Source: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ms-supreme-court/1154103.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 13:23:45+00:00

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FRANKLIN CORPORATION v. Pauline TEDFORD, Lora Smith, Judy Haire and Samantha Mixon.
EN BANC. James Lawton Robertson, Jennifer Hughes Scott, Elizabeth G. Hooper, Bridget E. Kobs, attorneys for appellant. Heber S. Simmons, III, William Melvin Rosamond, Douglas G. Mercier, John Robin Bradley, Jr., attorneys for Appellees.
¶ 1. The motion for rehearing filed by Franklin Corporation is denied. The previous opinions of this Court are withdrawn and these opinions are substituted therefor.
¶ 2. Today we are presented with the latest conflict in the ongoing legal struggle between industry and labor regarding compensation and medical indemnity for employees injured in the workplace. The appellees/employees seek to expand the scope of egregious conduct excluded from the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Law (“Act”) to include acts which are “substantially certain” to cause injury to the employee. Not surprisingly, the appellant/employer clamors for the opposite, requesting that this Court overrule Miller v. McRae's, Inc., 444 So.2d 368 (Miss.1984), and its progeny and retreat from these decisions, which exclude employers' tort immunity for certain egregious acts accompanied by an “actual intent to injure” the employee. After due consideration and deliberation, this Court chooses to do neither. The constitutionally delineated forum for change is the Mississippi Legislature, not this Court. We find that the correct balance is in place and so shall remain, unless the Legislature should decide otherwise.
¶ 3. In the case sub judice, Pauline Tedford, Lora Smith, Judy Haire, and Samantha Mixon (“Plaintiffs”) filed suit alleging multiple claims against multiple defendants, including claims against their employer, Franklin Corporation, for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress arising from injuries sustained in the course and scope of their employment. Franklin Corporation filed a “Motion to Dismiss” and a “Motion for Summary Judgment,” contending that the exclusive remedy for the Plaintiffs was provided by the Act. After due consideration by the circuit court, the trial judge denied the relief sought and set the matter for trial. At trial, the jury found in favor of the Plaintiffs, awarding both compensatory and punitive damages. Thereafter, the circuit court denied Franklin Corporation's “Motion for J.N.O.V., or in the Alternative, for New Trial or Remittitur,” but reduced the punitive damage award. From those rulings, Franklin Corporation appeals.
[a]n indemnity system which tediously grinds out such results as these is no better than a gamble-a gamble which awards a few prizes to injured persons and deludes all other injured persons into thinking they are going to draw prizes, too, when, as a matter of fact, they are going to draw blanks; a gamble which makes the employer pay preposterous sums to certain people and so prevents him from paying reasonable sums to all. It is on the same level as faro.
Id. at 80 (internal quotation marks omitted). See also P.V. Fishback & S.E. Kantor, A Prelude to the Welfare State: The Origins of Workers' Compensation, 11 (University of Chicago 2000) (“[r]eformers decried the common law system” for uncompensated injuries, “uncertain and unequal payouts,” high transactional costs, and delay). By the early 1900s, President Theodore Roosevelt included “comprehensive workmen's compensation acts” within his progressive program for economic reform, the “Square Deal.” T. Roosevelt, The New Nationalism (Aug. 31, 1910), in 13 The Annals of America 250, 253 (Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.1976).
Mississippi became the last state to adopt a system of Workmen's Compensation. This type of legislation is generally viewed as a compromise between the interest of labor and business. Because of the exclusive nature of the remedy labor surrenders the right to assert a common law tort action along with the attendant possibility of achieving punitive damages. In exchange it receives assurance that an award is forthcoming. Industry surrenders its three major common law defenses: contributory negligence, assumption of risk, and the fellow servant rule. In exchange it receives the knowledge that there will be no outrageously large judgments awarded to injured employees.[ 2] The entire system was designed to insure that those injured as a result of their employment would not be reduced to a penniless state and thereby become dependent on some form of governmental public assistance.
¶ 6. Mississippi Code Section 71-3-9 provides, in part, that “[t]he liability of an employer to pay compensation shall be exclusive and in place of all other liability of such employer to the employee․” Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-9 (Rev.2000) (emphasis added). However, based upon the statutory requirement that the “injury” be “accidental” to be compensable under the Act, see Mississippi Code Sections 71-3-3(b), 71-3-7, this Court has found that some intentional torts are outside the scope of the exclusivity provision in Mississippi Code Section 71-3-9. Miss.Code Ann. §§ 71-3-3(b), 71-3-7 (Rev.2000). See Royal Oil Co. v. Wells, 500 So.2d 439, 442 (Miss.1986) ( “the [Act] does not bar an employee from pursuing a common law remedy against his employer for an injury caused by his employer's wilful and malicious act”); Miller, 444 So.2d at 371 (“where an injury is caused by the willful act of an employee acting in the course and scope of his employment and in the furtherance of his employer's business, the [Act] is not the exclusive remedy available to the injured party”) (emphasis added). This limitation on the Act's exclusivity “reflects the public policy that certain courses of conduct (intentional torts) are so shockingly outrageous and beyond the bounds of civilized conduct that the person responsible should not be rewarded with tort immunity.” Bradley & Thompson, Mississippi Workers' Compensation at § 11:8.
