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March 2006 |
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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, March 7, 2006 | |
4177 Motion to Withdraw Appeal Granted and Appeal Dismissed. Oral Argument Cancelled For This Case. William N. Dorworth, Employee/Claimant, Respondent v. PeopLease Corporation, Employer, and Carolina Casualty Insurance Company, Carrier, Appellants. Erroll Ann Y. Hodges, of McAngus, Goudelock and Courie, of Greenville and Weston Adams, III, of McAngus, Goudelock And Courie, of Columbia, for Appellants. John S. Nichols and Margaret M. Bluestein, both of Bluestein and Nichols, of Columbia, for Respondent. This workers’ compensation case involves the issue of whether the Commission erred by awarding benefits under the general disability provision of S.C. Code Ann. § 42-9-20 (1985), instead of the scheduled member provision of S.C. Code Ann. § 42-9-30 (1985).
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09:30 a.m. | |
4179 Madison, a fictitious name of a mentally disabled person through her court-appointed guardian, Brenda Bryant, Appellant v. Babcock Center, Inc., a South Carolina Corporation; the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs; Michelle Batchelor, in her official and individual capacities, Respondents. Orin G. Briggs, of Lexington, for Appellant. Danny C. Crowe and R. Hawthorne Barrett, both of Turner, Padget, Graham & Laney, P.A., of Columbia; and Andrew F. Lindemann and William H. Davidson, II, both of Davidson, Morrison & Lindemann, of Columbia, for Respondents. The plaintiff, a mentally disabled adult, alleges the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment to Respondents in her negligence lawsuit. The plaintiff, through her court-appointed guardian, contends the circuit court erred in presuming she was competent after she had been adjudicated mentally impaired by a probate court judge; the circuit court erred in ruling Respondents did not owe a duty of care to the plaintiff; and the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment to Respondents because the evidence presented genuine issues of material fact to be resolved by a jury.
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10:00 a.m. | |
4178 Rock Hill School District Number Three, a political subdivision of the State of South Carolina, Respondent/Appellant v. Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina, a federally recognized Indian tribe, and all predecessors and successors in interest, Including the Catawba Indian Nation of South Carolina, Appellant/Respondent v. The State of South Carolina, Intervenor/Respondent. Jay Bender and Holly Palmer Beeson, both of Baker, Ravenel & Bender, L.L.P., of Columbia, and Robert Marshall Jones, of Rock Hill, for Appellant/Respondent. Donald W. Harper and Carolyn W. Rogers, both of Harper and Rogers, P.A., of Rock Hill, for Respondent/Appellant. Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster and Assistant Deputy Attorney General J. Emory Smith, Jr., both of Columbia, for Intervenor/Respondent. Pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. 27-16-130, the Rock Hill School District sought $422,082 from the Catawba Indian Tribe as a fee in lieu of school taxes. The Catawba sought a reduction of the fee. The issues on appeal are 1) whether the trial court erred in not allowing a $79,000 credit based upon property taxes paid on non-reservation property; 2) whether the trial court erred in allowing a $16,476.26 credit for taxes paid by guardians of students living on the reservation and attending the District’s schools; and 3) whether the trial court erred in holding the Tribe was estopped from denying it owed the fee.
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Wednesday, March 8, 2006 | |
09:30 a.m. | |
4180 Floyd Thomas, Jr., Appellant v. Pearlie Mae McGriff, Personal Representative of the Estate of Ella Mae McGriff, Respondent. Robin Page Freeland and Francis L. Bell, Jr., both of Bell Tindal & Freeland PA, of Lancaster, for Appellant. David R. Blackwell, of Lancaster and B. Michael Brackett, of Moses, Koon and Brackett, of Columbia, for Respondent. This case was certified pursuant to Rule 204(b), SCACR. The issue is whether the family court erred in holding that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over Appellant’s action to declare that he and the decedent were common-law spouses.
