Opinion ID: 2642576
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: standard of review

Text: ¶6. A supersedeas bond is a contract. See Shoebridge v. Will C. Hartwell Realty & Ins. Co., 143 So. 2d 432, 434 (Miss. 1962) (holding that sureties are “bound by their contract” to stand liable for the principal). “Questions concerning the construction of contracts are questions of law that are committed to the court rather than questions of fact committed to the fact finder.” Miss. St. Highway Comm’n. v. Patterson Enters. Ltd., 627 So. 2d 261, 263 (Miss. 1993) (citing Leach v. Tingle, 586 So. 2d 799, 801 (Miss. 1991)). We therefore employ the de novo standard of review to the trial court’s construction of the supersedeas bond.