¶ 7. In Peaster v. David New Drilling Co., 642 So.2d 344 (Miss.1994), this Court held that “[a] mere willful and malicious act remains insufficient to give rise to the exception under the Act .” Id. at 348. See also Blailock v. O'Bannon, 795 So.2d 533, 535 (Miss.2001) (“[r]eckless or grossly negligent conduct is not enough to remove a claim from the exclusivity of the Act.”). The employee also must establish that the egregious act was accompanied by an “actual intent to injure” in order to except the Act's grant of exclusivity. See id.; Peaster, 642 So.2d at 348-50; Griffin v. Futorian Corp., 533 So.2d 461, 464 (Miss.1988). Thus, Mississippi is in concurrence with an overwhelming majority of states in requiring an “actual intent to injure” the employee. See 6 Arthur Larson, Larson's Workers' Compensation Law § 103.01 nn. 4-6, § 103.04 (2008).
¶ 8. Having set forth the law in existence at the time the subject events unfolded, we turn to the specific facts developed and stipulated in this case.
[a]bove PEL/TLV [“permissible exposure limit/threshold limit value”], an approved organic vapor type respirator is acceptable. Approved self-contained breathing apparatus or air line respirator with full face piece, is required for vapor concentrations above 1000 ppm and for spills and emergencies.
Do not use in confined space. Open doors and/or windows. Use ventilation to maintain employee exposure levels below the manufacturers recommended exposure limit.
Avoid contact with skin and avoid breathing vapors.
was aware of the contents of the MSDS and warning label and the language relating to ventilation,[ 5] respiratory, skin and eye protection requirements for use of [Soft Seam] as well as the potential harmful effects to humans for prolonged, unprotected exposure to [1-BP] at levels that exceeded the applicable exposure levels.
Shempert did not consider the installation of these new booths to be a manufacturing change, and thus did not request updated air testing on the glue line.
¶ 13. Throughout the Plaintiffs' employment, numerous glue-line employees testified to making repeated complaints to supervisors and upper management about the ill symptoms they were experiencing, the need for ventilation, and the need for protective gear. The adverse symptoms experienced by glue-line employees frequently were exacerbated when operating in the new booths.
¶ 20. On February 27, 2004, Franklin Corporation began purchasing a new glue containing acetone from Mid-South. On March 10, 2004, new ventilation booths were installed on the glue line at Franklin Corporation and were fully operable. Fabrication and installation of the new ventilation booths by Kline Heating and Air cost $11,165. Following installation of ventilation, glue-line employees were instructed on the nature and use of the acetone glue.
OSHA is the governing body over which workers should be able to come in and have a safe workplace․ They don't have an exposure limit. The manufacturer sets 100[ppm], so that's what I was going on as a secondary measure, but OSHA would take precedence over anything else in any of these.
I can't think of [a plant] that was worse[,] to put ․ a group of individuals, into an enclosed area and spray a solvent day in and day out for hours upon hours ․ without any ventilation, without proper respiratory protection is not only [a] violation of a variety of occupational health standards; but it's just, it's difficult for me to explain why someone would do that, especially in light of the complaints that were coming from those individuals conducting that work.
¶ 23. On October 21, 2004, Franklin Corporation filed a “Motion to Dismiss,” relying on the “exclusive remedy” provision of the Act, Mississippi Code Annotated Section 71-3-9 (Rev.2000). At the hearing thereon, Circuit Judge Andrew K. Howorth conceded that “[t]his is a tough one.” Ultimately, however, the motion was denied as “the [c]ourt specifically finds that the Plaintiffs have alleged sufficient facts and causes of action, which under the relevant standard of review, satisfy the intentional tort exception to the application of [the Act].” Franklin Corporation subsequently filed a “Petition for Interlocutory Appeal and to Stay Enforcement of Circuit Court Order Pending Appeal” regarding the exclusivity of the Act, which the circuit court granted. This Court initially granted Franklin Corporation's “Petition for Interlocutory Appeal,” but thereafter dismissed it as improvidently granted.
while I'm not aware of any law on this, I think intent can be like scienter is in the law․ We know that in scienter you knew or should have known; and I think with intent you either intended it or you were possessed with sufficient facts where you could be deemed to have intended it even if you didn't intend the specific consequences ․ That's just kind of my view of the thorniness of this thing.
