Kelvin Pruitt, a Minor by and through his Mother, Latrice Brooks v. Jason Sargent, in his Official Capacity, Dr. Earl Watkins, in his Official Capacity, Dr. Errick L. Greene, in his Official Capacity, and Jackson Public School District, 349 So.3d 729

In 2008 Kelvin Pruitt, then a minor and special-needs student, lost two fingers in a bicycle-chain accident after accepting a ride home from another student; he had been ordered off the school bus and told to walk home.
Plaintiff filed an original suit in 2009 against Jackson Public School District and two employees; that action was voluntarily dismissed in 2018 due to service defects. A second suit in 2018 was also voluntarily dismissed.
Plaintiff filed the present (third) lawsuit on January 16, 2020; defendants answered on February 20, 2020 and the parties conducted months of discovery.
In June 2020 defendants moved to dismiss, asserting the statute of limitations had expired (arguing the minors’ saving statute did not extend the limitations period because the earlier filing tolled only until dismissal).
Plaintiff argued defendants waived the statute-of-limitations defense by failing to plead it under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 8(c), and alternatively argued the minors’ saving statute continued to operate after dismissal for reasons other than the merits.
The circuit court granted the defendants’ motion; the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed, holding defendants waived the statute-of-limitations defense by not pleading it and by participating in litigation without timely asserting it.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether defendants waived the statute-of-limitations affirmative defense by failing to plead it under Miss. R. Civ. P. 8(c)	Pruitt: defendants failed to plead the defense in their answer and therefore waived it; their late motion to dismiss was untimely after active participation in discovery	Defendants: their answer’s general defenses (MTCA citation, generic catch-all defense) gave adequate notice of a limitations defense	Court: Waived — defendants did not sufficiently plead the defense under Rule 8(c) and offered no reasonable explanation for delay; reversal and remand.
Whether the minors’ saving statute continues to operate after a case filed on behalf of a minor is dismissed for reasons other than the merits	Pruitt: minors’ saving statute should extend limitations, so the limitations period had not run before suit filed in 2020	Defendants: limitations expired in 2010; tolling ended with earlier proceedings	Court: Not reached — because the statute-of-limitations defense was waived, the Court did not decide the minors’ saving-statute question.

Est. of Puckett v. Clement, 238 So. 3d 1139 (Miss. 2018) (standard of review for waiver of affirmative defenses: abuse of discretion)
Hutzel v. City of Jackson, 33 So. 3d 1116 (Miss. 2010) (failure to raise an affirmative defense in the original answer generally results in waiver)
Pass Termite & Pest Control, Inc. v. Walker, 904 So. 2d 1030 (Miss. 2004) (explains need to plead affirmative defenses early and limited circumstances to allow late assertion)
MS Credit Ctr., Inc. v. Horton, 926 So. 2d 167 (Miss. 2006) (defense may be waived by failure to timely raise and pursue it while actively litigating)
Woodard v. Miller, 326 So. 3d 439 (Miss. 2021) (affirmative defenses can be waived when generically asserted or not timely pursued)
Hertz Com. Leasing Div. v. Morrison, 567 So. 2d 832 (Miss. 1990) (burden on defendant to identify and give fair notice of intended defenses)
Heard v. Remy, 937 So. 2d 939 (Miss. 2006) (precise "magic words" not required, but adequate notice is required)