Opinion ID: 864335
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: standard of review

Text: ¶5. It is not clear whether the trial court granted Sara Lee’s motion to dismiss or motion for summary judgment. The final judgment indicates that the “plaintiff has not asserted any cause of action which is recognized by Mississippi law.” There is no indication that this judgment is based upon Miss. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), 12(c), or 56. “The standard of review for all three are similar in that the non-moving party is favored in the review of the facts.” Hartford Cas. Ins. Co. v. Halliburton Co., 826 So.2d 1206, 1209 (Miss. 2001). Because a motion to dismiss under Miss. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) raises an issue of law, this Court will review such motions de novo. Id. at 1210 (¶7). A motion for judgment on the pleadings under Miss. R. Civ. P. 12(c) serves a similar function to Rule 12(b)(6) which we also review de novo. Id. (¶8). As to the review of a trial court’s granting of a motion for summary judgment under Rule 56, we employ a de novo standard of review and the motion should be granted only when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. at 1209 (¶6) (citations omitted). See also Brown v. Credit Ctr., Inc., 444 So.2d 358, 362-65 (Miss. 1983) and its progeny. If a trial judge is confronted with a Rule 12(c) motion to dismiss and considers matters outside the pleadings en route to ruling on that motion, the motion shall be treated as a Rule 56 motion. See Miss. R. Civ. P. 12(c).