¶ 26. The issue of punitive damages was then presented to the jury, which returned a verdict of $7,500,000 for the Plaintiffs against Franklin Corporation. The “Final Judgment” of the circuit court, “upon due consideration of the net worth and financial condition” of Franklin Corporation at the time the complaint was filed, concluded that the proper amount of punitive damages to be awarded was $1,836,213, pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated Section 11-1-65(3)(a) (Rev.2002).
by either: a) adjusting and amending that ․ punitive damages figure from $1,836,213 to $5,000,000 to comport and comply with Miss.Code Ann. Section 11-1-65 (Supp.2003) by application of the statutory cap to the “net worth” figure of $61,543,082 for ․ Franklin Corporation, which was its “net worth” at the time of trial; or b) amending and adjusting the punitive damages ․ from $1,836,213 to the $7,500,000 punitive damages amount awarded by the verdict of the jury without statutory reduction if Miss.Code Ann. Section 11-1-65(3)(a-c) (Supp.2003) is found to be void, unconstitutional and/or inapplicable.
(1) Whether the Act precludes the Plaintiffs' claims.
(2) Whether the circuit court abused its discretion in admitting the expert testimony of Dr. Kevin Merigian, Dr. Jennifer Majersik, Dr. S.H. Subramony, and Dr. Gaku Ichihara.
(3) Whether the circuit court's granting of certain jury instructions constituted reversible error.
(4) Whether the circuit court abused its discretion in permitting the jury to consider punitive damages.
(5) Whether the punitive damages assessed in the circuit court's “Amended Final Judgment” were erroneous as a matter of law.
I. Whether the Act precludes the Plaintiffs' claims.
¶ 29. The applicability of the Act, Mississippi Code Section 71-3-1 through 71-3-225, is a question of law. This Court reviews questions of law de novo. See Miss. Ethics Comm'n v. Grisham, 957 So.2d 997, 1000 (Miss.2007) (quoting 32 Pit Bulldogs v. County of Prentiss, 808 So.2d 971, 973 (Miss.2002)).
¶ 30. Paragraphs three through six supra set out the historical background of the Act, along with our pertinent decisions addressing intentional-tort exceptions to the Act. In Miller, this Court found that certain intentional torts are outside the scope of the exclusivity provision contained in Mississippi Code Section 71-3-9. See Miller, 444 So.2d at 371 (“where an injury is caused by the willful act of an employee acting in the course and scope of his employment and in the furtherance of his employer's business, the [Act] is not the exclusive remedy available to the injured party”) (emphasis added). See also Royal Oil, 500 So.2d at 442 (“the [Act] does not bar an employee from pursuing a common law remedy against his employer for an injury caused by his employer's wilful and malicious act”). Mississippi law clearly provides that certain intentional torts lie beyond the scope of the Act's exclusivity.
Dunn, Mississippi Workmen's Compensation, (3d ed. 1982 & Supp.1984), notes that in order for a willful tort to be outside the exclusivity of the Act, the employee's action must be done “with an actual intent to injure the employee. It is not enough to destroy the immunity that the employer's conduct leading to the injury consists of aggravated negligence or even that the conduct goes beyond this to include such elements as knowingly permitting hazardous conditions to exist or willfully failing to furnish a safe place to work or knowingly ordering the employee to perform a dangerous job. [Footnote omitted].” Id. at § 22.
There is nothing novel about the approach suggested by the appellants of enlarging the scope of the exemption test. We have stated consistently our position on this issue. The legislature has had every opportunity to include into the Act such a liberal exception suggested by the appellants, yet failed to do so. If this Court were to include what the legislature did not, we would violate the “purpose, spirit and philosophy of the [Act].” Brown v. Estess, 374 So.2d 241, 242 (Miss.1979).
Id. at 349-50. This view repeatedly has been acknowledged by federal and state courts in Mississippi. See Bailey v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 432 F.Supp.2d 665, 671 (S.D.Miss.2005) (citing Peaster for the proposition that “[t]o be deemed intentional, [the employer's] acts or inaction must be designed to bring about the injury.”); Thornton v. W.E. Blain & Sons, Inc., 878 So.2d 1082, 1086 (Miss.Ct.App.2004) (citing Peaster for the proposition that this Court “already has declined to create a ‘substantial certainty’ exception to the exclusivity provision of the Act ․”). We conclude, once again, that the Act is exclusive absent an actual intent to injure the employee.
