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February 2023 |
NEXT
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The summary below each case is prepared to offer lawyers and the public a general overview of what issues are included in a case which will be argued. The summary is not a limit on what issues a party to a case may present at oral argument.
Tuesday, February 7, 2023 | |
Courtroom I
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10:40 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2019-001819 Joshua S. Walrath, Respondent,
v.
Tamara L. Walrath, Appellant. Thomas Franklin McDow, IV and Erin K Urquhart, both of McDow and Urquhart, LLC, of Rock Hill, for Appellant. James Wilson Tucker, Jr. and George Edgar Anderson, V, both of McKinney Tucker & Lemel, of Rock Hill, for Respondent. Tamara Walrath appeals the family court's decision dismissing without prejudice the case that her former husband brought against her. She argues the court erred in dismissing the case without first ruling on her motion for attorney's fees. |
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11:20 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2019-001909 Stop-A-Minit #17, LLC, Appellant,
v.
Beck Enterprises, Inc., Respondent. William H. Edwards, of Moore Bradley Myers Law Firm, of West Columbia, for Appellant. Erick Matthew Barbare, of The Barbare Law Firm, of Mauldin, for Respondent. Stop-A-Minit #17, LLC, appeals the circuit court's order requiring it to indemnify Beck Enterprises, arguing the circuit court erred in finding (1) the Indemnification and Hold Harmless Agreement (the Agreement) the parties executed was valid and enforceable, and (2) Stop-A-Minit had not met all of its obligations to Beck Enterprises under the Agreement. |
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Tuesday, February 14, 2023 | |
Courtroom I
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10:00 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-10-10) |
2019-001706 Amazon Services, LLC, Appellant,
v.
South Carolina Department of Revenue, Respondent. John C. Von Lehe, Jr. and Bryson Moore Geer, both of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, of Charleston; Carter G. Phillips, Benjamin J. Razi, and Sean Akins, all of Washington, DC; and Robert N. Hochman and Neil H. Conrad, both of Chicago, IL, all for Appellant. Lauren Acquaviva, of Viva Law Firm, of Charleston; Chad Nicholas Johnston, John William Roberts, and Tracey Colton Green, all of Burr & Forman LLP, of Columbia; and Jason Phillip Luther, of Columbia, all for Respondent. Amazon Services, LLC, appeals the Administrative Law Court's (ALC's) decision affirming the South Carolina Department of Revenue's (the Department's) determination assessing it approximately $12.5 million in taxes, penalties, and interest for the period of January 1, 2016, to March 31, 2016. Amazon Services argues that (1) under the Sales and Use Tax Act in effect during 2016, as an online marketplace operator, it owed no duty to collect and remit sales tax on products sold on its marketplace by third parties; (2) the statute in effect in 2016 could reasonably be read not to impose the obligation to collect and remit sales tax for third-party sales upon online marketplace facilitators such that the statute is ambiguous and must be construed against the Department; and (3) imposing a sales tax obligation on it for third-party sales during the relevant period violates the United States and South Carolina constitutional guarantees of fair notice and equal protection. |
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10:40 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2019-001790 Palmetto Pointe at Peas Island Condominium Property Owners Association, Inc. and Jack Love, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs,
v.
Island Pointe, LLC; Complete Building Corporation; Tri-County Roofing, Inc.; Creekside, Inc.; American Residential Services, LLC d/b/a ARS/Rescue Rooter Charleston; Andersen Windows, Inc.; Atlantic Building Construction Services, Inc., n/k/a Atlantic Construction Services, Inc.; Builder Services Group, Inc. d/b/a Gale Contractor Services; Novus Architects, Inc., f/k/a SGM Architects, Inc.; Tallent and Sons, Inc.; WC Services, Inc.; CRG Engineering, Inc.; CertainTeed Corporation; Kelly Flooring Products, Inc, d/b/a Carpet Baggers; Cornerstone Construction and Mark Malloy d/b/a Cornerstone Construction; Miracle Siding, LLC and Wilson Lucas Sales d/b/a Miracle LLC; Mark Palpoint a/k/a Micah Palpoint; Elroy Alonzo Vasquez; Chris a/k/a John Doe 61; Alderman Construction; Stanley's Vinyl Fence Designs; Cohen's Drywall Company, Inc.; Mosely Concrete; Hand A Framing Construction, LLC a/k/a H&A Framing Construction, LLC and d/b/a H and A Framing, LLC H&A Construction, and Hand A Construction; JMC Construction, Inc., JMC Construction, LLC, John Doe 1-15, Defendants,
of which Palmetto Pointe at Peas Island Condominium Property Owners Association, Inc. and Jack Love, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated are the Respondents,
and
Tri-County Roofing, Inc. is the Appellant. Christian Stegmaier and James Lloyd Williams, both of Collins & Lacy, PC, of Columbia, for Appellant. Justin O'Toole Lucey, Stephanie D. Drawdy, Anna Scarborough McCann, and Joshua Fletcher Evans, all of Justin O'Toole Lucey, P.A., of Mt. Pleasant; and Edward D. Buckley, Jr., of Clement Rivers, LLP, of Charleston, all for Respondents. In this condominium construction defect case, subcontractor defendant Tri-County Roofing (TCR), appeals the trial court's decision regarding setoff. TCR contends the trial court erred in not offsetting the amounts of all pretrial and posttrial settlements between the plaintiffs and other defendants apart from those amounts specifically allocated to damages unrelated to TCR's work. |
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11:20 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2021-000173 Denzil W. Miller, Respondent,
v.
