IN THE SUPREME COURT OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 2000-IA-00962-SCT
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING; RICKI R. GARRETT; CARL NICHOLSON, JR.; NAN McGAHEY BAKER; THOMAS W. COLBERT; WILLIAM S. CRAWFORD; LARRY E. HOMAN; J. MARLIN IVEY; JAMES ROY KLUMB; JAMES W. LUVENE; D.E. MAGEE, JR.; VIRGINIA SHANTEAU NEWTON; CASSIE PENNINGTON; THOMAS LAYZELL; UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI; HORACE FLEMING; AND JAMES O. WILLIAMS v. OLON E. RAY; TED J. ALEXANDER; JIMMY C. HOPPER; MISSISSIPPI ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES INTER-ALUMNI ASSOCIATION; BENNIE STONE GOODEN; ROBERT LAMAR GOZA; H. KIRK MOORE, JR.; BEVERLY C. SMITH; K. KEENAN BENEFIELD; CORNELIUS B. CARTER; MEREDITH HARPER; ARVELLE S. HODGE; SHUNYA D. HUNT; MARTHA H. McILWAIN; JASON REESE; JEFF ROBERTSON; LAURA K. PETERSON; TALMADGE PORTIS, JR.; BOBBY F. THRASH; MISSISSIPPI FACULTY ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES; MAGDALENE ABRAHAM; KENNETH R. BISHOP; JANICE E. DUNCAN; SANDRA H. GRISHAM; TOM SHEPHERD, JR.; EDDIE C. SMITH; JAMES R. SMITH; KENNETH J. TAYLOR; WALTON B. WILSON; WILLIAM M. BREWER; CURTIS L. DAVIS; MARSHALL THOMAS HEWLETT; LINDA WEEKS HILL; WILLIAM H. SNELL, JR.; L. D. STRINGFELLOW; W.L. VIERLING; MISSISSIPPI STATE BOARD FOR COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES; MISSISSIPPI ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES DATE OF JUDGMENT: 5/30/2000 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. WILLIAM HALE SINGLETARY COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: HINDS COUNTY CHANCERY COURT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANTS: REUBEN V. ANDERSON
JAMES W. CRAIG
VINCENT J. BODIN ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES: JAMES LAWTON ROBERTSON
PAUL E. BARNES NATURE OF THE CASE: OTHER DISPOSITION: REVERSED AND RENDERED-02/28/2002 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED: MANDATE ISSUED: 3/21/2002
EN BANC. SMITH, PRESIDING JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:
¶1. Appellees filed this suit on December 22, 1999, in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County. Appellees claim that the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) violated Mississippi law in allowing the University of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Park (USM-GP) to begin offering freshman and sophomore courses as part of its curriculum. On January 19, 2000, they filed a Motion for Preliminary injunction to enjoin Appellants from commencing the offering of lower level courses at the USM-GP campus. Appellants moved to dismiss the complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. Following a hearing on the motions submitted, the trial court denied the motion to dismiss and granted the preliminary injunction. Appellants, unopposed by Appellees, immediately applied for an interlocutory appeal. On May 30, 2000, the Chancery Court certified the case for interlocutory appeal, which this Court accepted.
¶2. We hold that Miss. Code Ann. § 7-5-1 (1991) requires consent of the Attorney General prior to filing a suit between state agencies. Appellees did not obtain this consent, thus the suit is barred. We also hold that our statutes do not designate a specific location for USM's campus. Thus, IHL created a dual campus rather than an off-campus location when it approved the Gulf Coast location. State law is not violated. Finally, and more importantly, we hold that the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges (SBCJC) cannot be established as