¶ 32. No party contests that the Plaintiffs' injuries “arose out of and in the course of employment․” Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-3(b) (Rev.2000). The circuit court was presented with the issue of whether the Act precluded the Plaintiffs' claims at three distinct stages of this proceeding: Franklin Corporation's “Motion to Dismiss,” Franklin Corporation's “Motion for Summary Judgment,” and Franklin Corporation's “Motion for J.N.O.V.” At each stage, the circuit court rejected Franklin Corporation's contentions otherwise and denied the respective motions. Regarding the “Motion to Dismiss,” the circuit court found “that the Plaintiffs have alleged sufficient facts and causes of action, which under the relevant standard of review, satisfy the intentional tort exception to the application of [the Act].” Taking the allegations set forth by the Plaintiffs as true, see Penn National Gaming, Inc. v. Ratliff, 954 So.2d 427, 430 (Miss.2007), this Court finds no error in that ruling.
¶ 33. As to the “Motion for Summary Judgment,” based upon the collective “pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with ․ affidavits,”42 Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c), the circuit court concluded that there were “genuine issues of fact as to whether there was intent to injure[,]” with respect to the Plaintiffs' claims of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress against Franklin Corporation. This Court finds no error in that ruling.
[i]n considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-movant, giving that party the benefit of all favorable inferences that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence, and finding that the evidence was of such quality and weight that reasonable and fair-minded jurors in the exercise of impartial judgment might have reached different verdicts, the court finds that Defendant Franklin [Corporation's] Motion for J.N.O.V. should be denied.
Given the considerable testimony offered by employees and management personnel of Franklin Corporation, viewed “in the light most favorable to [the Plaintiffs], giving that party the benefit of all favorable inference that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence[,]” Spotlite Skating Rink, Inc. v. Barnes, 988 So.2d 364, 368 (Miss.2008) (citation omitted), this Court affirms the denial of J.N.O.V. given the “substantial evidence[43 ] to support the verdict.” Adcock, 981 So.2d at 948.
II. Whether the circuit court abused its discretion in admitting the expert testimony of Dr. Kevin Merigian, Dr. Jennifer Majersik, Dr. S.H. Subramony, and Dr. Gaku Ichihara.
[u]nder Mississippi Rule of Evidence 702, trial courts are charged with being gatekeepers in evaluating the admissibility of expert testimony. [Irby v. Travis, 935 So.2d 884, 912 (Miss.2006) ]. “We are confident that our learned trial judges can and will properly assume the role as gatekeeper on questions of admissibility of expert testimony.” Miss. Transp. Comm'n v. McLemore, 863 So.2d 31, 40 (Miss.2003).
Watts v. Radiator Specialty Co., 990 So.2d 143, 146 (Miss.2008). Accordingly, “[t]he trial judge has the sound discretion to admit or refuse expert testimony; an abuse of discretion standard means the judge's decision will stand unless the discretion he used is found to be arbitrary and clearly erroneous.” Troupe v. McAuley, 955 So.2d 848, 856 (Miss.2007) (quoting Poole v. Avara, 908 So.2d 716, 721 (Miss.2005)) (emphasis added). See also Bonner v. ISP Tech., Inc., 259 So.2d 924, 932 (8th Cir.2001) (“[w]e perform only the comparatively narrow analysis of whether the district court's determination that the opinion was sufficiently grounded in ‘good science’ to assist the jury constituted an abuse of that court's discretion.”).
[i]f scientific,[ 44] technical, or other specialized knowledge [ 45] will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.
(1) whether the theory or technique has been tested; (2) whether the theory or technique has been subjected to peer review and publication; (3) the known or potential rate of error of the method used and the existence and maintenance of standards controlling the technique's operation; and (4) whether the theory or method has been generally accepted by the scientific community.
Curtis v. M & S Petroleum, Inc., 174 F.3d 661, 668-69 (5th Cir.1999) (quoting Daubert, 509 U.S. at 593-94). This approach is “a flexible one. Its overarching subject is the scientific validity-and thus the evidentiary relevance and reliability-of the principles that underlie a proposed submission. The focus, of course, must be solely on principles and methodology, not on the conclusions that they generate.” Daubert, 509 U.S. at 594-95.
the [c]ourt is going to make a provisional ruling here today so that the parties can go forward and that will be the [c]ourt will accept them as tendered in their fields of expertise and that they meet the Daubert criteria for expert testimony assisting the trier of fact. Specifically, including that they are qualified in their fields. That their opinions are helpful to the jury and the opinions that they render are relevant and that their opinions are based upon reliable methodologies. I think this is a field with limited reliable methodology ․ I reserve the right to change my mind but that is the ruling here today and that is the one I would ask that you rely on in proceeding hence forth.
I concluded that their history of exposure was causative because they all had a very similar story. They all had similar findings on neurological examination, and they all were getting better after the exposure was removed, and none of the laboratory studies and brain scan studies ․ done by other people had revealed any other cause for this.
