Case Name: Dorothy GRANT, Appellant, v. KMART CORPORATION d/b/a Kmart Super Centers and James Lenon, Individually and as Store Manager, Appellees
Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 2001-12-18
Citations: 870 So. 2d 1210
Docket Number: No. 2000-CA-01367-COA
Parties: Dorothy GRANT, Appellant, v. KMART CORPORATION d/b/a Kmart Super Centers and James Lenon, Individually and as Store Manager, Appellees.
Judges: Before SOUTHWICK, P.J., IRVING, and MYERS, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 870
Pages: 1210–1227

Head Matter:
Dorothy GRANT, Appellant, v. KMART CORPORATION d/b/a Kmart Super Centers and James Lenon, Individually and as Store Manager, Appellees.
No. 2000-CA-01367-COA.
Court of Appeals of Mississippi.
Dec. 18, 2001.
Rehearing Denied March 5, 2002.
Certiorari Dismissed April 22, 2004.
Michael M. Williams, Clinton, Thandi Wade, Attorneys for Appellant.
H. Gray Laird, III, Ridgeland, W. Eric Stracener, Jr., Attorneys for Appellees.
Before SOUTHWICK, P.J., IRVING, and MYERS, JJ.

Opinion:
SOUTHWICK, P. J.,
for the Court.
¶ 1. Dorothy Grant filed suit for injuries allegedly resulting from a fall at a Kmart Super Center store. The circuit court dismissed the suit with prejudice as a result of dishonest responses to discovery. Grant alleges that less severe sanctions would have sufficed, that there was no pattern of wilful misconduct, and that Kmart was not prejudiced. We disagree and affirm.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
¶ 2. Dorothy Grant alleges that she was injured at a Kmart Super Center in June of 1996. She says that she slipped in a puddle of water that had formed on the floor. Suit was filed in 1997.
¶ 3. Grant objected to the following two interrogatories submitted by Kmart. Interrogatory No. 12:
Have you ever suffered any injuries to your shoulders, back, knees, or hip in any accident either prior to or subsequent 'to the accident referred to in the complaint? If your answer is yes, give the date and place of the accident, a description of the injuries received, the names of all physicians or other persons who rendered medical treatment, names and addresses of any hospital where you were treated, the nature and extent of your recovery, and the nature and extent of your permanent disability.
Interrogatory No. 13:
Have you ever had any serious illness, sickness, disease or surgical operation to your shoulders, back, knees, or hip, either prior to or subsequent to the accident complained of in the complaint? If your answer is yes, then give the date and place, a detailed description of your symptoms, the names and addresses of any hospital rendering treatment, the approximate date of your recovery, and if you have not recovered the date your condition became stationary and a description of your condition at that time.
In July 1998, the circuit court granted Kmart's motion to compel responses to the interrogatories, overruling Grant's objection that these were beyond the scope of discovery. The court also ordered that Kmart be allowed to subpoena Grant's medical records from the medical providers listed in Grant's responses to these interrogatories.
¶ 4. In August 1998, Grant filed supplemental answers. To Interrogatory No. 12, Grant responded that "I suffered a mild shoulder strain to my right shoulder approximately 15 years ago playing with my dog. I was treated at the Mississippi Sports Medicine Clinic. I do not recall the name of the treating physician." To Interrogatory No. 13, Grant simply responded "no."
¶ 5. Also in August 1998, Kmart deposed Grant. The relevant portion of the examination of Grant by Kmart's counsel is this:
Counsel: Have you ever had any other falls either before this fall or after it?
Grant: No.
Counsel: You haven't slipped and fallen anywhere else?
Grant: I mean — no, huh-uh, not to hurt myself. We all fall every day but not to hurt myself, huh-uh.
Counsel: You haven't had any other falls where you have had—
Grant: No.
Counsel: — sought any type of medical treatment?
Grant: No.
