Opinion ID: 1104807
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to Respond to Requests for Admission.

Text: ¶ 20. Dr. Smith and BMH-D argue that the plaintiffs' failure to respond to Dr. Smith's requests for admission entitles them to summary judgment. [2] On October 11, 2001, Dr. Smith served the plaintiffs with requests for admission. Two of the requests asked the plaintiffs to admit that they had no qualified expert who could testify that Dr. Smith deviated from the applicable standard of care and no expert who could also testify that any alleged deviation contributed to Young's death. On December 20, 2001, Dr. Smith filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 36(b), the plaintiffs' failure to respond to the requests amounted to an admission. The next day, seventy-one days after receiving the requests, the plaintiffs filed their response. ¶ 21. Other than Dr. Smith's first motion for summary judgment, the issue was never raised again, and the trial court never ruled on the motion. The plaintiffs did not file a response to the motion for summary judgment, and they did not request a withdrawal of the admission. Dr. Smith never asked the court to rule on his motion. On April 28, 2006, nearly four-and-a-half years after his first motion, Dr. Smith joined BMH-D's motion for summary judgment, but the motion did not raise the requests for admission argument. Further, although the defendants have presented this argument to this Court, the plaintiffs have not addressed this issue as they have chosen not to file a reply brief. 22 ¶ Because the trial court has never ruled on this issue, we decline to address this assignment of error. See In re Estate of Patterson v. Patterson, 798 So.2d 347, 351 (Miss.2001).