Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services and Robin Stricklin v. Carla Butler and Steven Butler, Individually and on Behalf of J.B., A Minor, 384 So.3d 546

Carla Butler was injured when Robin Stricklin, while driving in the scope of her employment with the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services (MDRS), rear-ended the Butlers’ truck in a traffic circle, causing the truck to flip; Carla was seven months pregnant at the time.
The Butlers (Carla and Steven, individually and on behalf of their minor son) sued MDRS and Stricklin for personal injury and property damages.
After a bench trial, the circuit court found Stricklin solely negligent, MDRS vicariously liable, and awarded $108,084 in damages (including non-economic damages to Carla) but denied certain property and consortium damages.
MDRS and Stricklin appealed, challenging the adequacy of the trial evidence and the damages awarded; the Butlers cross-appealed, contesting the omission of damages for Carla’s cell phone/wedding band and for Steven’s loss of consortium.
On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court on liability and the bulk of the damages, but reversed and remanded for certain specific additional damages.

Issue	Butler's Argument	MDRS/Stricklin's Argument	Held
Denial of involuntary dismissal under 41(b)	Sufficient evidence supported their claims	Insufficient evidence at plaintiff's case-in-chief	Waived—Defendants testified post-denial
Reliability of expert (Walton’s) testimony	Expert’s methodology and conclusions valid	Walton’s testimony about Carla’s speed not credible	No abuse of discretion, testimony admissible
Omission of property damages (cell/wedding)	Circuit court erred by not awarding these	Evidence about these should not have been admitted	Damages should have been awarded
Award of non-economic damages	Award for pain, suffering, ongoing impairment justified	Damages excessive, not supported by evidence	Not excessive, supported in record
Denial of loss-of-consortium damages	Sufficient evidence of Steven’s loss and burden	No separate and distinct damages established	Additur warranted, remanded

S. Cent. Reg’l Med. Ctr. v. Regan, 303 So. 3d 432 (Miss. Ct. App. 2020) (standard for reversing trial judge sitting without a jury)
City of Jackson v. Presley, 40 So. 3d 520 (Miss. 2010) (deference to trial judge’s factual findings if supported by substantial evidence)
Miss. Transp. Comm’n v. McLemore, 863 So. 2d 31 (Miss. 2003) (standard for reliability of expert testimony)
Rylee v. Progressive Gulf Ins. Co., 224 So. 3d 535 (Miss. 2017) (requirements for loss-of-consortium claims)
Brent v. Mathis, 154 So. 3d 842 (Miss. 2014) (scope of loss-of-consortium damages)
Kirk v. Koch, 607 So. 2d 1220 (Miss. 1992) (loss of conjugal rights definition)