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South Carolina
Judicial Branch
Supreme Court - Roster of Cases for Hearing

   
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 2, 2021
WebEx
 10:00 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2019-002046   Rosemary Connelly, Respondent, v. Winsor Custom Homes, LLC, Petitioner.

Stephen L. Brown, Russell G. Hines, Young, Clement and Rivers, LLP of Charleston for Petitioner. Christy Ford Allen, John A. Massalon, Wills, Massalon, and Allen, LLC of Charleston for Respondent.

In this negligence case, Ms. Rosemary Connelly was awarded $325,000 subsequent to a jury trial for injuries she sustained when she tripped over a silt fence and fell on a sidewalk in front of a home Winsor Custom Homes, LLC was constructing. The circuit court denied Winsor Custom Homes, LLC's motions for judgment as a matter of law and a new trial partly because the circuit court found inapplicable Section 343A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts regarding a possessor of land's liability to invitees. The circuit court ultimately did not charge the jury on that provision of law. The court of appeals affirmed the circuit court's rulings, and Winsor Custom Homes, LLC appealed to this Court. We granted writ of certiorari to review whether the circuit court erred in denying Winsor Custom Homes, LLC's motions for judgment as a matter of law and whether the circuit court erred in refusing to instruct the jury concerning Section 343A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts so as to entitle the company to a new trial.

 11:20 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2020-000026   Nationwide Insurance Company of America, Respondent, v. Kristina Knight, individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Daniel P. Knight, Petitioner.

Edwin L. Turnage, of Harris & Graves, PA, of Greenville, for Petitioner. Wesley Brian Sawyer, of Murphy & Grantland, PA, of Columbia, for Respondent.

The Court granted a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in Nationwide Insurance Company of America v. Knight, 428 S.C. 451, 835 S.E.2d 538 (Ct. App. 2019). The Court will determine the scope of section 38-77-340 of the South Carolina Code (2015) and whether the automobile insurance policy provided underinsured motorist coverage.

Wednesday, February 3, 2021
WebEx
 10:00 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2020-000045   The State, Respondent, v. Jonathan Donell Rhodes, Petitioner.

Chief Appellate Defender Robert M. Dudek, Assistant Appellate Defender Lara M. Caudy and Assistant Appellate Defender Victor R. Seegar, all of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan M. Wilson, Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Senior Assistant Attorney General Melody J. Brown, Assistant Attorney General Tommy Evans, Jr., all of Columbia and Solicitor W. Walter Wilkins, of Greenville, for Respondent.

Jonathan Rhodes was convicted of two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, one count of first-degree burglary, and four counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. The court of appeals affirmed his convictions. State v. Rhodes, Op. No. 2019-UP-361 (S.C. Ct. App. filed Nov. 6, 2019). This Court granted Rhodes a writ of certiorari to determine whether the court of appeals erred in holding (1) the good faith exception prevented the exclusion of cell-site location information investigators obtained without a warrant, and (2) the trial court's error in admitting unreliable expert testimony concerning per call measurement data was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

 11:20 a.m. (Time Limits: 10-10-5)  
2019-001757   Win Myat, Petitioner, v. Tuomey Regional Medical Center, Respondent.

William R. Padget and Francis M. "Brink" Hinson, IV, both of Finkel Law Firm LLC, of Columbia, for Petitioner. David C. Holler, G. Murrell Smith, Jr. of Smith Robinson Holler DuBose and Morgan, LLC, of Sumter, for Respondent. William Grayson Lambert and M. Craig Garner, Jr., both of Burr & Forman, LLP, of Columbia and Edward H. Bender, of Columbia, for Amicus Curiae South Carolina Hospital Association. Frank L. Eppes, of Eppes & Plumblee, P.A., of Greenville and Daniel W. Luginbill and Julia M. Flumian, both of McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC, of Mt. Pleasant, for Amicus Curiae South Carolina Association for Justice.

The Court granted a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in Myat v. Tuomey Regional Medical Center, 427 S.C. 601, 832 S.E.2d 306 (Ct. App. 2019).