¶ 6. Kmart and the trial court became aware two weeks before the scheduled trial that these answers did not reveal the complete story of Grant's injuries. On April 20, 2000, Grant's counsel sent to Kmart copies of exhibits that might be used at trial. Included was an incident report from another store, Sam's Club, which stated that on February 1, 1997, Grant fell after slipping on a patch of oil. That incident would have been eight months after the incident involved in the suit against Kmart. The report noted that Grant claimed a sore hip and wrist as a result of the fall. Grant's counsel also attached a February 1997 medical report from Mississippi Baptist Medical Center stating that Grant had fallen and her chief complaint was lower back pain.
¶ 7. Kmart filed a motion to dismiss or in the alternative a motion for a continuance. The circuit court dismissed the suit with prejudice in an order dated July 18, 2000. The circuit court stated that Grant "gave false and untruthful material answers to Defendants' interrogatories numbers 12 and 13 (after being compelled by the Court to furnish complete answers) and also false and untruthful material answers to deposition questions relating to any injuries incurred after the subject accident" and that "information concerning an injury incurred following the accident was not disclosed to the Plaintiffs doctor, Carroll McLeod, M.D." The court further stated that "Defendants' attorney only learned of the subsequent injury and medical treatment relating thereto a short time before a scheduled trial of the case when the information was inadvertently furnished as enclosures from the Plaintiffs attorneys' office." The court concluded that dismissal with prejudice was appropriate in light of Grant's "repeated conduct" and would also "serve as a deterrent to others who might contemplate such actions."
DISCUSSION
1. Abuse of Discretion
¶ 8. Grant argues that the circuit court abused its discretion by not considering sanctions less severe than that of dismissal with prejudice. The appropriate remedy from Grant's perspective would be to allow Kmart to re-depose both Grant and Dr. Caroll McLeod at Grant's expense. Dr. McLeod is a pain management specialist who first saw Grant on January 29, 1997, and then treated her on several later occasions after the alleged fall at Sam's Club on February 1,1997.
¶ 9. Sanctions for discovery violations are within the discretion of the trial court. When a party "fails to obey an order to provide or permit discovery, ., the court in which the action is pending may make such orders in regard to the failure as are just." M.R.C.P. 37(b)(2). An order "dismissing the action or proceeding or any part thereof' may be appropriate. M.R.C.P. 37(b)(2)(C). Additionally, a "court may impose upon any party or counsel such sanctions as may be just...." M.R.C.P. 37(e). The official comment states that this quoted subpart "gives greater flexibility to the trial court in the form of a general grant of power which would enable it to deal summarily with discovery abuses, whenever and however the abuse is brought to the attention of the court." M.R.C.P. 37(e) cmt. The comment also states that "courts should have considerable latitude in fashioning sanctions suitable for particular applications." Id.
¶ 10. In choosing an appropriate sanction, the trial judge's "orders will not be disturbed in the absence of abuse of discretion." Kilpatrick v. Mississippi Baptist Med. Ctr., 461 So.2d 765, 767 (Miss.1984). The appellate court should affirm "unless there is a definite and firm convietion that the court below committed a clear error of judgment in the conclusion it reached upon weighing of relevant factors." Caracci v. International Paper Co., 699 So.2d 546, 556 (Miss.1997).
¶ 11. The Supreme Court has identified several factors to guide the exercise of discretion.
First, dismissal is authorized only when the failure to comply with the court's order results from wilfulness or bad faith, and not from the inability to comply. Dismissal is proper only in situation[s] where the deterrent value of Rule 37 cannot be substantially achieved by the use of less drastic sanctions. Another consideration is whether the other party's preparation for trial was substantially prejudiced. Finally, dismissal may be inappropriate when neglect is plainly attributable to an attorney rather than a blameless client, or when a party's simple negligence is grounded in confusion or sincere misunderstanding of the court's orders.
Pierce v. Heritage Properties, Inc., 688 So.2d 1385, 1389 (Miss.1997), quoting Batson v. Neal Spelce Assoc., Inc., 765 F.2d 511, 514 (5th Cir.1985). We next examine each of these factors.
a. Wilfulness or Bad Faith
¶ 12. The circuit court determined that Grant gave "false and untruthful material" responses in her interrogatory and deposition answers. These actions were labeled "intentional and deceitful."
