Case: 25CI1:16-cv-00115-JAW

Document #: 20

Filed: 07/15/2016

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI RUKIA LUMUMBA , CHOKWE ANTAR LUMUMBA AND KAMBON THURMAN, COLLECTIVELY AND ON BEHALF OF THE WRONGFUL DEATH BENEFICIARIES OF CHOKWE LUMUMBA V.

PLAINTIFFS

CIVIL ACTION NO. 16-115

ST. DOMINIC’S HOSPITAL; ST. DOMINIC’S HOSPITAL SERVICES, INC.; NURUDEEN A. SHEKONI; NORTH JACKSON MEDICAL CLINIC, PLLC; HEATHER EVANS; AND JOHN DOES 1-10

DEFENDANTS

MOTION FOR TRANSFER OF VENUE Defendants Nurudeen A. Shekoni, M.D. and North Jackson Medical Clinic, PLLC, (“Dr. Shekoni”), by and through the undersigned counsel, files this motion for transfer of venue, and states: I.

Introduction

Plaintiff Chokwe Antar Lumumba (“Plaintiff”) filed this action on February 16, 2016. On June 3, 2016, Plaintiff amended his Complaint to add Rukia Lumumba and Kambon Thurman as additional plaintiffs. Dr. Shekoni was served with the Amended Complaint on June 8, 2016. Plaintiff claims Dr. Shekoni and his co-defendants provided substandard medical care to Plaintiff’s decedent, former Mayor of Jackson, Chokwe Lumumba (“Mayor Lumumba” or “Decedent”), and seeks damages for this alleged negligent care and for Decedent’s alleged wrongful death. At the time of his death in February 2014, Decedent had been mayor of Jackson for just under eight months, after having been elected in 2013. Before serving as mayor, Decedent had been a member of the Jackson City Council for four years (2009-2013) and a well-

Case: 25CI1:16-cv-00115-JAW

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known activist for all of his adult life. Mayor Lumumba was, and is, an undeniably high-profile public figure in the city. Additionally, in the 2014 special election to fill the remainder of Mayor Lumumba’s four-year term, Plaintiff himself was a mayoral candidate who received extensive media coverage. Plaintiff has already declared his candidacy for mayor in the regular election scheduled for 2017. He remains a well-known community activist and is a high-profile public figure in his own right. Accordingly, Dr. Shekoni moves this Court to transfer venue in this action. Not only does Plaintiff enjoy a significant degree of local fame in Hinds County as a respected public personality and current mayoral candidate, but Mayor Lumumba himself remains a revered figure among a large portion of the potential Hinds County jury pool. Equally important, the circumstances surrounding Mayor Lumumba’s death received tremendous local media coverage at the time. To ensure a fair trial, venue should be transferred to a county either on the Mississippi Gulf Coast or in the area bordering Tennessee. II.

Factual Background

Mayor Lumumba’s death was covered extensively in all forms of media – print, radio, television, and various forms of social media. A small sampling of articles and news reports surrounding his death and funeral are attached as Exhibit 1, Tab A. Mayor Lumumba was such a revered figure in the community, there were multiple memorial services in celebration of his life. Those included, but were not necessarily limited to (1) his body lying in state at City Hall followed by a remembrance hour; (2) a celebration of life service at the Jackson Convention Center; (3) an elaborate plan to escort Mayor Lumumba to his resting place with police and mourners lining the streets; and (4) interment following the celebration of life service. (See, e.g., Exhibit 1, Tab B.) Additionally, Jackson State University and Word of Worship also hosted tributes to Mayor Lumumba. Hundreds of mourners attended each of these memorials. (See,

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e.g., Exhibit 1, Tab C.) Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance said “The Mayor was very much loved. He was almost like a rock star in certain ways.” (Exhibit 1, Tab D.) Before Mayor Lumumba’s death, he enjoyed renown as well. He was, of course, elected as Mayor of the City of Jackson, which included celebrations throughout the city and various inaugural events city-wide. (Exhibit 2, Tab A.) Mayor Lumumba was a well-known prominent local attorney and had a long and honored history of activism. (Exhibit 2, Tab B.) Indeed, after Mayor Lumumba’s death, various well-known members of the Jackson community publicly questioned the manner of his passing. (Exhibit 2, Tab C.) Plaintiff himself lent some credence to these rumors in acknowledging them and promising to “explore all possible causes of his death.” (Exhibit 2, Tab D.) Additionally, a community center in Jackson was named in Mayor Lumumba’s honor. (Exhibit 2, Tab E.) Because of the Mayor’s renown, this lawsuit has already received extensive local media coverage and will continue to do so. (See, e.g., composite Exhibit 3.) In addition to Mayor Lumumba’s prominence, Plaintiff and the mayor’s namesake, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, enjoys considerable community prominence as well. Before Mayor Lumumba’s passing, Plaintiff was the campaign spokesman for his father and was covered and followed by the media before his own run for mayor. (Exhibit 4.) After Mayor Lumumba’s death, Plaintiff delivered a “barn-burning” eulogy that was generously covered by the media. (Exhibit 5.) Plaintiff is repeatedly lauded as the heir apparent for fulfilling his father’s dreams and ambitions.

