Chief Appellate Defender Robert Michael Dudek, of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, and Assistant Attorney General Caroline M. Scrantom, all of Columbia, for Respondent, Solicitor Jimmy A. Richardson, II, of Conway, for Respondent.

Bradley Gerald Mullins appeals his convictions for murder and first-degree burglary, arguing the trial court erred in instructing the jury on an implication of malice when the instruction was unnecessary, confusing, and prejudicial given the facts of the case.

Christian Stegmaier of Collins & Lacy, PC, of Columbia, for Appellant. Bruce Wyche Bannister and Luke Anthony Burke, both of Bannister, Wyatt & Stalvey, LLC, of Greenville, for Respondent.

Jeffrey Lawrence Schulze (Husband) appeals the family court's divorce decree, arguing the court erred in (1) its identification, valuation, and apportionment of the marital estate, and (2) finding Malia Ann Fredrickson (Wife) prevailed on a majority of Husband's transmutation claims and ordering Wife and Husband to be responsible for his and her own attorney's fees.

Assistant Appellate Defender John Harrison Strom, of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson and Assistant Deputy Attorney General David A. Spencer, both of Columbia, for Respondent. Solicitor David Matthew Stumbo, of Greenwood, for Respondent.

James Dill appeals his conviction for manufacturing methamphetamine, arguing the trial court erred in: (1) concluding the magistrate properly determined probable cause existed to issue the search warrant; (2) upholding the validity of the search warrant where the magistrate was misled by knowingly false information; (3) refusing to require the State to reveal the identity of the confidential informant; and (4) refusing to grant a directed verdict.

Appellate Defender Robert M. Pachak, of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson and Assistant Deputy Attorney General David A. Spencer, both of Columbia, for Respondent.

Molina Armstrong appeals her conviction for manufacturing methamphetamine, arguing the trial court erred in: (1) concluding the magistrate properly determined probable cause existed to issue the search warrant; and (2) refusing to require the State to reveal the identity of the confidential informant.

William C. Wood, Jr., Miles Edward Coleman, and C. Mitchell Brown, all of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, of Columbia, for Appellants. Robert Curt Calamari of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, of Myrtle Beach, for Appellants. Thomas E. Hite, Jr. of Hite and Stone, of Abbeville, for Respondents. Jane Hawthorne Merrill of Hawthorne Merrill Law, LLC, of Greenwood, for Respondent Laurie Wilson Williams.

This appeal arises from the circuit court's denial of Peerless Insurance Company's, Montgomery Mutual Insurance Company's, and Safeco Insurance Company's (collectively "the Insurers") motions to compel arbitration and dismiss claims in fourteen related suits. The Insurers argue the court erred in (1) ruling no valid contract containing an arbitration provision existed between the parties, (2) determining the arbitration provision at issue was too narrow to encompass the causes of action raised by the insureds and agents, (3) refusing to compel arbitration of claims against the Insurers, (4) finding the claims against the Insurers were not encompassed by the arbitration provision because their alleged actions constituted illegal and outrageous acts unforeseeable to a reasonable consumer in the context of normal business dealings, and (5) holding the Insurers waived their right to compel arbitration.

Julius Wistar Babb, IV, and J. Lewis Cromer, both of J. Lewis Cromer & Associates, LLC, of Columbia, for Appellant. W. Allen Nickles, III, of Nickles Law Firm, of Columbia, for Respondent.

Betty J. Keitt appeals the circuit court's order granting the City of Columbia's (the City's) motion for summary judgment. On appeal, Keitt argues the circuit court erred in finding (1) Keitt had an existing remedy under the South Carolina Whistleblower Act and (2) a claim of wrongful termination in violation of public policy is not available to an at-will employee when the employee has a statutory remedy.

Jerry Jay Bender of Baker Ravenel & Bender, LLP, of Columbia, for Appellants. James P. Stevens, Jr. and Natalie Shawn Stevens-Graziani, both of Stevens Law Firm, PC, of Loris, for Respondent. Wallace K. Lightsey of Wyche Law Firm, of Greenville, for Amicus Curiae Gannett Co., Inc. Edward T. Fenno of Fenno Law Firm, LLC, of Charleston, for Amici Curiae The Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press, The National Newspaper Association, The Newspaper Association of America, and The Society of Professional Journalists. William Grayson Lambert and Jonathan E. Buchan, pro hac vice, both of Charlotte, North Carolina, for Amici Curiae The Associated Press, Gannett Company, Inc. and Gannett GP Media, Inc. d/b/a The Greenville News, TEGNA Inc. and Pacific and Southern LLC d/b/a WLTX-TV, and Osteen Publishing Company d/b/a The Sumter Item.

David Wren and Sun Publishing Company, Inc. appeal from a jury verdict awarding Mark Kelley $400,000 in actual damages and $250,000 in punitive damages for false statements Wren and Sun published in several newspaper articles. Wren and Sun argue (1) the trial court erred in denying their motions for a directed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict because Kelley failed to meet his burden of proving the falsity of Wren's statements and Kelley failed to present clear and convincing evidence that Wren made the statements with actual malice; (2) the trial court erred in qualifying an expert to testify about professional standards in journalism; (3) the trial court erred in failing to grant a new trial on the ground that the actual and punitive damages awards were grossly excessive; and (4) the punitive damages award is inconsistent with the free press guarantees of the U.S. Constitution.

Andrew Richard Havran, of Greer, for Appellant. J. Falkner Wilkes, of Greenville, for Respondent.

