Chief Justice TOAL. In this declaratory judgment action, the parties appeal the circuit court's order authorizing Storm M.H. ("Student"), who resides in Berkeley County, to enroll in the Academic Magnet High School ("AMHS") located in the Charleston County School District ("CCSD") provided she purchase real property in the CCSD with a tax-assessed value of $300 or more. We affirm the order of the circuit court. FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND AMHS is a countywide, taxpayer-funded school...
PER CURIAM. In this attorney disciplinary matter, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) and respondent have entered into an Agreement for Discipline by Consent (Agreement) pursuant to Rule 21 of the Rules for Lawyer Disciplinary Enforcement (RLDE) contained in Rule 413 of the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules (SCACR). In the Agreement, respondent admits misconduct and consents to the imposition of any suspension greater than one (1) year or disbarment. He requests that any suspension or...
Justice HEARN. India Graves, a six-month-old girl, died while being monitored by one of CAS Medical Systems' products. India's parents, Kareem and Tara Graves, subsequently filed a products liability lawsuit against CAS, contending the monitor was defectively designed and failed to alert them when India's heart rate and breathing slowed. The circuit court granted CAS's motion to exclude all of the Graves' expert witnesses and accordingly granted CAS summary judgment. We affirm as modified....
PER CURIAM. We granted a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in Too Tacky Partnership v. South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, 386 S.C. 32 , 686 S.E.2d 194 (Ct.App.2009). We now dismiss the writ as improvidently granted. DISMISSED AS IMPROVIDENTLY GRANTED. TOAL, C.J., PLEICONES, BEATTY, KITTREDGE, JJ., and Acting Justice JAMES E. MOORE, concur.
THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE. IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR. PER CURIAM. Bryan Phillips was tried and convicted, along with his co-defendant K.C. Langford, III, for armed robbery, kidnapping, first degree burglary, and criminal conspiracy. Langford's convictions are affirmed in a published opinion issued today. State v. Langford, Op. No. 27195 (S.C. Sup. Ct. filed November 21, 2012). This case...
Justice PLEICONES. In this direct appeal, Appellants HealthSouth Corporation (HealthSouth) and the individual named nurse defendants challenge the jury's verdict in a negligence and loss of consortium action. We reverse and remand for a new trial. FACTS Vernon Sulton (Sulton) was rendered paraplegic by gunshot wounds he received as a bystander at an armed robbery. After initial treatment at Richland Memorial Hospital, he was transferred to the HealthSouth Rehab Hospital in Columbia, South...
Justice KITTREDGE. This case returns to us on remand from the United States Supreme Court (USSC) for reconsideration in light of its decision in Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc., ___ U.S. ___, 131 S.Ct. 1131 , 179 L.Ed.2d 75 (2011). In our previous decision, 1 we concluded Appellant's state-law products liability claims against Ford Motor Company were preempted by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ("FMVSS") 205. We reaffirm our previous decision. Appellant filed a products...
Chief Justice TOAL. This Court accepted the petition of Harleysville Mutual Insurance Company (Petitioner) in its Original Jurisdiction to assess constitutional challenges to Act No. 26 of the South Carolina Acts and Joint Resolutions, which regulates coverage provided by commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policies for construction-related work. Act No. 26, 2011 S.C. Acts 88 [hereinafter Act. No. 26]. We hold that the retroactivity clause of Act No. 26 1 violates the Contract...
Chief Justice TOAL. The Savannah Bank, N.A., (Bank) seeks to foreclose on a property owned by Alphonse Stalliard, Appellant. Appellant argues that he should not be held liable for a loan closed by a person acting on his behalf under a power of attorney. Appellant alleges, inter alia, that Bank did not conduct reasonable due diligence and did not verify Appellant's ability to pay. He filed a motion seeking additional time for discovery. The master-in-equity (the master) denied the motion and...
Chief Justice TOAL. In this wrongful death and survival action involving a train collision, Connie Carson (Appellant), as personal representative of the estate of Beryl Harvey, argues the circuit court erroneously excluded certain evidence, charged the jury, and permitted an inconsistent verdict in the survival action. We affirm the circuit court's evidentiary determinations and jury charge, but reverse the circuit court's decision denying Appellant's request for a new trial nisi additur and...