¶ 44. At trial, Franklin Corporation did not object to the tender of Dr. Subramony, Dr. Merigian, Dr. Ichihara, and Dr. Majersik as experts, or to their actual testimony. Therefore, this Court will limit its analysis to the circuit court's denial of Franklin Corporation's Daubert motions as to each physician. Only if the circuit judge abused his discretion in so ruling, acting in an “arbitrary and clearly erroneous” manner, will this Court find error. See Troupe, 955 So.2d at 856.
¶ 45. The neurological impact of 1-BP on humans is a relatively new field of study. As the circuit judge stated, “this is a field with limited reliable methodology․” Furthermore, as Dr. Majersik noted, determining the exact lower level of 1-BP exposure which causes neurologic injury in humans is challenging, given appropriate, ethical constraints. At best, nondefinitive determinations have been rendered via relevant case reports,57 MSDSs,58 and organizational recommendations. This Court finds such sources to be sufficient. “[I]t would be unreasonable to conclude that the subject of scientific testimony must be ‘known’ to a certainty.” Daubert, 509 U.S. at 590. “[T]he first several victims of a new toxic tort should not be barred from having their day in court simply because the medical literature, which will eventually show the connection between the victims' condition and the toxic substance, has not yet been completed.” Bonner, 259 F.3d at 928 (quoting Turner v. Iowa Fire Equip. Co., 229 F.3d 1202, 1208-09 (8th Cir.2000)). Similarly, this Court finds that the absence of data on the exact exposure level at which humans suffer neurologic injury ought not preclude the Plaintiffs' experts from testifying, when combined with Franklin Corporation's stipulation that 1-BP is a neurotoxin which can cause neurologic injury to humans and the testimony of its expert, Dr. George Wilkerson, that exposure to 1-BP caused the neurologic injuries suffered by Plaintiffs Tedford and Haire (despite not knowing the exact level at which 1-BP causes injury in humans).
¶ 46. The collective case reports, MSDSs, and organizational recommendations, paired with the direct and circumstantial evidence in the case sub judice, support a causal connection between the Plaintiffs' exposure to 1-BP and their injuries. See Curtis, 174 F.3d at 670 (“[i]n the present case, both scientific literature and strong circumstantial evidence support the causal connection.”). “Under some circumstances, a strong temporal connection is powerful evidence of causation.” Bonner, 259 F.3d at 931. Causal connection is further validated by the results of the air testing performed by Housman, Parker, and OSHA. These tests established that the Plaintiffs were “exposed to a quantity of the toxin that ‘exceeded safe levels.’ “ Id. (quoting Bednar v. Bassett Furniture Mfg. Co., 147 F.3d 737, 740 (8th Cir.1998)). As such, this Court finds that there was sufficient “ ‘evidence from which a reasonable person could conclude’ that [the Plaintiffs'] exposure probably caused [their] injuries.” Id. at 928. Accordingly, we find no abuse of discretion by the circuit judge in admitting the expert testimony of Dr. Subramony, Dr. Merigian, Dr. Ichihara, and Dr. Majersik, as their qualifications were not legitimately questioned, and their testimony was sufficiently relevant and reliable. See Watts, 990 So.2d at 146.
III. Whether the circuit court's granting of certain jury instructions constituted reversible error.
[t]he Court instructs the Jury that in order to recover on their claims against Defendant Franklin Corporation, the Plaintiffs have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the credible evidence that Franklin knowingly exposed the Plaintiffs to unreasonably dangerous levels of the industrial solvent which contained [1-BP] with an actual intent to cause them injury. It is not enough for the Plaintiffs to prove that Defendant Franklin negligently or even knowingly permitted hazardous conditions to exist, or that it negligently or even willfully failed to furnish the Plaintiffs with a safe place to work, or that it knowingly ordered the Plaintiffs to perform a dangerous job. If, and only if, you find from a preponderance of the credible evidence that Defendant Franklin engaged in conduct designed to cause the injuries for which the Plaintiffs claim damages, may you find for the Plaintiffs. If you find by a preponderance of the credible evidence that the Plaintiffs have failed to prove that Defendant Franklin knowingly exposed them to unreasonably dangerous levels of the industrial solvent which contained [1-BP] with an actual intent to cause them injury, then it is your sworn duty to return a verdict for Defendant Franklin Corporation on each of the Plaintiffs' claims.
[i]n order to establish that an intentional tort was committed by Defendant, Franklin Corporation, Plaintiffs must prove that, more likely than not, Defendant, Franklin Corporation either desired to cause the consequences of its acts, or believed that the consequences were substantially certain to result from it. Said another way, if Franklin Corp. knew that the consequences were certain, or substantially certain, to result from its acts, and still goes ahead, Franklin Corp. is treated by the law as if it had in fact desired to produce the result.
