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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, March 2, 2021
WebEx
 10:00 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2019-001815   The State, Respondent, v. William D. Lewis, Appellant.

C. Rauch Wise, of Greenwood, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan Wilson, Senior Assistant Attorney General Mark R. Farthing, both of Columbia and Solicitor Kevin S. Brackett, of York, for Respondent.

In this direct appeal, the Court will consider whether Section 8-1-80 of the South Carolina Code of Laws is unconstitutionally vague and whether the trial court erred in denying both Appellant's motion to quash an indictment and Appellant's motion for a directed verdict.

 11:20 a.m. (Time Limits: 20-20-5)  
2020-000050   South Carolina Lottery Commission, Respondent, v. George S. Glassmeyer, Petitioner.

Andrew S. Radeker and Taylor M. Smith IV, both of Harrison, Radeker & Smith, P.A., of Columbia, for Petitioner. Karl S. Bowers, Jr., of Bowers Law Office, LLC, of Columbia and Vordman Carlisle Traywick, III of Robinson Gray Stepp & Laffitte, LLC, of Columbia, for Respondent.

The Court granted a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in S.C. Lottery Comm'n v. Glassmeyer, 428 S.C. 423, 835 S.E.2d 524 (Ct. App. 2019). The Court will determine whether lottery claimants' names, addresses, and phone numbers requested through the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act are exempt from disclosure as an unreasonable invasion of privacy under subsection 30-4-40(a)(2) of the South Carolina Code (Supp. 2020).

Wednesday, March 3, 2021
WebEx
 10:00 a.m. (Time Limits: 20-20-5)  
2020-000334   Faye P. Croft, Personally and as Trustee of the James A. Croft Trust; James A. Croft Trust; William A. Harbeson; Heyward G. Hutson; James Stephen Greene, Jr.; South Carolina Public Interest Foundation; Summerville Preservation Society; and Dorchester County Taxpayers Association, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Petitioners, v. Town of Summerville and Town of Summerville Board of Architectural Review, Respondents.

W. Andrew Gowder, Jr., Austen and Gowder, LLC of Charleston and Michael T. Rose, Michael Rose Law Firm, PC of Summerville for Petitioners. Timothy A. Domin, Clawson and Staubes LLC of Charleston and G. W. Parker, Town Attorney, of Summerville for Respondents. Jay Bender of Baker, Ravenel and Bender, LLP of Columbia as Amicus Curiae South Carolina Press Association.

The Court granted a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in Croft v. Town of Summerville, 428 S.C. 576, 837 S.E.2d 219 (Ct. App. 2019). The Court will determine whether the Town of Summerville Board of Architectural Review's conduct leading up to its approval of a development project violated the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act and other open meetings laws.

 11:20 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2020-000329   John Willie Mack, Sr., Petitioner, v. State of South Carolina, Respondent.

Appellate Defender Jessica M. Saxon, of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan Wilson and Assistant Attorney General Chelsea F. Marto, both of Columbia, for Respondent.

We granted John Willie Mack, Sr.'s petition for a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in Mack v. State, Op. No. 2019-UP-386 (S.C. Ct. App. filed Dec. 18, 2019), which affirmed the PCR court's dismissal of Mack's second PCR application alleging counsel failed to timely appeal the denial of his application for DNA testing under the Access to Justice Post-Conviction DNA Testing Act, S.C. Code Ann. ยงยง 17-28-10 to -120 (2014).

Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Supreme Court Courtroom
 10:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2020-000266   In Re: Application of Carolina Water Service, Inc., (n/k/a Blue Granite Water Company) for Approval of an Increase in its Rates for Water and Sewer Services, Appellant.

Frank R. Ellerbe, III and Samuel J. Welborn, both of Robinson Gray Stepp & Laffitte, LLC, of Columbia, for Appellant. Jeffrey M. Nelson, Andrew M. Bateman, Steven W. Hamm and Christopher M. Huber, all of South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff, of Columbia, Laura P. Valtorta, of Valtorta Law Office, of Columbia and L. Becky Dover and Carrie Grube-Lybarker, both of South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, for Respondents. James S. Knowlton, of Fort Mill, Pro se Intervenor. Catherine M. Wannamaker, of Southern Environmental Law Center, of Charleston, for Amicus Curiae Congaree Riverkeeper, Inc.

This direct appeal involves a challenge to the decision of the Public Service Commission to deny Carolina Water Service, Inc. (CWS) the ability to pass along to consumers its litigation costs in a series of cases involving CWS's alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act.

 11:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 20-20-10)  
2019-000074   South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, Appellant, v. South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, KDP, II, LLC, and KRA Development, LP, Respondents.

Amy Elizabeth Armstrong, of South Carolina Environmental Law Project, of Pawleys Island, for Appellant. Bradley D. Churdar, of South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, of Charleston, G. Trenholm Walker and Thomas P. Gressette, Jr., both of Walker Gressette Freeman & Linton, LLC, of Charleston, for Respondents.

In this appeal from the Administrative Law Court, we consider South Carolina Coastal Conservation League's challenge to South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control's approval of permits for KDP II, LLC and KRA Development, LP's construction of infrastructure along the banks of the Kiawah River at Captain Sam's Spit.

Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Supreme Court Courtroom
 10:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 20-20-5)  
2020-001285   Miriam Butler and Evelyn Stewart, in her capacity as personal representative of Joseph Stewart and individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. The Travelers Home and Marine Insurance Company, and The Standard Fire Insurance Company, Defendants.

David E. Massey and Summer C. Tompkins, of Law Offices of David E. Massey Trial Lawyers, of Columbia; J. Brandon McWherter, of McWherter Scott Bobbitt PLC, of Franklin, TN; Erik D. Peterson, of Mehf, Fairbanks & Peterson Trial Lawyers, PLLC, of Lexington, KY; and T. Joseph Snodgrass, of Larson King, LLP, of St. Paul, MN for plaintiffs. William P. Davis, of Baker, Ravenel & Bender, LLP, of Columbia and Stephen E. Goldman and Wystan M. Ackerman, both of Robinson & Cole LLP, of Hartford, CT for Defendants. Reynolds H. Blankenship, Jr., of Yarborough Applegate LLC of Charleston and Christopher E. Roberts, of Butsch Roberts & Associates LLC, of St. Louis, MS for amicus curiae United Policyholders.

The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina certified, and this Court accepted, the following question, "When a homeowners' insurance policy does not define the term 'actual cash value,' may an insurer depreciate the cost of labor in determining the 'actual cash value' of a covered loss when the estimated cost to repair or replace the damaged property includes both materials and embedded labor components?"

 11:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 20-20-5)  
2020-000024   The State, Petitioner, v. Ontario Stefon Patrick Makins, Respondent.

Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Senior Assistant Attorney General David A. Spencer, both of Columbia and Solicitor William Walter Wilkins III, of Greenville, for Petitioner. Appellate Defender Taylor Davis Gilliam, of Columbia, for Respondent.

Ontario Stefon Patrick Makins was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. The court of appeals reversed his conviction, holding the child's therapist's testimony as an expert in child sexual abuse trauma and as a fact witness regarding the child's abuse improperly bolstered the child's testimony. State v. Makins, 428 S.C. 440, 835 S.E.2d 532 (Ct. App. 2019). This Court granted the State a writ of certiorari to review this holding.

 

Cases to be Submitted Without Oral Argument

David C. Deen, Petitioner, v. Deborah B. Deen, Respondent.

Scarlet B. Moore of Greenville for Petitioner. Deborah B. Deen of Summerville, pro se Respondent.