Indeed, Plaintiff is following in his father’s footsteps as an activist and

community leader. Despite his young age, Plaintiff was a mayoral candidate himself after his father died. He won the primary election, but lost in a close run-off election. (See, e.g., Composite Exhibit 6.) Plaintiff has received extensive media coverage for (1) filing this lawsuit;

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(2) his representation of the Jonathan Sanders family in Stonewall involving an altercation with a police officer and Sanders’ subsequent death; and (3) the current Jackson airport controversy. (See, e.g, Composite Exhibit 7.) Most recently, and since the filing of this lawsuit, Plaintiff has again declared his candidacy for Mayor of Jackson in the upcoming 2017 election—a decision that will keep him consistently in the public eye until at least the spring of 2017. III.

Discussion

A change of venue is appropriate where a fair and impartial trial cannot be obtained in the county where the action is pending due to “the undue influence of the adverse party, prejudice existing in the public mind, or for some other sufficient cause.” MISS. CODE ANN. § 11-11-51. That standard is met where, as here, substantial local media coverage surrounds the underlying facts of a lawsuit and the plaintiffs are prominent members of the community.

Janssen

Pharmaceutica, Inc. v. Bailey, 878 So. 2d 31, 49-53 (Miss. 2004). In fact, even one of those two factors can be sufficient to support a venue transfer. Substantial media coverage of a wrongful death case, regardless of whether the plaintiffs are independently well known in the community, can by itself support a trial court’s transferring venue. Hayes v. Entergy Miss., Inc., 871 So. 2d 743, 748 (Miss. 2004); see also River Oaks Health System v. Steptoe-Finely, 2004 WL 3115061, No. 2004-IA-01309-SCT (Miss. July 13, 2004). In this action, both factors are present: (1) Plaintiff and Decedent are both well-known and respected local public figures, and (2) the underlying facts were and continue to be subject to extensive media coverage. The purpose of a transfer based on extensive media coverage and/or the notoriety of plaintiff is, of course, to ensure an unbiased jury pool. See, e.g., Janssen, 878 So. 2d at 53. This factor is so important that “when faced with a case which has been heavily reported in the news media, our trial courts must be prepared to readily grant a change of venue.” Johnson v. State, 476 So. 2d 1195, 1215 (Miss. 1985). The Johnson Court further noted that a

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jury pool may be tainted where the aggrieved parties are “members of prominent, influential families” or “public officials.” Id. Here, all these factors are present. As set forth above, this case and the circumstances underlying it have been subject to intense media reporting. Both Plaintiff and Decedent are members of a prominent and influential family, and Decedent was the highest-ranking public official in the City of Jackson at the time of his death—the event which forms the basis for this action. Accordingly, this is a textbook situation where a change of venue should be “readily grant[ed].” In many similar cases after Johnson, both civil and criminal, the Supreme Court has determined venue transfer to be appropriate.1 The same year Johnson was decided, the Court noted that where a trial court is presented with evidence that heavy media coverage has affected the attitudes of the local community, the trial court should assume the venire will “reflect the biases and prejudices of that community” and accordingly transfer should be granted. Fisher v. State, 481 So. 2d 203, 215 (Miss. 1985). The Court in Fisher noted where there is sufficient evidence of “saturation media publicity—including the content of that publicity,” it creates a rebuttable presumption of a reasonable likelihood that the defendant cannot get a fair trial in the local community. Id. at 223. Applying these rules to civil cases, the Supreme Court in 2004 upheld the trial court’s decision to transfer venue for the retrial of a wrongful death case “based on substantial media attention during the first trial.” Hayes, 871 So. 2d at 748. Similarly, in Janssen it was clear to the court that the substantial local media coverage and the fact that many plaintiffs were prominent members of the local community were sufficient reason to transfer venue. 878 So. 2d at 49-53. Plaintiffs in Janssen included such prominent people as the sitting Mayor of Fayette 1

“While the decisions on change of venue deal primarily and predominantly with criminal cases, a person is also entitled to a fair and impartial trial in a civil case.” Janssen, 878 So. 2d at 50, quoting King v. Kelly, 137 So.2d 808, 813 (1962).

