Chief Justice TOAL . Both CarMax Auto Superstores West Coast, Inc., (CarMax West) and the South Carolina Department of Revenue (the Department) appeal the court of appeals' decision, reversing and remanding the decision of the Administrative Law Court (ALC) upholding the Department's use of an alternative apportionment formula to calculate CarMax West's income tax for tax years 20022007. We affirm as modified in an opinion which resolves all matters with finality and decline to remand at...
PER CURIAM . We granted a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' opinion in State v. Fripp, 397 S.C. 455 , 725 S.E.2d 136 (Ct.App.2012). We now dismiss the writ of certiorari as improvidently granted and further direct the Court of Appeals to depublish its opinion and assign the matter an unpublished opinion number. The above opinion shall no longer have any precedential effect. DISMISSED AS IMPROVIDENTLY GRANTED. TOAL, C.J., PLEICONES, BEATTY, KITTREDGE and HEARN, JJ.,...
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. Petitioner seeks a writ of certiorari from the denial of her application for post-conviction relief (PCR). Because there is sufficient evidence to support the PCR judge's finding that petitioner did not knowingly and intelligently waive her right to a direct appeal, we grant certiorari on this issue, deny certiorari on petitioner'...
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. JUSTICE HEARN. Following a bench trial, the court sua sponte dismissed the plaintiff's case based on the unauthorized practice of law. The question before us is whether the filing of a summons and complaint by a corporation's president—a nonlawyer—renders the complaint a nullity or is an amendable defect. We determine it is the latter and...
Justice BEATTY : After prevailing in a condemnation action, landowners ("Petitioners") moved for an award of attorneys' fees pursuant to section 28-2-510(B)(1) of the Eminent Domain Procedure Act (the "Act"). 1 Contrary to Petitioners' view, the circuit court determined attorneys' fees should be awarded based on an hourly rate via a lodestar calculation 2 rather than the contingency fee agreement between Petitioners and their attorney. The Court of Appeals affirmed. S.C. Dep't of...
Justice HEARN : Our State's tidelands are a precious public resource held in trust for the people of South Carolina. While the tidelands are a finite resource, a bevy of competing environmental, economic, and social uses seek to lay claim to them. The legislative branch has made the policy decisions as to how those uses should be balanced in order to maximize the benefit to the people of South Carolina and enacted statutes and delegated to executive agencies the power to promulgate...
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. JUSTICE HEARN: Following a bench trial, the court sua sponte dismissed the plaintiff's case based on the unauthorized practice of law. The question before us is whether the filing of a summons and complaint by a corporation's president—a nonlawyer—renders the complaint a nullity or is an amendable defect. We determine it is the latter and...
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. We granted a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in Taylor v. Converse College, Op. No. 2012-UP-601 (S.C. Ct. App. Nov. 7, 2012). We now dismiss the writ as improvidently granted. DISMISSED AS IMPROVIDENTLY GRANTED PLEICONES, Acting Chief Justice, BEATTY, HEARN, JJ., and Acting Justices James E. Moore...
Justice HEARN . In this case brought in our original jurisdiction, fifteen inmates who were sentenced to life without parole as juveniles petition this Court for resentencing in light of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Miller v. Alabama, ___ U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 2455 , 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012). 1 We hold their sentences violate the Eighth Amendment under Miller and the petitioners and those similarly situated are entitled to resentencing. FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND...
Justice KITTREDGE . This direct appeal from the Administrative Law Court (ALC) presents a threshold procedural challenge to appealability and substantively, to the awarding of unemployment benefits to an employee terminated for failing a drug test administered by a laboratory that was not properly certified. Because this appeal arises from a final resolution of all issues, we find the matter is appealable. We affirm the ALC. I. The facts are straightforward. Respondent Kimberly Legette...
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. Howard Hammer and 1634 Main, LP (collectively, Appellants) appeal the order of the master-in-equity transferring various properties to Shirley Hammer in satisfaction of the judgments she has against Appellants. Specifically, Appellants argue the master lacked personal jurisdiction due to improper service and lacked the authority to...