¶ 13.- When Kmart propounded its first set of interrogatories, Grant argued that the information sought by Interrogatories Nos. 12 and 13 was beyond the scope discovery. Grant claims as a result of the Kmart fall she injured her back. This necessitated, according to a June 24, 1997 letter from Grant's attorney to Kmart's insurance carrier, "lumbar injections for her extreme pain." It was later revealed that after the fall at Sam's Club, Grant admitted herself to Mississippi Baptist Medical Center complaining of lower back pain. The Sam's Club incident report also showed the Grant claimed a sore hip. The information sought by Interrogatories Nos. 12 and 13 was relevant as to the extent of Grant's back injury and to the apportionment of any damages between two different falls.
¶ 14. Grant was explicitly ordered by the court to provide a complete answer to the interrogatories. Grant failed to reveal the fall at Sam's Club subsequent to her fall at Kmart. For the trial court to conclude that such failure was intentional was no strained interpretation of the evidence. Grant claims in her brief that she "was not requested through written discovery to answer whether she had any other falls before or after the accident referred to in the complaint." Interrogatory No. 12 specifically requested whether Grant suffered any injuries to shoulders, back, knees, or hip in any accident either prior to or subsequent to the accident referred to in the complaint. The type of information sought by this question is easily understood. Grant argues that the answer was complete because the question did not specifically include the term "fall," and instead referred to "injuries" and "accidents." This is not a serious argument. Her attorney's ability to equate "accident" with "fall" appears in the complaint that was filed in this case, which stated this:
she suddenly and without warning came into contact with water on the floor of said store which caused Plaintiff, Dorothy Grant, to fall to the floor with great force and violence, thereby sustaining serious bodily injuries. Said accident and injuries to Plaintiff, Dorothy Grant, resulting therefrom were solely caused by the negligence of the Defendant.
Grant also responded in an interrogatory that "I am not able to enjoy my normal activities as I did before my accident." Perhaps the fall at Kmart was an "accident," but the fall at Sam's Club was not. For the trial court to fail to see the distinction was not an abuse of discernment.
¶ 15. Interrogatory No. 13 supplemented the preceding one's inquiries about accidental injuries by asking about "illness, sickness, disease" and surgery. Grant excuses her one-word negative response by characterizing her injuries resulting from the Sam's Club fall as being "minor" or "non-acute." There is no evidence that Grant had some illness resulting from the Sam's Club incident. Though Grant had several treatments, apparently she had no surgery as a result of the fall. Therefore the clear problem in Grant's answers relate to Interrogatory number 12, not to number 13.
¶ 16. A party has every right to make a good faith objection that certain interrogatories are improper. M.R.C.P. 33(b)(4); M.R.C.P. 11. After having made that claim but failed to convince the trial court, a party ordered to answer must do so fully and honestly. The trial court here was within its discretion in finding a deliberate violation of the order to compel as to Interrogatory 12.
¶ 17. Some but not all of the deposition responses are more ambiguous. What was clearly incorrect was Grant's answers that she had not slipped and fallen anywhere else, at least not of sufficient seriousness as to seek medical treatment. Her memory of a more recent fall than the one in issue in this litigation, a fall about eighteen months before the deposition, one for which she went to Mississippi Baptist Medical Center and filled out an incident report for the business where she fell, would not reasonably have been so dim.
¶ 18. Even if her memory was not totally keen on the day of the deposition, Grant was under "a duty seasonably to amend a prior response if [s]he obtains information upon the basis of which (A) [s]he knows that the response was incorrect when made...." M.R.C.P. 26(f)(2)(A). The same can be said for the responses concerning subsequent falls. Grant stated that she did not have any subsequent falls in which she sought medical treatment. Grant did seek medical treatment for the fall at Sam's Club by admitting herself to Mississippi Baptist Medical Center on two separate occasions. The trial court did not have to believe that the initial answers and the failure subsequently to amend if an inadvertent mistake had been made were both honest oversights.
