Jourdan River Estates, LLC v. Scott M. Favre, 278 So.3d 1135

Background

Jourdan River Estates, LLC (JRE) and successor Jourdan River Resort & Yacht Club, LLC (Yacht Club) own coastal property that required access via Nicola Road; neighboring landowners (the Favres and Parker) opposed development and restricted access.
JRE secured a chancery-court ruling (affirmed on appeal) that a 340-foot portion of Nicola Road is public and obtained an injunction forbidding gates and harassment; substantial related litigation spanned 2007–2014.
After bankruptcy (JRE filed in 2009 and transferred the property to Yacht Club in 2011), JRE and Yacht Club sued the Favres and Parker in Dec. 2011 alleging 15 tort-based claims for delays and interference with development.
The Hancock County Circuit Court granted partial summary judgment for defendants, disposing of almost all claims based on statute of limitations, lack of standing (real‑party issues), and the Noerr–Pennington petitioning immunity; limited claims against Scott Favre remained.
The Supreme Court of Mississippi judicially noticed that JRE’s foreign-LLC registration had been administratively revoked Dec. 5, 2011 (before the Dec. 19, 2011 complaint) but was later reinstated; the Court treated the defect as a capacity issue the parties waived.
Holding: the Supreme Court affirmed the grant of partial summary judgment, dismissed the defendants’ cross-appeal on judicial estoppel for lack of appellate jurisdiction, and remanded for further proceedings on remaining claims.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Effect of JRE's administrative dissolution on ability to sue	Revocation is procedural; reinstatement cures defect and does not defeat merits	Revocation meant JRE lacked capacity to sue when complaint filed, barring the action	Court treated it as a capacity (real‑party) issue, found parties waived it by reregistration and consent; not a standing barrier on appeal
Statute of limitations on JRE's claims	Alleged ongoing conspiracy and continuing tort tolled or extended limitations	Most torts accrued outside limitations; continuing‑tort and conspiracy theories are time‑barred	Court affirmed summary judgment: most JRE claims time‑barred; continuing‑tort and conspiracy theories did not save claims
Noerr–Pennington immunity for petitions to government	Petition‑related communications can be admitted as evidence of motive; immunity should not bar tort claims here	Communications and petitions to county officials are protected First Amendment petitioning and immune from tort liability	Court affirmed dismissal of Yacht Club’s claims based on Noerr–Pennington; communications to Board/employees are petitions and barred (sham exception not met)
Judicial estoppel based on bankruptcy nondisclosure	JRE argues nondisclosure was inadvertent; did not list future suit that had not been filed	Defendants argue JRE knew of potential claims and failed to disclose in bankruptcy, warranting estoppel	Court found factual dispute about inadvertence that precluded summary judgment; but dismissed cross‑appeal for lack of jurisdiction and remanded for trial court to proceed

Key Cases Cited

Harrah's Vicksburg Corp. v. Pennebaker, 812 So. 2d 163 (Miss. 2001) (adopts Noerr–Pennington in Mississippi and bars tort claims based on petitioning activity)
E. R. R. Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc., 365 U.S. 127 (U.S. 1961) (First Amendment protection for petitioning activity underlying Noerr doctrine)
United Mine Workers of Am. v. Pennington, 381 U.S. 657 (U.S. 1965) (extends Noerr principles to joint efforts to influence government)
Prof'l Real Estate Inv'rs v. Columbia Pictures Indus., Inc., 508 U.S. 49 (U.S. 1993) (defines "sham" litigation exception to petitioning immunity)
Jourdan River Estates, LLC v. Favre, 212 So. 3d 800 (Miss. 2015) (prior appeal; Court ordered conversion of 12(b)(6) motion to summary judgment analysis)
Favre v. Jourdan River Estates, 148 So. 3d 361 (Miss. 2014) (earlier merits ruling on right-of-way and injunction)
Favre v. Hancock Cty. Bd. of Supervisors, 52 So. 3d 463 (Miss. Ct. App. 2011) (earlier appellate opinion in the dispute)
Kirk v. Pope, 973 So. 2d 981 (Miss. 2007) (discusses judicial estoppel and standing principles)
Superior Crewboats, Inc. v. Primary P & I Underwriters, 374 F.3d 330 (5th Cir. 2004) (articulates elements for judicial estoppel)