Justice BEATTY . Erika Fabian (Appellant) brought this action for legal malpractice and breach of contract by a third-party beneficiary, alleging attorney Ross M. Lindsay, III and his law firm Lindsay & Lindsay (collectively, Respondents) made a drafting error in preparing a trust instrument for her late uncle and, as a result, she was effectively disinherited. Appellant appeals from a circuit court order dismissing her action under Rule 12(b)(6), SCRCP for failure to state a claim and...
Justice PLEICONES . This appeal concerns the construction and application of the South Carolina Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association Act (the Act), S.C.Code Ann. 38-31-10 to -170 (2002 and Supp.2013), and specifically the exhaustion/nonduplication provision in section 38-31-100(1). Roger Brock (Brock) was a passenger in a car involved in a wreck and sustained severe injuries. Brock settled his claim, but before payment was made, the insurance carrier responsible for the...
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. Affirmed pursuant to Rule 220(b)(1), SCACR, and the following authorities: Longshore v. Saber Sec. Servs., Inc., 365 S.C. 554 , 560, 619 S.E.2d 5 , 9 (Ct. App. 2005) (stating a tort action for damages is an action at law); see also Moseley v. All Things Possible, Inc., 395 S.C. 492 , 495, 719 S.E.2d 656 , 658 (2011) ("In an...
ORDER The petitions for rehearing are denied. This Court does, however, substitute the attached amended majority opinion for the majority opinion previously filed in this matter. The amended opinion deletes the last sentence of the second paragraph on page nine of the original majority opinion. /s/JEAN H. TOAL, C.J. /s/DONALD W. BEATTY, J. /s/JOHN KITTREDGE, J. /s/KAYE G. HEARN, J. I would grant the petitions for rehearing. /s/COSTA M. PLEICONES, J. JUSTICE BEATTY. In this medical...
PER CURIAM . This matter is before the Court by way of a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' decision in D.R. Horton, Inc. v. Wescott Land Co., 398 S.C. 528 , 730 S.E.2d 340 (Ct.App.2012). We deny the petition as to petitioners' questions A and B. We grant the petition as to petitioners' question C, dispense with further briefing, vacate a portion of the Court of Appeals' opinion, and affirm the Court of Appeals' opinion as modified. The trial court...
Justice KITTREDGE. This case is about the efforts of Respondent Carolinian, LLC (Carolinian) to acquire the distributional interest of Bhupendra Patel (Patel), a member of Carolinian, from judgment creditors, Appellants Shaul and Meir Levy (collectively "Levys"), who purchased Patel's distributional interest at a foreclosure sale. The circuit court found that, pursuant to Carolinian's Operating Agreement, Carolinian could compel the Levys to sell their distributional interest after the...
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. JUSTICE PLEICONES. We vacate the Special Referee's order in its entirety because this is an ongoing ecclesiastical dispute which cannot be resolved by neutral principles of law. See Banks v. St. Matthew Baptist Church, 406 S.C. 156 , 161, 750 S.E.2d 605 , 607 (2013) ("so long as a court can hear a case without deciding issues of religious...
Justice PLEICONES. We affirm the circuit court's denial of Appellant Merrill Lynch's motion to dismiss and compel arbitration. Because we find Respondent Robert Malloy's claim is not based on a duty derived from the agreements containing arbitration clauses as asserted by Merrill Lynch, we agree with the circuit court that as a non-signatory Malloy cannot be compelled to arbitrate under these agreements. FACTS This action arises out of a dispute between Malloy and Swain R. Thompson,...
Justice HEARN. At its simplest, this appeal concerns whether a limited liability company (LLC) may be held liable for the actions of a promoter and whether any evidence to support such liability was presented here. We reverse and hold the circuit court erred in denying the directed verdict on the issue of liability because there was no evidence on which a jury could hold the defendant Beechwood Development Group of South Carolina, LLC (Appellant) liable. FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The...
