Opinion ID: 1643638
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether the trial court erred in granting Tullos's motion for failure to state a claim on the ground of malicious prosecution.

Text: ¶ 22. The trial court held that it lacked jurisdiction over this matter. Tullos, acting as Jones's attorney, was not the proper party against whom to bring this action. Rose argues that some sort of immunity from suit has been granted to Tullos, and thereby all attorneys in Mississippi, by the trial court. The issue of attorney immunity from suit on the ground of malicious prosecution was never raised at trial and is not properly before this Court. Therefore, the trial court's dismissal should be affirmed. ¶ 23. Rose also points to an affidavit that was introduced during discovery in the underlying matter. The affidavit indicated that the source of Jones's infection was not the instrument Rose used during the procedure (which was the subject of the lawsuit). Rose claims that at that juncture, Tullos should have voluntarily dismissed the suit on behalf of his client. Rose suggests that Tullos's failure to withdraw constitutes malicious prosecution. However, even if this Court were to consider such an argument, the argument must fail. No continuing duty exists to force an attorney to abandon a claim if it later appears to be without merit. Bean v. Broussard, 587 So.2d 908, 913 (Miss.1991) (citing Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Evans, 553 So.2d 1117, 1119-20 (Miss.1989)). ¶ 24. Further, sanctions cannot be brought merely because the underlying facts in a suit were later found to support the defendants' arguments. In Bean, this Court held that the threshold inquiry must take place at the time of the filing of the lawsuit. Bean, 587 So.2d at 913. Our law is well-settled on the threshold inquiry as to when the possibility of sanctions arises. There is nothing in the record that indicates Tullos was filing suit on behalf of his client without a reasonable basis. ¶ 25. Conclusory allegations or legal conclusions masquerading as factual conclusions will not suffice to defeat a motion to dismiss. Penn Nat'l Gaming, Inc. v. Ratliff, 954 So.2d 427, 431 (Miss.2007) (holding that defendant failed to plead sufficient facts and instructing the trial court to dismiss the plaintiff from the case). Here, Tullos had a client who had allegedly suffered an injury and sought relief. From an objective standard, the infection with which Jones was afflicted could have been the result of the negligence of Rose. In fact, it was not, and the case was dismissed. There is no indication from the record or the procedural posture of the underlying case that Tullos acted in any manner that was improper or would warrant sanctions. ¶ 26. Were this Court to accept Rose's implied hypothesis that, should a party fail to prevail in his suit, there is some redress against having brought suit in the first place, Rose might himself be subject to sanctions, as his case was dismissed. Our system does not support such a contention. Rose prevailed in the underlying suit; unsatisfied with the result, he seeks relief for having been the subject of a lawsuit. However, no such right to relief exists under the law.