Title: SUNBELT ROYALTY v. Big-G Drilling Co.

State: mississippi

Issuer: Mississippi Supreme Court

Document:

592 So. 2d 1011 (1992) SUNBELT ROYALTY, INC. v. BIG-G DRILLING COMPANY, INC. No. 89-CA-0120. Supreme Court of Mississippi. January 15, 1992. Philip E. Carby, Brown & Carby, Natchez, for appellant. Bruce M. Kuehnle, Jr., Adams Forman Truly Smith & Bramlette, Natchez, for appellee. Before HAWKINS, P.J., and PRATHER and SULLIVAN, JJ. HAWKINS, Presiding Justice, for the Court: Sunbelt Royalty, Inc. ("Sunbelt") and Big-G Drilling Company, Inc. ("Big-G Drilling") are each a close Mississippi corporation with principal offices in Natchez. Sunbelt's president is Lester Meng, III, an attorney. On March 6, 1987, Big-G Drilling sued Sunbelt for payment of a promissory note executed by Meng as president in which Sunbelt promised to pay Big-G $36,779.49 payable January 5, 1987, with interest of ten (10) percent per annum on any unpaid balance. A copy of the note was attached to the complaint. Sunbelt demanded $38,914.33, representing the principal plus $2,134.84 in accrued interest. Big-G filed its first request for admissions on January 12, 1988, in which Big-G requested that Sunbelt admit or deny the following statements: A response to the first request for admissions was due on or before February 15, 1988. This deadline was extended to March 8, 1988, after Sunbelt's counsel withdrew on February 19, 1988. On March 15, 1988, Sunbelt's president, with Lester Meng, III, acting as new counsel, filed an answer to the complaint, but did not file a response to the requests for admissions. On July 14, 1988, Big-G filed a second set of requests for admission. A response to the second set of requests for admissions was due on or before August 5, 1988. Big-G's attorney advised Sunbelt on August 29, 1988, that responses to the second set of requests for admissions was past due approximately two weeks. They requested that Sunbelt respond by September 6, 1988. Sunbelt filed its responses to Big-G's second set of requests for admissions on September 14, 1988. On September 28, 1988, Big-G filed motions for partial summary judgment asking for judgment on their complaint. At a hearing on October 25, 1988, Sunbelt presented responses to Big-G's first request for admissions and a response to Big-G's motion for partial summary judgment. The trial judge granted judgment in favor of Big-G Drilling for $44,951.87 with interest, finding that the requests for admissions were deemed admitted when Sunbelt did not respond in a timely manner. Sunbelt has appealed. Rule 36, concerning requests for admission, of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure states in pertinent part: The requests for admissions submitted to Sunbelt were a simple matter which could have been answered in a few minutes time. Sunbelt kept the court and Big-G Drilling *1013 dangling in suspense for nearly nine months. The trial judge was correct in holding the requests admitted. Sawyer v. Hannan, 556 So. 2d 696 (Miss. 1990); Educational Placement Services v. Wilson, 487 So. 2d 1316 (Miss. 1986); 8 Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 2259 (1970). AFFIRMED. ROY NOBLE LEE, C.J., and PRATHER, ROBERTSON, SULLIVAN, PITTMAN, BANKS and McRAE, JJ., concur. DAN M. LEE, P.J., dissents without written opinion.