Justice HEARN. Tiffanie Rutland (Tiffanie) was killed when the car in which she was riding rolled over and fell on top of her after she was partially ejected. This case presents the novel issue of whether "pre-impact fear" should be recognized as a cognizable element of damages in a survival action. We granted a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the court of appeals that pre-impact fear is not compensable in this State. Rutland v. S.C. Dep't of Transp., 390 S.C. 78 , 85, 700 S.E....
Justice PLEICONES. Petitioners Savannah Riverkeeper, South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, South Carolina Wildlife Federation, and Conservation Voters of South Carolina (collectively, Conservation Groups) petitioned this Court to hear this matter in our original jurisdiction to determine whether the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) acted illegally and usurped the authority of the Savannah River Maritime Commission (the Commission) when it negotiated an...
THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE. IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR. PER CURIAM. This is a direct appeal from an order of the Administrative Law Court dismissing the appeal from the Department of Corrections' denial of Appellant's inmate grievance based on his failure to comply with the relevant statute of limitations set forth in the Department's internal policy. We affirm pursuant to Rule 220(b)(1), SCACR,...
Justice PLEICONES. This is an appeal from a master's order invalidating a City of Charleston zoning ordinance 1 on the ground it constituted illegal spot zoning. We reverse. 2 FACTS Appellant Library Associates purchased the building located at 404 King Street (404 King) which was formerly the main branch of the Charleston County Public Library. 404 King is bounded by King Street to the west, Tobacco Street to the south, and Hutson Street to the north, and backs to the Old Citadel on the...
Justice HEARN. Holly Broome was sued civilly for hacking Lee Jennings' Yahoo! e-mail account. The circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of Broome on all claims, including violation of the federal Stored Communications Act (SCA), 18 U.S.C. 2701-12. The court of appeals reversed, finding that the e-mails she obtained from hacking Jennings' account were in electronic storage and thus covered by the SCA. We reverse. FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The computer hacking at issue here...
Justice HEARN. Atlantic Coast Builders and Contractors, LLC brought an action against its landlord, Laura Lewis, for negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and breach of contract. Atlantic also sought a return of the security deposit it paid pursuant to its lease with Lewis. The master-in-equity entered judgment in favor of Atlantic, and the court of appeals affirmed. Atlantic Coast Builders & Contractors, LLC v. Lewis, Op. No. 2009-UP-042 (S.C. Ct.App. filed Jan. 15, 2009). We...
Acting Chief Justice PLEICONES. Carolina Park Associates, LLC, lost its interest in a parcel of real property through foreclosure. At the foreclosure sale, an affiliate of one of Carolina Park Associates' members purchased the property. Appellant Republic-Charleston, the managing member of Carolina Park Associates, contends that the circuit court erred when it dismissed claims seeking to impose a constructive trust in the property and when it cancelled a lis pendens filed by Appellants. 1...
Chief Justice TOAL. Appellant/Respondent and Respondents/Appellants appeal an order of the circuit court concerning the candidacy of Respondent/Appellant Paul Thurmond for Senate District 41. The circuit court found Thurmond was not exempt from the filing requirement of section 8-13-1356(B) of the South Carolina Code. S.C.Code Ann. 8-13-1356(B) (Supp.2011). Thus, Thurmond was disqualified as the Republican nominee for the District 41 seat. The judge, therefore, ordered the Republican Party...
Justice KITTREDGE. We certified the following question from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina: In the case of a partial failure of title which is covered by an owner's title insurance policy, where the title defect cannot be removed, should the actual loss suffered by the insured as a result of that partial failure of title be measured by the diminution in value of the insured property as a result of the title defect as of the date of the purchase of the...
JUSTICE HEARN. India Graves, a six-month-old girl, died while being monitored by one of CAS Medical Systems' products. India's parents, Kareem and Tara Graves, subsequently filed a products liability lawsuit against CAS, contending the monitor was defectively designed and failed to alert them when India's heart rate and breathing slowed. The circuit court granted CAS's motion to exclude all of the Graves' expert witnesses and accordingly granted CAS summary judgment. We affirm as modified....
