, and ordered distribution under Miss. Code § 11-7-13 (each heir 1/6).
- On appeal the Court of Appeals reviewed choice-of-law de novo, concluded Mississippi substantive intestacy rules were inapplicable to wrongful-death proceeds but found that South Carolina law had the dominant contacts yet affirmed because Charles waived raising the conflict early in the litigation; remanded for distribution approval.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which state law governs distribution of wrongful-death proceeds? | Shortie: South Carolina law (intestate succession giving spouse 50%) governs because decedent and family were domiciled in SC. | George: Mississippi law (§11-7-13) governs because injury and suit occurred in Mississippi. | Court: On the merits SC has the dominant relationship and its law would apply, but the issue was waived by Shortie for not being raised timely. |
| Did Shortie waive the right to assert choice-of-law? | Shortie: He raised the issue in a cross-motion for declaratory judgment after settlement; timely when it became relevant. | George: Issue should have been raised earlier; Long requires early identification of beneficiaries and allocation issues. | Court: Waiver — Long requires early notice about beneficiaries/percentages; delay until after settlement constituted waiver. |
| Did the trial court err by applying intestate succession rules/permitting probate law to control wrongful-death distribution? | Shortie: Trial court cited intestate succession but wrongful-death is a statutory cause distinct from intestate estate. | George: Trial court applied Mississippi intestacy principles to personal property located here. | Court: Trial court erred to the extent it relied on intestate succession rules (wrongful-death is a separate statutory cause), but that error was harmless because waiver controlled result. |
| Admissibility of later-added documents per M.R.A.P. 10(f) | Shortie: Trial court allowed extra documents into record in violation of Rule 10(f). | George: N/A given other rulings. | Court: Declined to reach this issue as unnecessary given ruling on waiver and outcome. |
Key Cases Cited
- Long v. McKinney, 897 So. 2d 160 (Miss. 2004) (procedural guidance for wrongful-death suits; duty to identify beneficiaries early)
- Mitchell v. Craft, 211 So. 2d 509 (Miss. 1968) (center-of-gravity choice-of-law approach; apply law of forum with dominant interest)
- In re Estate of Blanton, 824 So. 2d 558 (Miss. 2002) (applied domicile and forum interests over place-of-injury in wrongful-death distribution)
- Williams v. Clark Sand Co., 212 So. 3d 804 (Miss. 2015) (reiterates Restatement/center-of-gravity choice-of-law framework)
- Miss. Credit Ctr., Inc. v. Horton, 926 So. 2d 167 (Miss. 2006) (waiver doctrine where unreasonable delay plus active litigation participation can waive rights)