Opinion ID: 1957579
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Murphree v. W.W. Transportation (Murphree I)

Text: ¶ 10. The Simmonses argue that the evidence here is no stronger than that presented in Murphree v. W.W. Transportation, 797 So.2d 268 (Miss.Ct.App.2001), in which the Court of Appeals found the evidence too speculative to establish the existence of a binding oral contract. We find the Simmonses' reliance on Murphree I misplaced. In that case, Jason Murphree claimed that Tim Weatherford, while serving as acting president of W.W. Transportation, orally agreed on behalf of the company to repay a series of loans Murphree purportedly made to the company. At some point, Murphree became president of the company and he instructed the company's accountant to prepare back-dated promissory notes to substantiate the purported loans. When Murphree later sued on the back-dated notes, the company refused to pay. The trial court, finding the notes invalid, held for the company. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the trial court should have concentrated on the question of whether a debt existed, rather than the validity of the notes. The Court of Appeals remanded for further factual determinations.