City of Meridian v. $104,960.00 U.S. Currency et al.

The City of Meridian filed a petition for forfeiture against Maria Catalan after police found $104,690 in her truck during a traffic stop. Catalan filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, which the county court granted. The Circuit Court affirmed. The City appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the circuit court. Having granted certiorari, the Mississippi Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeals’ dissent that the City’s forfeiture petition satisfied the notice pleading requirements of Rule 8 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. The Supreme Court also agreed with the Court of Appeals’ dissent that in deciding the Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the county court considered matters outside the City’s petition: the court also considered matters outside the pleadings for purposes of Rule 12(c), which allowed for a judgment on the pleadings. In doing so, the county court in effect converted the Rule 12(b)(6) and/or 12(c) motion into a motion for summary judgment, as provided in Rule 56 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 56(c) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure requires at least ten days’ notice to both parties that the court is converting the motion, which did not occur in this instance. Accordingly, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals as well as the county court’s order, and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "City of Meridian v. $104,960.00 U.S. Currency et al." on Justia Law