The Mississippi Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of a wrongful death lawsuit brought by a truck driver whose wife was killed at a Meridian truck stop.Kayla Albert was struck and killed after dark on Dec. 9, 2002, while crossing a public roadway from Scott's Truck Plaza to a gravel parking area where her truck was parked, according to the court record.Mark Albert, her husband, sued the truck stop's operators in Lauderdale County Circuit Court.

Among Albert's allegations, according to the court record, were that the truck stop operators failed to provide adequate lighting and had placed a propane tank and advertising in its parking lot, which obstructed the view of pedestrians and drivers of oncoming traffic.

Circuit Judge Lester Williamson Jr. dismissed the lawsuit in 2006, ruling that Albert didn't prove his allegations.The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision this past week, upheld Williamson's ruling.Justice Ann Lamar said the Supreme Court's majority agreed Albert failed to prove that his wife's death was the result of the alleged obstructions or insufficient lighting."The (trial) court further found that the danger of crossing a public roadway was not hidden but open and obvious, thus requiring no warning," Lamar wrote.Lamar said Albert failed to prove that the gravel parking lot was part of the truck stop, which meant the business had no responsibility to warn Kyla Albert of any alleged danger.

Justice Michael Randolph, in a dissent joined by three other justices, said even though the truck stop didn't own the gravel parking area, testimony in the trial court showed it was generally known that truckers parked there regardless of whether they were customers at the truck stop.Randolph said there also was conflicting evidence about whether Kayla Albert's view of the road was obstructed by the propane tank.Randolph said those issues would be better addressed by a jury.

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080302/NEWS/80302007/-1/archive