Bell v. Smith

Ruffin, Judge.

This wrongful death case arises from a shooting incident in rural Lee County on Christmas Eve 1993. David Smith, the plaintiffs’ son, was riding in a truck when defendant Cliff Bell shot him in the back with a high-powered rifle. David Smith died, and the Smiths sued Cliff Bell, his brother Jack Bell III, and Mary Denise Bell, their mother. Cliff Bell admitted he fired the shot but claimed he acted in defense of his brother, Jack, after the truck in which Smith was a passenger swerved toward Jack. The trial court granted partial summary judgment to the plaintiffs on the issue of…