Jose Munguia appeals a family court order, arguing the family court abused its discretion by (1) failing to find Respondent, Carlie Munguia, in contempt of court for not allowing visitation with the Munguias' minor child, (2) determining Jose Munguia needed to post a bond, and (3) failing to award Jose Munguia attorney's fees and costs.

M. Baron Stanton of Stanton Law Offices, P.A., of Columbia, for Appellant. Thomas Roy Young, Jr. of Law Offices of Tom Young, Jr., PC, of Aiken, for Respondents. James M. Derr, pro hac vice, of Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands, for Respondents.

In this dispute over the existence of an employment contract, Coves Darden LLC appeals the circuit court's grant of summary judgment. It maintains the circuit court erred by considering an interrogatory response to be a judicial admission. It also contends genuine issues of material fact were in dispute. Further, Coves Garden maintains the circuit court erred in finding because there was no written or oral employment contract, Francisco Jose Garcia Ibañez did not owe Coves Garden a fiduciary duty and there could be no tortious interference of contract.

Louis H. Lang of Callison Tighe & Robinson, LLC, of Columbia, for Appellant. T. S. Stern, Jr. of Covington, Patrick, Hagins, Stern & Lewis, LLC, of Greenville.for Respondent. Violet Elizabeth Wright of V. Elizabeth Wright Law Firm LLC, of Greenville, for Respondent.

Certus Bank appeals the circuit court's grant of summary judgment to Twin Rivers Resort on Certus Bank's ratification cause of action.

General Counsel Frank L. Valenta, Jr. and Deputy General Counsel Philip S. Porter, both of Blythewood, for Appellant. Kenneth Ray Raynor of Raynor Law Firm, PLLC, of Charlotte, North Carolina, for Respondent.

In this tax liability case, the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (the Department) appeals the Administrative Law Court's (ALC) decision to rescind Respondent's International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) license suspension on the ground that the Department failed to uphold its obligation to advise Respondent of the IFTA's recordkeeping requirements.

David Alan Wilson of The Law Offices of David A. Wilson, LLC, of Greenville, for Appellant. Kenneth C. Porter of Porter & Rosenfeld, of Greenville, for Appellant. Timothy E. Madden of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, of Greenville, for Respondent. Miles Edward Coleman of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, of Columbia, for Respondent.

In this family court action between Peggy D. Conits (Wife) and Spiro E. Conits (Husband), Husband appeals the final order, arguing the court erred in (1) including a nonexistent asset in the marital estate; (2) finding Husband's note payable to his brother was nonmarital property; (3) finding certain property was transmuted into marital property; (4) finding property encumbered by mortgages during the marriage to be marital property; (5) apportioning the marital estate; (6) exercising jurisdiction over nonmarital property; and (7) awarding Wife attorney's fees.

Lyndey Ritz Zwingelberg and Kirby Darr Shealy, III, both of Adams and Reese LLP, of Columbia, for Appellant. Zachary Mason Jett of Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig, LLP, of Charlotte, North Carolina, for Respondent. Peter W. Vogt, pro hac vice, of Charlotte, North Carolina, for Respondent.

In this appeal from an entry of judgment in favor of the Winthrop University Trustees for the State of South Carolina (Winthrop), Pickens Roofing and Sheet Metals, Inc. (Pickens) argues the circuit court erred in (1) denying its motion for a new trial absolute based on the court's refusal to strike a juror for cause; (2) denying its directed verdict motion as to liability; (3) failing to properly recharge the jury on proximate cause; (4) bifurcating the liability and damages phases of trial; (5) denying its directed verdict motion as to damages; and (6) failing to adjust the jury's damages verdict to reflect Winthrop's comparative negligence.

John G. Reckenbeil of Law Office of John G. Reckenbeil, L.L.C., of Spartanburg, for Appellant. Margaret A. Chamberlain of Chamberlain Law Firm, LLC, of Greenville, for Respondent. Deputy Solicitor General J. Emory Smith, Jr., of Columbia, for Intervenor State Ex Rel Alan Wilson, Attorney General.

Cathy J. Swicegood appeals the family court's order granting Polly A. Thompson's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. On appeal, Swicegood argues (1) the family court erred in granting Thompson's motion to dismiss before the parties had an opportunity to fully develop the factual record, (2) the family court erred in determining it lacked subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to South Carolina Code Sections 20-1-10 and -15 (2014), and (3) sections 20-1-10 and -15 and/or S.C. Const. art. XVII, § 15 violate due process and equal protection rights of the citizens of South Carolina.

Mark Steven Barrow and Ryan C. Holt, both of Sweeny Wingate & Barrow, PA, of Columbia, for Appellant. Lindsay Anne Joyner and Gray Thomas Culbreath, both of Gallivan, White & Boyd, PA, of Columbia, for Respondent.

Bi-Lo, LLC (Bi-Lo) appeals the circuit court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Unifirst Corporation (Unifirst) on Bi-Lo's cross-claim for contractual indemnity, arguing summary judgment was premature because Bi-Lo did not have a full and fair opportunity to conduct discovery and further inquiry into the facts of the case was necessary to clarify the application of the law.

James C. Alexander of Alexander Law Firm, of Pickens, for Appellants. James McKinley Robinson of Robinson Law Firm, of Easley, for Respondents.

Matthew and Elizabeth Willimon appeal the special referee's ruling which gave Respondents use of the disputed easement.