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and the 29-year assistant principal at Jefferson County High School. Id. at 51. In terms of media coverage, attorneys for the plaintiffs “bombarded” Jefferson County with advertisements, meetings, and “plaintiff-propelled gossip” regarding the defendants’ alleged bad faith and liability. Id. Quoting Johnson, 476 So. 2d at 1214-15, the Janssen Court acknowledged the pervasiveness of the news media in modern society and the fact that “[n]ewspapers and news broadcasts shape every community’s understanding of itself. Public opinions and attitudes are reflected and affected concurrently.” Janssen, 878 So. 2d at 52. “As a practical matter, trial courts must also look to other circumstances which would include suits against members of prominent, influential families [and] suits against public officials . . . Where these circumstances are present and egregious, the likelihood of extensive media coverage is great.” Id. at 52-53. The factors that led the Supreme Court to approve a venue transfer in Janssen are reflected in the present action. Plaintiff is a prominent public figure seeking damages for the alleged negligent care provided to Decedent, who was the sitting Mayor of Jackson, under circumstances which received and will receive inordinate media attention as shown conclusively by the Exhibits attached hereto. Such a scenario gives rise to the presumption that Dr. Shekoni cannot expect a fair trial anywhere whose primary local media are based in the Jackson metropolitan area, pursuant to Fisher and Janssen. Moreover, transfer would be appropriate here even if Plaintiff and Decedent were not extremely prominent members of the local community. In Hayes and River Oaks, both decided in 2004, the Supreme Court concluded transfer of venue was appropriate based only on heavy media coverage of the case itself—regardless of whether plaintiffs were well-known. Indeed, the River Oaks case was transferred based on a single news story appearing in the Jackson Clarion Ledger. 2004 WL 3115061 at *1. The story focused entirely on the alleged negligence of the

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defendant and the emotionally devastating injuries suffered by the plaintiff’s minor child. Id. The article also contained quotes from one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, stating what – in the attorney’s view – the defendants should have done differently. Id. at *2. Based on the tenor of the article and plaintiff’s counsel’s participation in shaping the article, the Court found “should this case proceed to trial in Hinds County, there exists a substantial likelihood of material prejudice against the defendants.” The Court went on to order that the case should be transferred to a county located a substantial distance from Hinds County, where the Clarion Ledger is not the primary daily newspaper. Such counties could include those bordering the Coast, within the circulation of the New Orleans and Gulfport daily newspapers, and those which border Tennessee, within the primary circulation area for Memphis and other daily papers. Id. at *3. In this action, Plaintiff himself has lent credence to rumors of untoward reasons for Mayor Lumumba’s passing by promising to “explore all possible causes of his death.” (Exhibit 2, Tab D.) This lawsuit itself has already received extensive local media coverage, including several articles repeating the allegations of the complaint. (See, e.g., composite Exhibit 3.) As laid out above, the Supreme Court in River Oaks ordered a transfer of venue based on the potential for jury prejudice due to a single article in the primary local daily newspaper. 2014 WL 3115061 at *3. It is even more likely that potential jurors in the Jackson area will have read news articles stating Plaintiff’s version of the facts in this case. Accordingly, both because Plaintiff and Decedent have very prominent names in the local community and because this case itself has been subject to extensive local media coverage, a transfer of venue is appropriate under Mississippi law. The Supreme Court in River Oaks ensured venue should be transferred far enough from Hinds County that local media would not influence the jury pool, specifically suggesting the Gulf Coast or Memphis areas. The same two areas would be appropriate for transfer of the

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present action, as they are sufficiently far from Hinds County that not only the Clarion-Ledger, but also the local Jackson television stations are not the primary media entities. See id.; see also FCC station area maps, attached hereto as Exhibit 8.

Therefore, Dr. Shekoni respectfully

requests that this action be transferred either to a Gulf county or to a county bordering Tennessee. IV.

Conclusion

Due to the local prominence of both Plaintiff and Decedent, and the extensive media coverage that has been focused on these individuals and on the allegations and facts underlying this case, Dr. Shekoni cannot expect a fair or impartial jury in Hinds County—or, for that matter, any county where the Jackson-area media is prevalent. Accordingly, Dr. Shekoni asks this Court to transfer venue in this action either to the Gulf Coast or the counties bordering Tennessee. Respectfully submitted, this 15th day of July, 2016. NURUDEEN A. SHEKONI AND NORTH JACKSON MEDICAL CLINIC, PLLC By:

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/s/ Walter T. Johnson Walter T. Johnson, MSB # 8712 Susan L. Steffey, MSB # 9038 W. Abram Orlansky, MSB # 104172 WATKINS & EAGER PLLC 400 E Capitol Street (39201) Post Office Box 650 Jackson, Mississippi 39205 Telephone: (601) 965-1900 Facsimile: (601) 965-1901 E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]

Case: 25CI1:16-cv-00115-JAW

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on this day I electronically filed the foregoing pleading or other paper with the Clerk of the Court using the MEC system which sent notification of such filing to all counsel of record. This the 15th day of July, 2016.

/s/ Walter T. Johnson Walter T. Johnson

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