¶ 19. This case was set for trial on May 3, 2000. Discovery had been concluded in July 1999. The fact that Grant had fallen subsequent to the fall at Kmart was accidentally disclosed by Grant's counsel during the exchange of exhibits on April 20, 2000, approximately two weeks before trial. Obviously, this case almost was tried with the erroneous answers never corrected.
¶ 20. The trial court was within its discretion to find that many of these answers, central to understanding the nature and cause of the injuries for which Grant sought recovery, were intentionally false.
b. Less Severe Sanctions
¶ 21. The trial court made a proper factual determination. The remedy for the violation is the next consideration. "Dismissal is proper only in situation where the deterrent value of Rule 37 cannot be substantially achieved by the use of less drastic sanctions." Pierce, 688 So.2d at 1389. We have not found a requirement that the trial court muse aloud about the lesser sanctions on the record. However, under a different procedural rule that also permits involuntary dismissal as a sanction, the Supreme Court has held that "where there is no indication in the record that the lower court considered any alternative sanctions," the appellate court will consider that a reason not to uphold the dismissal. American Tel. & Tel. Co. v. Days Inn of Winona, 720 So.2d 178, 181 (Miss.1998) (applying M.R.C.P. 41(b), which permits dismissal for, among other things, the failure to comply with the procedural rules). Implicitly the court considered a lesser sanction since one was proposed below by Grant. That was "to allow the defendant to re-depose the plaintiff and Dr. Caroll McLeod at the expense of the plaintiff." The circuit court's disagreement is shown by the entry of the sanction of dismissal, based on a finding that the plaintiff had acted deceitfully, had done so repeatedly, and that the sanction was necessary "to serve as a deterrent to others who might contemplate such actions."
¶ 22. The plaintiff's silent obstinacy that Kmart would not learn of the subsequent fall permeated the answers given to discovery. Having the penalty be the payment of costs to correct the effect of that dishonesty is little deterrent to the practice. "[A]ny other sanction beside dismissal would virtually allow the plaintiff to get away with lying under oath without a meaningful penalty...." Pierce v. Heritage Prop., 688 So.2d at 1391.
¶ 23. The trial court's rejection here of other sanctions was a reasonable exercise of discretion.
c. Opposing Party Substantially Prejudiced in Preparation
¶ 24. Grant argues that Kmart was not substantially prejudiced because Grant and "her treating physicians were cross-examined about her medical care for all injuries that occurred before" the fall at Sam's Club. Grant also argues that the majority of her medical treatment was incurred before the fall at Sam's Club, and that her condition had already been diagnosed and that "it was not feasible nor warranted for Grant to tell her physicians" of the subsequent fall "because she had completed treatment with all of them with the exception of Dr. Carroll McLeod." Grant further argues in her reply brief that McLeod "diagnosed her condition prior to Sam's Club incident" and that Kmart was aware of Grant's treatment that followed her fall at Sam's Club because Grant tendered "medical records and bills" to Kmart's insurance carrier.
¶ 25. What Kmart could have proven is largely conjecture, a situation resulting from the last-minute discovery of the truth about the subsequent fall. Kmart never had the opportunity to explore with Grant's physicians how the subsequent fall at Sam's Club might have aggravated Grant's injuries. There is evidence that some of the physicians themselves were not told by Grant about the other fall.
¶ 26. Numerous problems allegedly resulted solely from the fall at Kmart:
since the accident, I have suffered torn rotator cuffs resulting in severe pain in both shoulders; loss of muscle tone in both arms; pain in my lower back radiating down my left hip, knee and leg. When I am able to sleep, it is for brief periods due to pain and discomfort from the injuries. My life is affected in all areas including my job. My work requires that I visit patients in the city. While driving, the pain in my shoulders, back and legs is persistent and tiring.
Kmart should have been allowed to question Grant's physicians concerning what percentage of the diminution in the enjoyment of her life and also what percentage of Grant's pain and discomfort were attributable to each incident.