Emily Horn and Michael Horn, Appellants,
and
Denzil W. Miller, Respondent/Intervenor. Paul L. Held, of Law Ofc. of Paul L. Held, of Sumter, for Appellants. Jessica Jae Boylan, of The Sullivan Law Firm, LLC, of Columbia, for Respondent Denzil W. Miller. William Andrew Wallace Buxton, of The Law Office of William A.W. Buxton, LLC, of Sumter, for Respondent Denzil W. Miller. Emily Horn (Mother) and Michael Horn (Stepfather) appeal an order of the family court finding Mother unfit and granting custody of Child to Child's great-grandfather, with visitation by Mother. On appeal, Mother and Stepfather argue the family court erred by (1) finding them in willful contempt, (2) failing to grant them a new trial, and (3) finding Mother unfit and awarding custody to Great-Grandfather. |
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Wednesday, February 15, 2023 | |
Courtroom I
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10:00 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5-5) |
2019-001506 Ex Parte: Trustgard Insurance Company, Appellant-Respondent,
In Re:
Terence Graham, Plaintiff,
v.
Full Logistics, Inc., Defendant.
Of whom, Terence Graham is the Respondent-Appellant. Shelley Sunderman Montague and Jessica Waller Laffitte, both of Gallivan, White & Boyd, PA, of Columbia, for Appellant-Respondent. William Franklin Barnes, III, of Barnes Law Firm, LLC, of Hampton; and Brian T. Smith, of Brian T. Smith Law Offices, of Greenville, both for Respondent-Appellant. This cross-appeal arises out of the circuit court's grant of Trustgard Insurance Company's motion to intervene and denial of Trustgard's motion to set aside default judgment. Trustgard appeals the denial of its motion to set aside the default judgment and Terence Graham appeals the grant of the motion to intervene. |
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10:40 a.m. | (Time Limits: 15-15-5) |
2020-000807 Judith and Johnny Briggs, Respondents,
v.
Shelby Briggs and Alan Bain, Defendants,
Of whom Shelby Briggs is the Appellant and Alan Bain is the Respondent. Michael Benjamin Smith, of Morton & Gettys, LLC, of Rock Hill, for Appellant. Daniel Dominic D'Agostino, of D'Agostino Law Firm, of York, for Respondents Johnny Briggs and Judith Briggs. Melinda Inman Butler, of The Butler Law Firm, of Union, for Respondent Alan Bain. Shelby Briggs appeals the family court's orders holding her in contempt and denying her motion for reconsideration. On appeal, Briggs argues the family court erred in holding her in contempt for several reasons and erred in awarding Alan Bain attorney's fees. |
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11:20 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2019-002006 John Pendarvis and Lawton Drew, Respondents,
v.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Defendants,
Of which South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is the Appellant. Andrew F. Lindemann, of Lindemann & Davis, P.A., and Joel Steve Hughes, of The Law Office of Kenneth E. Berger, LLC, both of Columbia, for Appellant. C. Bradley Hutto, of Williams & Williams, of Orangeburg; and Patrick James McLaughlin, of Wukela Law Office, of Florence, both for Respondent. South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) appeals the circuit court's decision to grant a preliminary injunction that allowed John Pendarvis and Lawton Drew to harvest and sell a crop of hemp. SLED asserts the circuit court erred because (1) the preliminary injunction failed to maintain the status quo or balance the parties' equities, (2) the crop was contraband per se, (3) the facts as pled did not support granting the preliminary injunction, and (4) the circuit court refused to enforce a portion of the participation agreement that permitted SLED to destroy illegal hemp crops. |
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Thursday, February 16, 2023 | |
Courtroom I
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10:00 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2019-001648 David T. Stokes, Appellant,
v.
