THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In
The Court of Appeals
APPEAL
FROM RICHLAND COUNTY
Court
of Common Pleas
G.
Thomas Cooper, Jr., Circuit Court Judge
Case No. 2003-CP-40-2175
Frank w. Kerr, as personal representative
for the Estate of Marta Butler Kerr, deceased,........................... Appellant,v.
Richland Memorial Hospital, ................................................... Respondent.
REPLY BRIEF OF APPELLANT
CHARLES L.
HENSHAW, JR. |
Table of Contents
Table of Cases, Statutes, Authorities........................................................................................................... 3
Statement of Issues on Appeal..................................................................................................................... 3
Argument......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Issue II.................................................................................................................................................... 3
Is the six year statute of repose of S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-545(A) applicable to a governmental hospital?............................................................................................................................................... 3
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Table of Cases, Statutes, Authorities
Cases
Glover v. County of Charleston, 361 S.C. 634, 606 S.E.2d 773 (2004)................................................ 6
United States v. Cooper Corp., 312 U.S. 600 (1941)............................................................................. 5
Constitutional Provisions
S.C. Const. Ann. Art. I, § 3.......................................................................................................................... 5
U.S. Const. Amend. 14, § 1....................................................................................................................... 5
Statement of Issues on Appeal
I. | Did the governmental hospital have a duty of care for which it could be liable in the presence of acts or omissions of an independent contractor? |
II. | Is the six year statute of repose of S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-545(A) applicable to a governmental hospital? |
III.
Argument
Issue II
Is the six year statute of repose of S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-545(A) applicable to a governmental hospital?
Respondent asserts that failure to incorporate the medical malpractice statute of repose into the South Carolina Tort Claims Act would be an unconstitutional violation of the Equal Protection Clauses. This constitutional defense was not raised in the court below either at the initial hearing or on motion for reconsideration. Moreover, it raises a fundamental question of whether a constitutional provision designed to protect persons against state action can inure to the benefit of a State agency.
The South Carolina Constitution provides that no “person [shall] be denied the equal protection of the laws.” S.C. Const. Ann. Art. I, § 3 (emphasis added). The Fourteenth Amendment similarly provides that no State shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. U.S. Const. Amend. 14, § 1. (emphasis added). In common usage, “the term ‘person" does not include the sovereign.” United States v. Cooper Corp., 312 U.S. 600, 604 (1941).
Having not been raised and considered in the court below, the constitutional issue is not appropriately before this court. Constitutional issues must be raised to and ruled on by the lower court in order to be preserved for review. Glover v. County of Charleston, 361 S.C. 634, 606 S.E.2d 773 (2004). Moreover, the respondent lacks standing to argue that failure to incorporate the medical malpractice statute of repose would violate the requirements of equal protection.
Conclusion
The summary judgment should be reversed and the case remanded.
Respectfully submitted, |
September 4, 2008
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this date I caused to be served a copy of the foregoing REPLY BRIEF OF APPELLANT upon the individual whose name and address are listed below by placing a copy of it in the United States Mail with proper first-class postage affixed thereon.
Andrew
F. Lindemann |
_________________________________ |
September 4, 2008