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R. Jonathan Franco

Jonathan Franco joined the firm as a partner in July 2017. He was raised in Montgomery, Alabama and attended the University of Alabama, where he received his undergraduate degree in political science, with a minor in English. Jonathan went on to earn his law degree at Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson, Mississippi. Jonathan resides with his wife Ashley and daughter Alexandra in Ocean Springs.

Jonathan serves as Secretary on the executive committee of the Mississippi Association for Justice (MAJ) . Within MAJ he also served as Parliamentarian, is a past editor of MAJ’s annual publication Voir Dire magazine, served on MAJ’s public policy committee from 2021-2022, and served as CLE chair of the 2023 MAJ annual convention. Jonathan was the recipient of MAJ’s Stone Pony award in 2023 which is given to a stalwart member that has shown dedication to the organization. Jonathan was the 2018 recipient of MAJ’s “Rising Star” award given to a trial lawyer under 40 years of age who has excelled in personal injury litigation. He also serves on the MAJ Board of Governors representing the Jackson County Circuit Court division.

Jonathan is also on the board of directors for the Southern Trial Lawyers Association and has been selected to the Mid South Super Lawyers Rising Stars from 2019-2023. Within the local community Jonathan is a past president, past member of the board of directors, and is still an active member of the Ocean Springs Rotary Club.

Jonathan’s practice focuses exclusively on personal injury and workers’ compensation cases where he has obtained seven figure and high six figure awards for injury victims:

Trucking and Commercial Vehicle Cases

Jonathan has substantial experience representing victims of commercial motor vehicle crashes such as tractor trailer crashes. Jonathan applies the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (“FMSRs) in successfully prosecuting tractor trailer crashes. The FMSCRs are federal regulations that govern the maintenance, hiring, and driving practices of trucking companies and truck drivers. Jonathan will investigate the trucking company and their driver to make sure they did not place profits over safety.

Premises Liability Cases

Jonathan has also obtained significant recoveries in premises liability cases involving unsafe conditions on a property. Jonathan applies building code violations and engineering violations to hold premises owners accountable for unsafe properties. Jonathan will determine whether coefficient of friction standards were violated, riser and tread height were proper, safety rails were properly built, lighting was proper, etc.

Medical Malpractice

Jonathan also represents the victims of medical malpractice. Jonathan has recovered millions of dollars on behalf of families of medical malpractice victims including wrongful death claims. Medical malpractice has become more of a niche practice area in Mississippi due to the pre-suit notice requirements, nuances of litigation, caps on damages, and the expense of litigation. However, Jonathan enjoys the medical and scientific aspects of these cases and enjoys helping victims receive justice. Jonathan is often referred medical malpractice claims by other attorneys due to his significant experience in this field.

Car Wreck Cases

Jonathan has also represented hundreds of Mississippi Gulf Coast residents that were involved in car crashes. Each car wreck case involves its own set of fact and challenges. Jonathan does not recommend settlements unless they make the client whole. If an insurance company is not willing to pay a reasonable settlement amount in a car wreck case, Jonathan will file a lawsuit and fight to recover a satisfactory settlement for your case.

Workers’ Compensation and Maritime Injuries

Jonathan maintains a substantial workers’ compensation practice and represents injured Mississippians across the state. Jonathan takes particular pride in helping injured workers who are being denied medical treatment and disability benefits by their employer and its insurance company. He would rather fight for the injured worker of this state than a big corporation or insurance company. Jonathan also represents shipyard and maritime workers’ who fall within the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. Jonathan also has experience representing claimants in Jones Act claims and general maritime/boat injury claims.

Bar Admissions

Mississippi

U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi

U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi

Education

Mississippi College School of Law, Jackson, Mississippi

J.D.

Alabama University

Major: Political Science
Minor: English

Published Works

Prepping your Life Care Planner for Cross Examination, Voir Dire Magazine, Summer, 2016

Medical Malpractice in Conscience Sedation, Voir Dire Magazine, 2017

Representative Cases

Mahli, LLC v. Admiral Ins. Co., CIVIL ACTION No. 1:14cv175-KS-MTP (S.D. Miss. Aug. 25, 2015)

Federal verdict in which Jonathan represented the Plaintiff whose hotel burned down. The insurance company claimed the Plaintiff had committed arson and refused to pay the full value of his losses. A federal jury found the Plaintiff had not committed arson and that the hotel was a total loss.

Petterson v. Petterson, 2018 WL 5262603, 2018, Miss Ct. App.

Landmark Mississippi Court of Appeals decision, Cert Denied by the Mississippi Supreme Court. Divorce case in which Jonathan successfully argued that his client's husband actively invested his seven figure IRA that was accumulated prior to the marriage. The husband contested this allegation and stated his investment was passive and should not be considered marital property. The trial court ruled in Mrs. Pettersen's favor , finding that she had provided sufficient evidence that Mr. Pettersen had actively invested his IRA and the sigificant appreciation that had occured during the course of the marriage was marital property. The Court of Appeals Affirmed.

Stonestreet v. United States, 1:20cv65-LG-RPM (S.D. Miss. Oct. 6, 2021)

Federal opinion in a premises liability case that denied Defendant's motion to dismiss and motion for summary judgment. Federal Tort Claims Act case defended by the United States Attorney office. . The subject incident occurred at a grocery store when the Plaintiff was getting eggs out of a cooler which suddenly rolled backwards causing Plaintiff to fall forward into the cooler. The eggs are kept on a rolling egg cart in the cooler section. In the Motion to Dismiss, the defendant claimed that the independent contractor exception applied because Eggland's Best, an independent contractor, stocked the egg racks. They also claimed discretionary function immunity in their choice of vendor. In the Motion for Summary Judgment they argued that (1) no one else has ever been injured interacting with the egg carts and that my client was the sole proximate cause of her own injuries (2) the egg carts weren't a dangerous condition (3) they hired engineers and retail experts to say they met the standard of care for egg cart safety (4) they had no notice of a dangerous condition and this was not foreseeable. Jonathan argued that (1) there are wheel locks on the egg carts that should have been used but weren't used (2) the sole safety measure they have in place is a very thin "L-bracket" that sits behind one of the cart's four wheels and which is not sufficient to stop an egg cart from moving backwards (3) the egg cart was very low on eggs at the time of the incident which was right before close of business when inventory is low and thus was light and moveable (4) Plaintiff’s retail expert said locking mechanisms are the standard of care and Plainitff’s engineer/human factors expert performed testing on an exemplar cart and found that Plaintiff could have easily rolled the cart over the thin "L-bracket" by using only a small fraction of her weight and thus the L-bracket was an inadequate safety measure (5) the incident was foreseeable as Plaintiff had testimony from employees of the commissary that children and other adults previously pressed upon the egg coolers when trying to get the freshest eggs, sometimes putting their whole torso into the egg rack.