¶ 27. The results of Grant's failure to respond truthfully when ordered to do so arises from the list she provided of eight different medical providers from which she had received treatment for injuries caused by the fall at Kmart. In her sworn response, Grant stated that she received treatment at Mississippi Sports Medicine from July 16, 1996 to July 25, 1997; Mississippi Diagnostic Imaging Center from October 16, 1996 to August 1, 1997; Jackson Anesthesia Associates from January 29,1997 to August 20,1997; and Mississippi Surgical Center also from January 29, 1997 to August 20,1997. The fall at Sam's Club occurred on February 1, 1997. Therefore, all these services that she received included the period that followed her fall at Sam's Club. Though she alleges that "it was not feasible nor warranted for Grant to tell her physicians" of the subsequent fall "because she had completed treatment with all of them with the exception of Dr. Carroll McLeod," that certainly is not true unless McLeod practiced in all four clinics for which post-February 1997 bills exist.
¶ 28. One precedent is strikingly similar. Mildred Scoggins was injured after being struck by a loaded dolly; she claimed injuries to her foot, leg, and back. Scoggins v. Ellzey Beverages, Inc., 743 So.2d 990, 991 (Miss.1999). She failed to reveal in both her interrogatory responses and her deposition the prior treatments that she received in connection with her foot, leg, and back. Id. It was later revealed that Scoggins had been treated thirty-five times for complaints associated with her left leg, baek/spine, and hip prior to her being struck by the dolly. Id. at 992. In dismissing Scoggins' suit, the trial court stated that "because Ms. Scoggins has undergone several procedures and additional therapy, including doctor visits, since the accident and subsequent filing of the suit, it is now likely to be- an impossible task to separate the costs attributable to her prior condition from those attributable to the accident." Id. at 994. The Supreme Court affirmed. Id. at 997.
¶ 29. The last contention is that Kmart was aware of the fall at Sam's Club because her "medical records and bills" were submitted to Kmart's insurance carrier and because counsel for Kmart questioned Grant about the post-Sam's Club treatment. In a letter of June 24, 1997, sent to Kmart's insurance carrier, Grant's counsel stated that as "per your request, I have enclosed [a] copy of the Statement of the Injured along with the medical records and bills of Dorothy Grant." Counsel further stated that Grant suffered serious injuries as a result of her fall at the Kmart store. Included in the letter was an itemization of medical bills. Among those listed were bills that Grant now argues were for treatments after the later fall, which were from Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, the MEA and the Radiological Group. The letter concluded stating that "[ajfter you have had an opportunity to review the medical records and bills, please contact me so that we can discuss settlement."
¶ 30. Apparently these bills are related to the fall at Sam's Club and not at Kmart. Yet nothing in the bills themselves put Kmart on notice that they arose from an incident at a different time and place than the fall at its own store. Indeed, by seeking payment from Kmart, Grant was representing that Kmart was responsible for them.
¶31. The circuit court was correct-in finding that Kmart was prejudiced in its preparation.
d. Neglect Attributable to Client or Counsel
¶ 32. This case does not involve neglect, simple negligence, an inability to comply, or a sincere misunderstanding of the circuit courts orders. There is compelling evidence in ¡the record that Grant's violations of both the rules of procedure and the order of the circuit court were deliberate, wilful, and done in bad faith. The record also supports that Grant must bear much of the blame. The submission of the medical bills relating to the fall at Sam's Club to Kmart's insurance carrier, the. initial claim that the information sought was beyond the scope of discoverable material, and the failure to provide a full and .complete answer after being ordered to do so evidence Grant's willingness to conceal the truth.
¶ 33. Even assuming that Grant's counsel did not initially know of the fall at Sam's Club, Grant's counsel should have known of the fall at some point during the litigation as it was counsel that provided the Sam's Club accident report during the pre-trial exchange of exhibits.
¶ 34. The circuit court had adequate evidence to conclude that Grant herself engaged in the conduct that was the basis for the sanction of dismissal.
2. Pattern of Wilful and Knowing Misconduct
¶ 35. In addition to the elements that we have reviewed that were enumerated by the Supreme Court in Pierce, Grant argues that we should reverse because there Was no proof that she engaged in a pattern of wilful and knowing misconduct. She classifies the misconduct as an "isolated incident of failing to disclose a fall at Sam's Club whe[re] she received minor injuries primarily to body parts which are not related to her' claim against Super Kmart."
