City of Jackson, Mississippi v. Jackson Oaks Limited Partnership

Summary

The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the denial of the City of Jackson's Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) motion for clarification and relief from a $1.1 million judgment in favor of Jackson Oaks Limited Partnership. The court held that the settlement-credit issue was moot and that the City could not use Rule 60(b) to relitigate issues previously addressed after renewal of its summary judgment motion.

Holdings

1. The chancery court correctly limited its consideration on remand to the issues raised in the City's original December 1998 motion for clarification and relief; additional issues in the City's renewed motion were beyond the scope of the prior remand.
2. The settlement-credit issue was moot because Jackson Oaks tendered to the City the entire amount it received in settlement from John Hancock.
3. The chancellor did not abuse his discretion in denying Rule 60(b) relief even though he incorrectly stated that the City had failed to renew its motion for summary judgment, because the chancellor had heard argument on and denied the renewed motion on its merits.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the chancellor abused his discretion by finding that the John Hancock settlement-credit issue was moot after Jackson Oaks tendered the entire settlement amount to the City.
2. Whether the chancellor abused his discretion by denying Rule 60(b) relief based on the City's contention that the court failed to address its motion to dismiss or, alternatively, motion for summary judgment.
3. Whether the City's renewed Rule 60(b) motion could properly raise additional issues beyond those contained in the original motion addressed by the prior appellate remand.

Disposition

affirmed