Oconee County, Wayne McCall, and Edda Cammick, Respondents. Joseph Clay Hopkins, of Charleston, for Appellant. James W. Logan, Jr. and Stacey Todd Coffee, both of Logan & Jolly, LLP, of Anderson, for Respondents Edda Cammick and Oconee County. Roberta Elizabeth Barton, of Roberta Barton Law, Ltd. Co., of Seneca, for Respondents Edda Cammick and Wayne McCall. Stephanie Holmes Burton, of Gibbes Burton, LLC, of Spartanburg, for Respondent Wayne McCall. In this defamation action, Appellant David T. Stokes seeks review of the circuit court's rulings granting summary judgment to Respondents Wayne McCall and Edda Cammick and denying Stokes's motion to amend his complaint. Stokes also challenges the circuit court's ruling quashing a subpoena Stokes served on the administrator for Respondent Oconee County (the County). Stokes argues that (1) the circuit court erred by granting summary judgment to McCall and Cammick because his complaint included allegations of conduct that fell outside the scope of these council members' official duties, he presented supporting evidence, and therefore, they were not entitled to immunity under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act; (2) the circuit court should have granted Stokes's motion to amend his complaint because the alleged defamatory statements were not material to the purpose of the meeting at which they were made, and therefore, the amendment would not have been futile; and (3) Stokes was entitled to serve a subpoena on the county administrator in his individual capacity because his prior deposition was taken in his capacity as a representative of the County pursuant to Rule 30(b)(6), SCRCP. |
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10:40 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2018-000464 Jerome Campbell, Petitioner,
v.
State of South Carolina, Respondent. Clarence Rauch Wise, of Greenwood, for Petitioner. Samantha Jo Weidauer, of Columbia, for Respondent. In this post-conviction relief action, Appellant Jerome Campbell seeks review of an order dismissing his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Campbell argues that the post-conviction relief court erred in finding that Campbell's trial counsel was not ineffective in failing to object to the circuit court's mutual combat charge. |
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11:20 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2020-000597 CRM of the Carolinas, LLC, Appellant,
v.
Trevor W. Steel, Respondent. Joseph Clay Hopkins, of Charleston, for Appellant. Roger Philip Giardino, Jr., of Giardino Law Firm, LLC, of Pawleys Island, for Respondent. In this breach of contract action, Appellant CRM of the Carolinas, LLC (Employer) appeals an order of the Master-in-Equity denying Employer's request for damages and attorney's fees. Employer argues the evidence did not support the master's finding that Employer was not entitled to a return of its $50,000 payment to Respondent Trevor W. Steel (Employee). Employer also argues that the master erred by denying its request for attorney's fees because Employer should have been the prevailing party. |
Wednesday, March 1, 2023 | |
Virtual Courtroom 1
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11:20 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5-5-5) |
2020-000203 Shannon P. Green and Darrell Russell, Plaintiffs,
v.
Edward C. McGee and David Hudgins, Respondents,
Of whom Shannon P. Green is the Appellant/Respondent
And
Of whom David Hudgins is the Respondent/Appellant. Douglas A. Churdar, of Greenville, for Appellant-Respondent. Jessica Waller Laffitte and Curtis L. Ott, both of Gallivan, White & Boyd, PA, of Columbia; and James Andrew Bradshaw, of White, Davis & White Law Firm, PA, of Anderson, for Respondent-Appellant. Michael T. Coulter, of Clarkson, Walsh & Coulter, P.A., of Greenville, for Respondent. This is a cross-appeal in a civil suit about a car wreck. Green, the plaintiff below, appeals the circuit court's decision denying a new trial nisi additur. She also appeals the circuit court's offset calculation as to a pre-trial settlement with one of the defendants. Hudgins, one of the defendants, makes a different argument that the circuit court erred in calculating the offset. He also appeals the circuit court's decision denying judgment notwithstanding the verdict and denying his request to set the punitive award aside. | |
Cases to be Submitted Without Oral Argument | |
2021-000965 |
Cassandra D. Stallings, Employee, Respondent,
v.
Hubbell Power Systems, Employer, and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., Carrier, Appellants.
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2018-001994 |
Edward Maurice Dunn, Jr., Petitioner,
v.