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10:00 a.m. | |
4181 This matter was settled and dismissed by this Court on March 2, 2006. Oral arguments will not be held in this matter. RIM Associates, a South Carolina General Partnership, Petitioner v. John E. Blackwell, Respondent. Richard S. Rosen and Daniel F. Blanchard, III, both of Rosen, Rosen and Hagood, LLC, of Charleston, for Petitioner. R. Bruce Wallace, of Nexsen Pruet, L.L.C., G. Dana Sinkler and Mark S. Sharpe, both of Warren & Sinkler and Paul E. Tinkler, all of Charleston, for Respondent. The Court granted a writ of certiorari to review RIM Associates v. Blackwell, 359 S.C. 170, 597 S.E.2d 152 (Ct. App. 2004), in which the court of appeals reversed the circuit court’s order requiring partner to make contribution to the partnership.
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10:30 a.m. | |
4182 The State, Respondent v. John L. McCombs, Appellant. Deputy Chief Attorney Wanda H. Carter, of Office of Appellate Defense, of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott and Senior Assistant Attorney General Harold M. Coombs, Jr., all of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, and Solicitor David Michael Pascoe, Jr., of St. Matthews, for Respondent. This criminal case involves the issue of whether the trial court erred by failing to grant a directed verdict in favor of appellant.
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Thursday, March 9, 2006 | |
09:30 a.m. | |
4183 Jane Doe, Appellant v. Carol Graf, M.D., and Carol M. Graf & Associates, Respondents. Gregg E. Meyers, of Charleston, for Appellant. Stephen L. Brown, Matthew Kiel Mahoney and Carol Brittain Ervin, all of Young Clement Rivers, LLP, of Charleston, for Respondents. The issue on appeal is whether the trial court properly granted the defendant’s Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s claims of breach of fiduciary duty and negligent supervision.
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10:00 a.m. | |
4184 Calvin L. Jeter and Quantilla B. Jeter, Respondents v. South Carolina Department of Transportation, Petitioner v. Phyllis P. Brown, Respondent. Andrew F. Lindemann, of Davidson Morrison & Lindemann, of Columbia and Charles V. Verner, of Harley & Verner, of Newberry, for Petitioner. Howard Hammer and Arthur K. Aiken, both of Hammer, Hammer, Carrigg & Potterfield and Daryl G. Hawkins, all of Columbia, for Respondent, Phyllis P. Brown. Albert V. Smith, of Spartanburg, for Respondents, Calvin and Quantilla Jeter. The Court granted a writ of certiorari to review Jeter v. S.C. Dep’t of Transportation, 358 S.C. 528, 595 S.E.2d 827 (Ct. App. 2004). The South Carolina Department of Transportation raises the following issues: (1) whether the Court of Appeals erred in construing S.C. Code § 15-78-100(b) as a venue provision rather than a jurisdictional statute; (2) whether the Court of Appeals erred in ruling § 15-78-100(b) requires an action be commenced in the county where the act or omission occurred but that venue must be then changed under § 15-7-30 to the county of residence of a defendant or third party defendant; (3) whether the Court of Appeals erred in failing to address its argument that Brown, as a third-party defendant, had no right to have the action transferred to her county of residence; (4) whether the Court of Appeals erred in failing to address whether the trial court correctly applied § 15-7-30; and (5) whether the Court of Appeals erred in concluding the South Carolina Department of Transportation did not appeal the rulings of the trial court denying its motion to change venue back to Union County.
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10:30 a.m. | |
4185 Willie Baxter, Appellant v. Martin Brothers, Inc, Employer, and Capital City Insurance, Carrier, Respondents. Stephen B. Samuels, of McWhirter, Bellinger and Associates, of Sumter, for Appellant. Donald L. Van Riper, of Collins & Lacy, of Columbia, for Respondents. This is a workers’ compensation case certified pursuant to Rule 204(b), SCACR. The issue is whether the single commissioner of the Workers’ Compensation Commission had authority to award attorney fees to Appellant.
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Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | |
09:30 a.m. | |
4186 Allene Hardee and Kathleen Hardee, Appellants v. Bio-Medical Applications of South Carolina, Inc., d/b/a Conway Dialysis Center, Respondent. John Dwight Hudson, of Myrtle Beach, for Appellants. John B. McCutcheon Jr., Lisa A. Thomas, Mary Ruth Baxter and Arrigo P. Carotti, all of McCutcheon McCutcheon & Baxter, of Conway, for Respondent. Gray T. Culbreath and Christian Stegmairer, both of Collins & Lacy, of Columbia, and Wendy J. Keefer, of Bancroft Associates PLLC, of Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association. In this case, the Court is asked to decide whether a medical provider owes a duty to a third party (non-patient), if the medical provider negligently fails to warn a patient of the risks related to driving immediately following a medical procedure and that failure to warn the patient results in harm to the third party.