¶ 36. We do not find that the issue of the potentially, isolated nature of the con duct as being separate from the Pierce considerations, but instead as part of the evidence that weighs on the analysis of the other factors — was the conduct wilful, would a lesser sanction suffice, was the opposing party prejudiced, and was the client or the attorney responsible? Still, we will examine just how isolated this conduct might have been.
¶ 37. The trial court compared Grant's "false testimony and deceit" to that of parties in certain relevant precedents. The court found that her acts exceeded the seriousness of those in Wood v. Biloxi Public School District, 757 So.2d 190 (Miss.2000), and were "equal to or greater than the facts" in Pierce and Scoggins. What in capsule form Grant refused to reveal was the fact of an unrelated accident that led to two visits to the Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, the first to the emergency room, and the second as an out-patient. On both visits, Grant underwent X-rays.
¶ 38. Grant argues that the facts in this case are similar to those in Wood in which the Supreme Court held that the trial court abused its discretion in dismissing a suit based on one response to an interrogatory. The plaintiff Mark Wood responded to an interrogatory that injuries suffered when he was rear-ended by a Biloxi school bus affected his attitude, concentration, school work, "ability to do manual labor", and he was "no longer . able to enjoy tinkering with automobiles as the stooping, bending, and squatting are painful." Wood, 757 So.2d at 192. After taking a video of Wood doing those things which he said he was no longer able to enjoy, the Biloxi School District moved to dismiss as Wood made "false statements under oath to deceive the defendants and the court." Id. at 192-193. The Supreme Court found that the interrogatory response was "ambiguously worded" and "subject to differing interpretations" and that "it was not clearly established that Wood knowingly made false statements." Id. at 194. The Supreme Court further stated that "the alleged untruthfulness in Wood's interrogatories, if any, does not constitute a sufficiently egregious discovery violation" to warrant dismissal. Id. at 195.
¶ 39. While some of Grant's responses to questions in deposition are arguably ambiguous, others are not. Moreover, there is nothing ambiguous about the response to Interrogatory 12. Grant either had a subsequent fall or she did not. By Grant's own admission, she fell at Sam's Club subsequent to the fall at Kmart. This case differs from Wood in one other important respect: Grant was under an order compelling a complete answer.
¶ 40. Grant also argues that her conduct did not sink to the level of that in either Pierce or Scoggins. In Pierce, the plaintiff, who had been struck in the head by a falling ceiling fan, failed to disclose to the defense that there was an eyewitness to the accident and maintained this secrecy during discovery and at trial over a period of five years. Pierce, 688 So.2d at 1387. In Scoggins, the plaintiff, struck by a loaded dolly, failed to disclose approximately thirty-five visits to physicians for various medical treatments despite the fact she was requested to disclose previous injuries and medical history. Scoggins, 743 So.2d at 991-92.
¶ 41. We see no beneficial distinction for Grant between her conduct and that shown in these precedents. Grant refused to answer in the face of a court order. "An implicit condition in any order to answer an interrogatory is that the answer be true, responsive and complete. A false answer is in some ways worse than no answer; it misleads and confuses the party." Pierce, 688 So.2d at 1389, quoting Smith v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 124 F.R.D. 103, 107 (D.Md.1989).
¶ 42. We find that dismissing Grant's suit with prejudice due to her "clear misconduct in this matter will . maintain the integrity of our adversary process . [;] to conclude otherwise would be to give this Court's seal of approval to a system which places technical accuracy above that which should be the common goal of all its participants-to learn 'the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.' " Pierce, 688 So.2d at 1391.
¶ 43. THE ORDER OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF HINDS COUNTY DISMISSING THE APPELLANT'S CAUSE OF ACTION WITH PREJUDICE IS AFFIRMED. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO THE APPELLANT.
McMILLIN, C.J., BRIDGES, LEE, MYERS AND BRANTLEY, JJ., CONCUR. IRVING, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY KING, P.J., THOMAS AND CHANDLER, JJ.