Opinion ID: 1659645
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: whether the circuit court erred in severing the portion of the suit dealing with dwelling loss?

Text: After the circuit court's erroneous ruling on the propriety of U.S.A.A.'s actions, the case proceeded to trial on the only remaining claim, i.e., that the company had not paid all of the benefits due under the portion of the policy providing benefits for added living expenses arising from the destruction of the property. The court may order severance of separate claims, and may do so upon its own motion. Miss.R.Civ.P. 42(b). The decision to sever rests within the sound discretion of the trial judge. Id. However, the circuit court's decision to sever the claims in this case rests upon its erroneous decision on a matter of law, i.e., the propriety of U.S.A.A.'s decision to place Pamela Nuccio's name on the proceeds check. The lower court abused its discretion in this case. The claims for the proceeds of the policy under the dwelling loss and living expenses clauses were highly intertwined. In fact, the living expenses claim actually depended on the jury first finding that the expenses claimed resulted from U.S.A.A.'s failure to tender payment to Theresa and Larry, thus causing them to incur the extra expenses. This is borne out by the record, which shows that the circumstances surrounding the tender of the check in all three names was brought out in spite of the severance. The circuit court erred both in its determination that the company acted properly in placing Pamela Nuccio's name on the proceeds check and in severing the portion of the claim dealing with the additional living expenses. The chancellor then erred on the same question concerning Nuccio's entitlement to the proceeds. Cause number 90-CA-0141 is remanded to the circuit court for a new trial in which the circumstances surrounding the the erroneous decision to place Nuccio's name on the check may be fully developed before the jury. Chancery Court cause number 91-CA-0043 is reversed and judgment is rendered here in favor of Theresa and Larry Necaise. CASE NO. 90-CA-0141: REVERSED AND REMANDED TO THE CIRCUIT COURT. CASE NO. 91-CA-0043: REVERSED AND RENDERED. HAWKINS, P.J., PRATHER, SULLIVAN and McRAE, JJ., concur. DAN M. LEE, P.J., dissents with separate written opinion joined by PITTMAN, BANKS and JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr., JJ.