An engineering firm is not responsible for a Jackson teen’s death in a car accident, the Mississippi Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday, upholding a Hinds County Circuit Court judge’s decision.
Frances Fortner, an 18-year-old senior at Jackson Academy, was driving along Ridgewood Road, headed to graduation rehearsal on May 17, 2018, when her vehicle hit an improperly covered manhole and flipped. She later died at the hospital from her injuries.
Following Fortner’s death, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba said that the City of Jackson had “failed to appropriately secure the site at the time we learned the manhole cover was not properly in place,” WLBT reported.
The teen’s parents, Thomas Fortner and Laurilyn Fortner, filed a negligence lawsuit against the City of Jackson on Nov. 16, 2018, about six months after her death. They also sued engineering contractors IMS Engineers, Inc., Superior Asphalt, Inc., as well as Sigma Corporation, the company that manufactured the riser ring—a steel ring that, when properly installed, helps secure a manhole shut.
The City of Jackson then filed its own claim against IMS and Superior. “The City claimed indemnity, negligence, and breach of contract based on their argument that IMS and Superior maintained, repaired, constructed, and managed Ridgewood Road,” the May 13 court document states.
The family settled with Superior shortly after filing the initial lawsuit, the document states.
Hinds County Circuit Court Judge E. Faye Peterson dismissed the family’s lawsuit against IMS with prejudice in July 2023. Peterson also dismissed the cross-claim filed against the company by the city of Jackson for breach of contract.
The City of Jackson began initial phases of resurfacing Ridgewood Road in 2017, using funds from the One Percent Sales Tax Commission, WLBT reported. However, in her decision dismissing the Fortner family’s lawsuit, Peterson said it was “unreasonable” to hold IMS responsible for the incident because the City had terminated its contract with the firm nearly a year before Fortner’s death.
Fortner’s parents appealed the judge’s ruling.
On May 13, the Mississippi Court of Appeals affirmed Peterson’s decision, ruling that the family had not provided enough evidence showing that IMS was responsible for Fortner’s death.
The appeals court judges found that the Fortner family had “gathered extensive evidence about the actions and omissions that led to the tragic death of their daughter.”
However, they continued, “(T)his evidence points to actions by Superior and omissions by the City. Despite the zealous advocacy of counsel for the family, there is no evidence against IMS in the context of their tort-based negligence allegations since IMS no longer owed a duty of care by the time the hazardous condition was created,” court documents released on May 13 state.
“IMS could not have contributed to the accident or injuries here because they were simply not involved. It was Superior and the City of Jackson—the Program Manager—who owed a duty. As such, we find summary judgment in IMS’s favor appropriate and affirm the trial court’s final judgments,” the document continues.
The Mississippi Free Press contacted the City of Jackson for comment on this story; the city declined to comment.
The Mississippi Free Press also reached out to IMS Engineers for comment on this story but did not get a response by press time.