[t]he Court instructs you that with regard to the intentional torts alleged by Plaintiffs against Defendant Franklin Corp., battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, intent may be inferred from the circumstances of the case. Intent is an emotional operation of the mind, and is usually shown by acts and declarations of the defendant coupled with facts and circumstances surrounding him at the time. A defendant's intention is manifested largely by the things he does.
if you find by a preponderance of the evidence that Franklin Corp. intended that the Plaintiffs used the glue containing [1-BP], and that Defendant Franklin Corporation knew that Plaintiffs would inhale the vapors/fumes and that such inhalation was known to Franklin Corporation to be causing physical harm to the Plaintiffs, and/or substantially certain to cause physical harm to the Plaintiffs, and that such harmful or offensive contact with the glue vapors/fumes occurred, and that such harmful or offensive contact caused or contributed to cause injury to the Plaintiffs, then it is your duty to return a verdict in favor of the Plaintiffs and against Franklin Corp.
we are required to review all of the instructions as a whole. Richardson v. Norfolk & Southern Ry., 923 So.2d 1002, 1010 (Miss.2006). No instruction should be reviewed in isolation. Burr v. Miss. Baptist Medical Ctr., 909 So.2d 721, 726 (Miss.2005). When analyzing the grant or refusal of a jury instruction, two questions should be asked: Does the instruction contain a correct statement of law and is the instruction warranted by the evidence? Hill v. Dunaway, 487 So.2d 807, 809 (Miss.1986). Defects in specific instructions will not mandate reversal when all of the instructions, taken as a whole fairly-although not perfectly-announce the applicable primary rules of law. Burton v. Barnett, 615 So.2d 580, 583 (Miss.1993). The above standards notwithstanding, this Court will not hesitate to reverse if the instructions, when analyzed in the aggregate, do not fairly and adequately instruct the jury. Richardson, 923 So.2d at 1011.
Beverly Enter., Inc. v. Reed, 961 So.2d 40, 43 (Miss.2007).
¶ 49. We find that the conflict between Instruction D1-2 and Instructions P-2 and P-4A does not rise to the level of reversible error when read in conjunction with the other instructions. Without doubt, the references to “substantially certain” in Instructions P-2 and P-4 were erroneous. The Act is exclusive absent an actual intent to injure the employee. See ¶ 31 supra. However, that phrase was not presented to the jury in isolation, for they also received Instructions D1-2, P-3, and the special interrogatory (Instruction P-10a).
¶ 50. Franklin Corporation's Instruction D1-2 includes the appropriate standard. Had that standard not been furnished to the jury, the outcome which we reach likely would be different. However, as this Court stated in Lamar Hardwood Co. v. Case, 143 Miss. 277, 107 So. 868 (1926), “[w]e think the law as given to the defendant upon this proposition gives him the benefit of all that he was entitled to have upon the question.” Id. at 289, 107 So. 868.
¶ 51. Instruction P-2, read in its entirety, is a correct statement of the law but for the reference to “substantially certain.” Instruction P-3 is a proper statement of law without flaw .59 Finally, a special interrogatory (Instruction P-10a) confirmed that the jury specifically found for each individual Plaintiff on his or her battery and intentional-infliction-of-emotional-distress claims against Franklin Corporation, while exonerating Mid-South.
¶ 52. The law requires all instructions to be read together. See id. at 290, 107 So. 868 (“the instructions must be taken together and be construed as a whole, one as modifying, explaining or qualifying another; and, if the instructions taken as a whole correctly announce the law applicable to the case, we will not reverse the judgment because of an imperfect single instruction.”). “Where it may be fairly charged that one or more instructions may have been confusingly worded, we should not reverse if other instructions clear up the confusing points.” Payne v. Rain Forest Nurseries, Inc., 540 So.2d 35, 40 (Miss.1989). “Defects in specific instructions do not require reversal ‘where all instructions taken as a whole fairly-although not perfectly-announce the applicable primary rules of law.’ “ Burton, 615 So.2d at 583 (quoting Payne, 540 So.2d at 40).
¶ 53. We also have held that a conflict between instructions does not justify reversal, given that the evidence overwhelmingly supported the Plaintiffs' claims and does not result in a miscarriage of justice. See Smith v. Mack Trucks, Inc., 819 So.2d 1258, 1261 (Miss.2002); Smith v. Jones, 335 So.2d 896, 897 (Miss.1976). In short, “[t]he conflict in the evidence made the jury the judges of what the truth was with reference thereto, and we are unable to say that the jury reached the wrong result.” Case, 143 Miss. at 289, 107 So. 868.