State of South Carolina, Respondent.
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2021-000785 |
Lynn Chronister, #189827, Appellant,
v.
South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, Respondent.
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2021-001145 |
Charles Williams, # 086721, Appellant,
v.
South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, Respondent.
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2021-001399 |
B & B Crane Service, LLC, Appellant,
v.
Iron Planet, Inc., Mickey Meekins Truck & Auto Sales, Inc., and Lloyd "Mickey" Meekins, Jr., Defendants,
Of Whom Iron Planet, Inc. is the Respondent.
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2021-000249 |
In the Matter of the Care and Treatment of John O'Neil Johnson, Appellant.
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2021-000450 |
Michele Graham, Appellant,
v.
Mark Ciaburri and Adrienne T. Ciaburri, Respondents.
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2020-001515 |
The State, Respondent,
v.
Alyssa Anne Dayvault, Appellant.
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2020-001053 |
Monquez J. Young, Petitioner,
v.
State of South Carolina, Respondent.
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2021-000388 |
The State, Respondent,
v.
Cieara Laree Rogers, Appellant.
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2022-000544 |
Amanda J. Beach, Appellant,
v.
Daniel A. Beach, Respondent.
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2019-000131 |
Benita Dinkins-Robinson, Appellant,
v.
Alan Ratner, Respondent.
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2021-000973 |
Starbella, LLC, Appellant,
v.
Lillie Rovira and Roberto Rovira, Respondents.
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2020-000141 |
Dennis Ray Alexander, Petitioner,
v.
State of South Carolina, Respondent.
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2021-000533 |
Ricky Brown, #211789, Appellant,
v.
South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, Respondent.
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2021-000935 |
Haley S. Burns, Plaintiff,
v.
Julius W. Burns, III, Respondent.
Of whom South Carolina Department of Social Services is the Appellant.
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2020-001706 |
Carolina Auto Credit/Colleen Bartona, Appellant,
v.
Nadira Jackson, Respondent.
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2021-000766 |
Debra Lynn B. Peele, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Iola Aileen Bagwell, Respondent,
v.
Greenville Retirement Properties, LLC d/b/a Pendleton Manor Assisted Living, Reatha Connelly, Regency Hospice of Georgia, LLC, d/b/a Regency Southerncare, Defendants,
Of which Greenville Retirement Properties, LLC d/b/a Pendleton Manor Assisted Living and Reatha Connelly are the Appellants.
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2021-001149 |
Russell Mawyer, #139176, Appellant,
v.
South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, Respondent.
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2021-000865 |
Paula Louis Nichols, Respondent,
v.
Paul Richard Hartigan and SCDSS, Defendants,
Of whom Paul Richard Hartigan is a Respondent and SCDSS is the Appellant.
In the interest of minor children under the age of eighteen.
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2021-000683 |
Thomas Contreras, Employee, Appellant,
v.
St. John's Fire District Commission, Employer, and State Accident Fund, Carrier, Respondents.
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2021-000827 |
Aretha Elizabeth Bennett, Appellant,
v.
Theola Pitts and Colleton County School District, Respondents.
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2021-001030 |
Jessica Dalton McCurry, Appellant,
v.
James Tierce McCurry, Respondent.
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2019-002078 |
The State, Respondent,
v.
Dale Eugene King, Appellant.
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2021-001353 |
Scott Hess, Appellant,
v.
South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, Respondent.
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2020-001116 |
Dennis Rodger Davis, Jr., Petitioner,
v.
State of South Carolina, Respondent.
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2020-000877 |
The State, Respondent,
v.
Jamey Christopher Gilliam, Appellant.
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2021-000977 |
David Mack Johnson, Sr., Respondent,
v.
Palmetto Solar, LLC, Palmetto South Carolina Solar I, LLC, Brightest Solar, Inc., Sunlight Financial, LLC, Cross River Bank, Great America Services Corporation and Robert Dodge, Defendants,
of which Palmetto Solar, LLC, Palmetto South Carolina Solar I, LLC, Brightest Solar, Inc., Sunlight Financial, LLC, Cross River Bank, and Robert Dodge are the Appellants.
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2021-000816 |
Vicki Lynn Vergeldt, Individually, and as Successor Trustee of the John Vergeldt Jr. Revocable Living Trust dated September 27, 1978, Respondent,
v.
John Edward Vergeldt, Appellant.
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2021-001044 |
Willie Young, #285487, Appellant,
v.
South Carolina Department of Corrections, Respondent.
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