Opinion ID: 1893724
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: DID THE LOWER COURT ERR IN GRANTING A 12(b)(6) MOTION?

Text: The Complaint containing the Dunn/Butler assignment agreement and the Answer of the Board was before the trial court when the board's M.R.C.P. 12(b)(6) motion was heard. Upon hearing oral arguments and reviewing the aforementioned documents, Judge Graves dismissed Butler's complaint. The lower court granted the board's M.R.C.P. 12(b)(6) motion for a failure by Butler to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Judge Graves made the following ruling: It is well settled in Mississippi that a county board of supervisors can contract only by an order on its minutes, ... Such contracts when so entered upon the minutes may not be varied by parol nor altered by a court of equity ... Warren County Port Commission v. Farrell Construction Co., 395 F.2d 901, 903-904 (5th Cir.1968). Though Butler did not contract with the Board of Supervisors, they would have the Court extend the Board's waiver of immunity to Butler, thereby enabling them to claim the provisions of a contract to which they were not a party. This would require the Court to alter the contract at issue. No authority is offered in support of this proposition and the Court is therefore compelled to grant the defendant's Motion to Dismiss in light of the immunity of the Board of Supervisors where waiver is not so authorized by statute. See, Leflore County v. Big Sand Drainage District, 383 So.2d 501 (Miss. 1980); Webb v. County of Lincoln, 536 So.2d 1356 (Miss. 1988). Stated within Warren County Port Commission is the main reason for support of the dismissal which is found in Lamar County v. Tally & Mayson, 116 Miss. 588, 77 So. 299 (1918). Lamar County held that the only permissible method for the alteration of a contract with a board of supervisors is by a subsequent order entered on its minutes. Warren County Port Commission at 903-904; Lamar County, 77 So. at 300. The rule of law stated in Warren County and Lamar County comes from the genesis case of Bridges & Hill v. Board of Supervisors of Clay County, 58 Miss. 817, 820 (1881) illustrating a long history of adherence by this Court to the public policy involved. The trial court must apply a rigid standard when ruling upon a M.R.C.P. 12(b)(6) motion. The pleaded allegations of the complaint must be taken as true and a dismissal should not be granted unless it appears beyond a reasonable doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which entitles him to relief. Overstreet v. Merlos, 570 So.2d 1196, 1197 (Miss. 1990); Marx v. Truck Renting & Leasing Assoc., 520 So.2d 1333 (Miss. 1987). Therefore, Judge Graves must have been unable to find, under any set of facts while presuming all to be true, that there was any way that Butler could recover. The law in this area is clearly supportive of Judge Graves' ruling which we affirm. Colle Towing Co., Inc. v. Harrison County, 213 Miss. 442, 57 So.2d 171 (1952) is a case illustrating the Court's past strict adherence to the requirement that a board of supervisors only be bound by a contract entered upon its minutes. Colle Towing Co. was a case in which a drawbridge's supports on the back bay of Biloxi were in immediate need of additional support to prevent the draw span from falling into the bay. The Harrison County Board of Supervisors' president requested that Colle Towing Company provide two barges for the job which was accomplished. They orally agreed to an amount of rent for the barges. The board subsequently undertook by an Order entered upon its minutes to ratify the oral contract with Colle Towing Company. The board even paid Colle Towing Company from time to time. A dispute evolved over how much was due and Colle Towing Company sued Harrison County in quantum meruit to recover the balance. Id. 57 So.2d at 172. The trial court in Colle Towing Co. dismissed the complaint and this Court affirmed giving the following reason. It has been repeatedly held in this State that a board of supervisors can contract and render the county liable only by a valid order duly entered upon its minutes, that all persons dealing with a board of supervisors are chargeable with knowledge of this law, that a county is not liable on a quantum meruit basis even though it may have made partial payments on a void oral contract, and, moreover, that in such case there is no estoppel against the county. Numerous other cases supporting these views are cited in the foregoing authorities, and we are of the opinion that the public interest requires adherence thereto, notwithstanding the fact that in some instances the rule may work an apparent injustice. Colle Towing Co., 57 So.2d at 172; citations omitted. The dismissal was proper for the minute book order requirement, making it unnecessary to discuss the other issues. The board's motion is affirmed because of the minute book order requirement, not because the board enjoys sovereign immunity from suit on the contract. Bridges & Hill and its progeny answer the threshold question requiring the Court to affirm the dismissal as there was no modification or alteration of the contract by an Order upon the Board's minutes for the Glid-Wall System. Accordingly, the lower court is affirmed.