IV. Whether the circuit court abused its discretion in permitting the jury to consider punitive damages.
¶ 54. “[T]he primary purpose of punitive damages is to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar misconduct in the future by the defendant and others․” Miss.Code Ann. § 11-1-65(1)(e) (Rev.2002). “Punitive damages may not be awarded if the claimant does not prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant against whom punitive damages are sought acted with actual malice, gross negligence which evidences a willful, wanton or reckless disregard for the safety of others, or committed actual fraud.” Miss.Code Ann. § 11-1-65(1)(a) (Rev.2002) (emphasis added). See also Paracelsus Health Care Corp. v. Willard, 754 So.2d 437, 442 (Miss.1999) (citation omitted) (“[p]unitive damages are only appropriate in the most egregious cases so as to discourage similar conduct and should only be awarded in cases where the actions are extreme.”). “[T]he trial court is the gatekeeper for the issue of whether punitive damages, in cases involving both intentional and non-intentional torts, should be submitted and considered by a jury.” Doe v. The Salvation Army, 835 So.2d 76, 79 (Miss.2003). “An abuse of discretion standard is implemented when this Court reviews the trial court's decision of whether a case warrants punitive damages to be sent to the trier of fact.” Id. at 81 (citing Hurst v. Sw. Miss. Legal Servs. Corp ., 708 So.2d 1347, 1351 (Miss.1998)) (emphasis added).
[t]here's no question that the matters submitted in this [c]ourt's opinion, submitted to the jury as to the burden of proof required in this case for the showing required to avoid ․ the exclusive remedy of Workers' Comp is, in fact, higher than the standard called for in the statute for punitive damages. There's no good resolution of that, but we just have to act the best we can based on the information we do have.
(Emphasis added.) In short, the circuit judge found there was sufficient evidence to meet the “clear and convincing” standard required for punitive damages. We find that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in permitting the jury to consider punitive damages.
V. Whether the punitive damages assessed in the circuit court's “Amended Final Judgment” were erroneous as a matter of law .
¶ 56. The proper assessment of punitive damages under Mississippi Code Section 11-1-65(3) is a question of law, to be reviewed by this Court de novo. See Grisham, 957 So.2d at 1000.
(vi) Four percent (4%)[ 62] of the defendant's net worth for a defendant with a net worth of Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00) or less.
Miss.Code Ann. § 11-1-65(3) (Rev.2002).
(Emphasis added.) Applying “the current net worth” of Franklin Corporation, the circuit court reduced the punitive damages owed to $5,000,000 pursuant to Mississippi Code Section 11-1-65(3)(a)(v).
¶ 59. This Court previously has considered the net worth of a defendant at the time of trial. See Willard, 754 So.2d at 445. See also Cash v. Beltmann North American Co., 900 F.2d 109, 111 n. 3 (7th Cir.1990) ( “[f]inancial data prepared for income tax purposes and four years old at the time of trial provides weak evidence of Beltmann's true net worth.”). Furthermore, “the primary purpose of punitive damages is to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar misconduct in the future by the defendant․” Miss.Code Ann. § 11-1-65(1)(e) (Rev.2002). As such, the circuit court's application of the pre-September 2004 version of the statute and Franklin Corporation's net worth at the time of judgment was proper.
¶ 60. Accordingly, this Court affirms the “Amended Final Judgment” of the Circuit Court of Calhoun County.
¶ 62. I fully concur with the majority that the judgment of the trial court must be affirmed. However, I write separately to address the use of the phrase “substantially certain” in the jury instructions.
In the complaint it was alleged that David New Drilling “willfully” disregarded its duties to Jimmy Wilcoxson, “intentionally” failed to repair the brakes on the tractors and trailers, acted with “gross and reckless disregard for the rights and safety of the public in general and particularly of Plaintiffs' decedent” and with “knowledge of substantial certainty of injury .” Despite these allegations, the overwhelming language and facts point to negligence, including gross negligence.
Peaster, 642 So.2d at 346 (emphasis added).
Griffin [sic] absolutely bars an intentional tort claim even where the probability of gross negligence exists. Thus, in the case sub judice, even if the appellants could prove that David New Drilling was guilty of gross negligence, such a finding would remain insufficient to create an intentional tort and accordingly remove the appellants' claim from under the Workmens' [sic] Compensation Act. A mere willful and malicious act remains insufficient to give rise to the exception under the Act.
What the appellants propose is not particularly new or inconsistent with the previous decisions of this Court. As noted, this Court has previously considered the Restatement's interpretation of intent. The problem is that the allegations of the complaint and all evidence before the lower court fall far short of the substantial certainty which is required.
¶ 66. Further, Black's Law Dictionary defines “intentionally” as follows, in relevant part: “To do something purposely, and not accidentally․ Person acts ‘intentionally’ if he desires to cause consequences of his act or he believes consequences are substantially certain to result. ․” Black's Law Dictionary 810 (6th ed.1990) (citation omitted) (emphasis added). Black's defines “actual” as: “Real; substantial; existing presently in fact; having a valid objective existence as opposed to that which is merely theoretical or possible․” Black's Law Dictionary at 34 (emphasis added). Black's also notes the following in the definition of “intent”: “The word ‘intent’ is used throughout the Restatement of Torts, 2nd, to denote that the actor desires to cause consequences of his act, or that he believes that the consequences are substantially certain to result from it․” Black's Law Dictionary at 810 (emphasis added).