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10:00 a.m. | |
4187 Charleston Trident Home Builders, Inc., Appellant v. Town Council of Town of Summerville and Town of Summerville, Respondents. Stephen P. Groves, R. Bruce Wallace and Jeffrey S. Tibbals, all of Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier, LLC, of Charleston, for Appellant. William H. Davidson, II and Kenneth P. Woodington, both of Davidson Morrison & Lindemann, of Columbia, for Respondents. This is a challenge to a developmental impact fee ordinance.
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10:30 a.m. | |
4188 Debra Edwards, individually and as class representative for all those similarly situated, Appellant v. SunCom, a member of the AT&T wireless network, d/b/a Triton PCS Operating Company, LLC, Respondent. Natale Fata, of Surfside Beach, for Appellant. Charles S. Altman, of Finkel and Altman, of Charleston and Michael D. Hays, of Dow, Lohnes and Albertson, of Washington, D. C. for Respondent. This case involves a challenge to an “early termination fee” charged to a cellular telephone customer. The circuit court ordered the defendant to seek a ruling from the FCC as to whether the “early termination fee” constituted a “rate charged” so as to determine whether the circuit court had subject matter jurisdiction over the matter; the circuit court ordered the matter stayed pending a final ruling by the FCC. At issue on appeal is whether the circuit court properly stayed the matter and ordered SunCom to seek a ruling from the FCC.
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Wednesday, March 22, 2006 | |
09:30 a.m. | |
4189 The State, Respondent v. Jeroid John Price, Appellant. Chief Attorney Joseph L. Savitz III, of Office of Appellate Defense, of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka and Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey A. Jacobs, and Solicitor Warren Blair Giese, all of Columbia, for Respondent. Appellant was found guilty of murder and sentenced to prison for thirty-five years. He argues the trial court committed reversible error by admitting testimony which violated Rule 802, SCRE, and his right to confront witnesses against him as provided by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, § 14, of the South Carolina Constitution.
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10:00 a.m. | |
4190 Douglas R. Patrick and Christine F. Patrick, Respondents v. Daimler Chrysler Corporation, Hoover Jeep-Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc. and Chrysler Financial Company, LLC., Appellants. C. Mitchell Brown, of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, of Columbia and Jeffrey W. Newman, of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, of Greenville, for Appellants. C. Steven Moskos, of Charleston, for Respondents. The seller and manufacturer of a Jeep appeal from a jury verdict in favor of the buyers on a Magnuson-Moss Act claim.
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10:30 a.m. | |
4191 The State, Petitioner v. Gary Thomas Hill, Respondent. Deputy Director for Legal Services Teresa A. Knox, Assistant Chief Legal Counsel J. Benjamin Aplin and Legal Counsel Tommy Evans, Jr., of Columbia, for Petitioner. J. Stephen Welch and Adam M. Cain, both of Welch Law Firm, PC, of Greenwood, for Respondent. The trial court revoked Gary Hill’s probation after Hill committed several probation violations. The court of appeals reversed in part, holding that Rule 5, SCRCrimP (titled “Disclosure in Criminal Cases”) and the disclosure rule announced in Brady v. Maryland applied to probation revocation proceedings. The State appealed.
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Cases to be Submitted Without Oral Argument | |
Mikell A. Pinckney, Respondent v. State of South Carolina, Petitioner. |
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Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott and Assistant Attorney General Sabrina C. Todd, all of Columbia, for Petitioner. Deputy Chief Attorney Wanda H. Carter, of Columbia, for Respondent. |
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Michael Kurtz, Respondent v. State of South Carolina, Petitioner. |
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Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh and Assistant Attorney General David Spencer, all of Columbia, for Petitioner. Assistant Appellate Defender Robert M. Pachak, of Columbia, for Respondent. Stephen T. Draffin, Code Commissioner, of Columbia, for Amicus Curiae, South Carolina Legislative Council. |
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Kenneth M. Wigfall, Respondent v. State of South Carolina, Petitioner. |
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Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott, all of Columbia, for Petitioner. Assistant Appellate Defender Aileen P. Clare, of Columbia, for Respondent. |