Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Company v. Luther W. McLain, 174 So. 3d 1279

Plaintiff Luther W. McLain (former railroad employee) sued Illinois Central under FELA in 2004, alleging work-related degenerative back injury. Jury returned a $150,000 verdict for McLain.
During trial and discovery McLain: (1) had improper conversation with an empaneled juror, (2) testified inconsistently with his deposition (claiming the heaviest thing he lifted was a flag), (3) solicited witness Cecil Coker to omit that McLain lifted a 40‑lb derail, and (4) admitted asking Coker not to mention the derail.
The trial court reserved sanctions until after verdict, then imposed $500 for juror contact and $10,000 for solicitation of perjury. The court did not make an explicit finding or sanction for McLain’s own perjury.
Illinois Central moved for additional sanctions and dismissal; the trial court denied those motions. Illinois Central appealed, arguing sanctions were insufficient and that McLain committed perjury.
The Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed sanctions under an abuse‑of‑discretion standard, applied Pierce factors for dismissal, and concluded the cumulative misconduct (perjury + solicitation + juror contact) warranted reversal of the verdict and dismissal with prejudice, while affirming the monetary sanctions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (McLain)	Defendant's Argument (Illinois Central)	Held
Whether Illinois Central waived appeal of sanctions by not contemporaneously objecting	Sanctions issue waived for appeal because no contemporaneous objection	Sanctions issue was presented post‑trial; preserved by post‑verdict motions	Not waived — appellate review allowed (issue was presented to trial court)
Whether trial court abused discretion in sanctioning juror contact ($500)	Juror contact was minor; sanctions appropriate	Jury contact merited sanction but was one of multiple violations	$500 sanction for juror contact affirmed (no abuse)
Whether $10,000 sanction for solicitation of perjury was adequate	$10,000 (≈7% of verdict) and trial judge's comments were sufficient deterrent	Sanction too low given gravity; court failed to sanction McLain’s own perjury	$10,000 sanction affirmed but held to be insufficient alone; trial court abused discretion for not imposing additional sanctions
Whether cumulative misconduct (perjury + solicitation + juror contact) warranted dismissal / reversal of verdict	Monetary sanctions sufficient; dismissal is a draconian remedy and should be remanded if larger sanctions are warranted	Multiple willful violations, including perjury and solicitation of perjury, justify dismissal because lesser sanctions won’t deter	Reversed verdict and rendered judgment for defendant; case dismissed with prejudice (trial court abused discretion by not imposing further sanctions)

Pierce v. Heritage Props., Inc., 688 So.2d 1385 (Miss. 1997) (factors to decide whether dismissal for discovery abuse is warranted)
Jones v. Jones, 995 So.2d 706 (Miss. 2008) (perjury at trial must be punished; remand for sanctions/remedies when trial court fails to act)
Ashmore v. Miss. Auth. on Educ. Television, 148 So.3d 977 (Miss. 2014) (abuse‑of‑discretion standard for review of sanctions and need for record showing trial court considered appropriate factors)
St. Louis Sw. Ry. Co. v. Dickerson, 470 U.S. 409 (U.S. 1985) (substantive FELA law federal, procedural matters in state court governed by state law)
Illinois Cent. R. Co. v. Brent, 133 So.3d 760 (Miss. 2013) (FELA substantive/ procedural distinction)
Rubenstein v. State, 941 So.2d 735 (Miss. 2006) (preservation rule for evidentiary objections)
InTown Lessee Assocs., LLC v. Howard, 67 So.3d 711 (Miss. 2011) (contemporaneous‑objection/ preservation principle)