¶ 67. Therefore, I would find that there is no error in including substantially-certain language in the jury instructions along with language of actual intent.
¶ 68. Although I concur with the majority, I write separately to address two points.
¶ 69. The majority correctly holds that-absent an actual intent to injure the employee-the “exclusive-remedy” provisions of the Mississippi Workers Compensation Act (the “Act”) apply to injuries inflicted by employers upon employees. The vast majority of states, including Mississippi, hold this view, even where the employer's conduct is substantially certain to result in injury. 6 Arthur Larson, Larson's Workers' Compensation Law § 103.03 (2008).
[T]he common-law liability of the employer cannot under the almost unanimous rule, be stretched to include accidental injuries caused by the gross, wanton, wilful, deliberate, intentional, reckless, culpable, or malicious negligence, breach of statute, or other misconduct of the employer short of a conscious and deliberate intent directed to the purpose of inflicting an injury.
Peaster v. David New Drilling Co., 642 So.2d 344 (Miss.1994) (internal citations omitted).
Griffin v. Futorian Corp., 533 So.2d at 464 (citing Dunn, Mississippi Workmen's Compensation (3d ed. 1982 & Supp.1984)) (emphasis added).66 It is of some significance that-since Griffin was handed down some twenty years ago-the Legislature has taken no action to address or contradict its holding.
¶ 71. Thus, absent the employer's deliberate intent and design to injure the employee, the law in Mississippi-as it currently exists-does not allow an injured employee to escape the exclusive-remedy provisions of the Act. The law on this point is so clear that discussion of the contrary view is unnecessary. And upon this point, I fully concur with the majority.
¶ 72. Another point I believe important concerns the procedure for presenting to the trial court an assertion that the Act provides a plaintiff's exclusive remedy. As a matter of procedure, in order to preserve the issue for appeal, a defendant should raise the matter in the first instance as an affirmative defense or (as in the case before us today) in a motion to dismiss. The converse is also true, that is, the plaintiff has no duty to raise or argue the issue.
¶ 73. Black's Law Dictionary defines an affirmative defense as “[a] defendant's assertion of facts and arguments that, if true, will defeat the plaintiff's ․ claim, even if all the allegations in the complaint are true.” Black's Law Dictionary 356 (8th ed.2005). Franklin's position is that-even though everything the plaintiffs say in this lawsuit may be true-it is nonetheless entitled to dismissal from this civil suit, because the Act provides the plaintiffs' exclusive remedy.
¶ 74. As stated, in the case before us, Franklin raised the question by motion to dismiss, and the trial judge denied the motion, finding that the issue involved a question of fact. Thus, Franklin properly preserved the issue for appeal.
¶ 75. Furthermore, a defendant seeking to escape tort liability via an affirmative defense has the additional duty to seek a jury instruction for that affirmative defense which places the burden of proof (as to the affirmative defense) squarely upon the defendant. See Natchez Elec. & Supply Co., Inc. v. Johnson, 968 So.2d 358, 361 (Miss.2007) (“The burden of proving an affirmative defense lies upon the party who relies upon that defense.” (citing Jenkins v. Pensacola Health Trust, Inc., 933 So.2d 923, 927 (Miss.2006))).
¶ 76. Franklin argues that the jury instructions were contradictory and did not properly instruct the jury on its affirmative defense. The instructions which were given address the plaintiffs' burden of proof in establishing the causes of action pending before the circuit court. The instructions (recited in the majority opinion) addressing those causes of action were, in my judgment, correct. The fact that the jury was not instructed exactly as Franklin thinks it should have been should not be viewed as error on the part of the plaintiffs, who had no duty to offer an instruction from Franklin's perspective.
¶ 77. That said, under the facts of this case (as discussed by the majority), any additional instruction offered by Franklin wouldn't have affected the outcome anyway. But in the interest of completeness, I offer this analysis which I believe to be complementary-rather than contrary-to the majority.
RANDOLPH, justice, for the Court.
WALLER, C.J., CARLSON AND GRAVES, P.JJ., DICKINSON, LAMAR, KITCHENS, CHANDLER AND PIERCE, JJ., CONCUR. GRAVES, P.J., SPECIALLY CONCURS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION. DICKINSON, J., SPECIALLY CONCURS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY WALLER, C.J., CARLSON, P.J., RANDOLPH, LAMAR, AND PIERCE, JJ.

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