South Carolina Supreme Court Decisions 2015
Date: December 23, 2015
Docket Number: 27598
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents were former South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) agents who retired and were rehired by then SLED Chief Robert Stewart for a period of four years pursuant to a rehire program formulated by Chief…
Date: December 9, 2015
Docket Number: 27596
Justia Opinion Summary: A grand jury indicted Clarence Kendall Cook for murder, unlawful possession of a pistol, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. After a jury trial, Cook was convicted of voluntary…
Date: December 2, 2015
Docket Number: 27593
Justia Opinion Summary: Diane and Otis Bass had three children: Brittany, Hanna, and Alex. All three children were special needs, but Hanna and Alex were also autistic. Otis worked outside the home, and Diane cared for the children. Due to…
Date: December 2, 2015
Docket Number: 27594
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the packaging and labeling of sodium bromate, a chemical which contributed to a fire that occurred in a plant owned by Engelhard Corporation in June 2004. At the time of the fire, Scott Lawing…
Date: November 4, 2015
Docket Number: 27585
Justia Opinion Summary: This action arose out of the foreclosure of a lien for delinquent homeowner association fees. Todd Alexander did not appeal the foreclosure; however, he moved to vacate the resulting sale. Alexander's motion to vacate…
Date: November 4, 2015
Docket Number: 27586
Justia Opinion Summary: Julie Freeman, individually and on behalf of over five-thousand similarly situated car buyers, filed a lawsuit against J.L.H. Investments, LP, a/k/a Hendrick Honda of Easley ("Hendrick"), seeking damages under the South…
Date: November 4, 2015
Docket Number: 27587
Justia Opinion Summary: This negligence action arose out of a collision involving a train and an automobile at a railroad crossing. Petitioner Willie Stephens, as Guardian ad Litem for his minor granddaughter who suffered a traumatic brain…
Date: October 28, 2015
Docket Number: 27583
Justia Opinion Summary: In this familial dispute over property, it was uncontradicted that the decedent Kenneth Walker deeded to his sister, Catherine Brooks, approximately forty acres of property in two separate transfers before his death. The…
Date: October 7, 2015
Docket Number: 27579
Justia Opinion Summary: This case went before the South Carolina Supreme Court on cross-appeals from Whitney Moore (Wife) and Arthur Moore, III, (Husband) of an order of the family court valuing and dividing the parties' closely held business,…
Date: October 7, 2015
Docket Number: 27580
Justia Opinion Summary: Lauren Proctor and Trans-Union National Title Insurance Company brought this action against Whitlark & Whitlark, Inc., d/b/a Rockaways Athletic Club ("Rockaways") and Pizza Man, Forrest Whitlark, Paul Whitlark, Charlie…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 27575
Justia Opinion Summary: This products liability action arose following the death of Benjamin Riley, who was killed in a motor vehicle accident involving a negligently designed door-latch system in his 1998 Ford F-150 pickup truck. Petitioner…
Date: September 30, 2015
Docket Number: 27576
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Deerfield Plantation Phase II B Property Homeowners Association appealed an Administrative Law Court's (ALC) decision affirming Respondent South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control's (DHEC)…
Date: September 9, 2015
Docket Number: 27571
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Antonio Scott was convicted of murder. He argued on appeal of that conviction that the appellate court erred in finding that the evidence did not support a jury instruction on involuntary manslaughter. The…
Date: September 9, 2015
Docket Number: 27572
Justia Opinion Summary: Stokes-Craven Holding Corporation d/b/a Stokes-Craven Ford ("Stokes-Craven") appealed a circuit court order granting summary judgment in favor of Scott Robinson and his law firm, Johnson, McKenzie & Robinson, L.L.C.,…
Date: September 9, 2015
Docket Number: 27573
Justia Opinion Summary: For more than a decade, the City of Columbia has been allocating substantial amounts of revenue generated from user fees for water and sewer services to its General Fund and for economic development purposes. Appellants…
Date: September 2, 2015
Docket Number: 27568
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael Cunningham was terminated from his position as the county administrator for Anderson County. Cunningham brought this action alleging breach of contract, wrongful discharge, and violation of the Payment of Wages…
Date: September 2, 2015
Docket Number: 27569
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Shawn Reaves was convicted of voluntary manslaughter after the shooting death of Keshawn Applewhite. He argued on appeal that deficiencies in the police investigation (including the loss of potentially…
Date: August 26, 2015
Docket Number: 27567
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Frank Pedery argued the court of appeals erred in affirming the family court's termination of Respondent Bonnie McKinney's alimony obligation to him and the family court's failure to award Pedery attorney's…
Date: August 19, 2015
Docket Number: 27565
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, respondent Brittany Johnson was arrested in Darlington County by United States Marshals for the shooting death of Monica Burroughs. At trial, the State sought to introduce a videotaped recording of the police's…
Date: August 12, 2015
Docket Number: 27561
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Kristy Orlowski, who was twenty-two years old and thirty-six weeks pregnant, was found unresponsive in her home by a family member. Less than twenty-four hours earlier, Orlowski had been seen by her prenatal…
Date: August 12, 2015
Docket Number: 27562
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent and his wife (collectively, the Larmands) owned a branch of "Pop-A-Lock," a national locksmith franchise company. Ryan Lochbaum worked at the Larmands' branch of Pop-A-Lock for several years until he was…
Date: August 12, 2015
Docket Number: 27563
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Columbia Venture, LLC, purchased approximately 4500 acres of land along the eastern bank of the Congaree River in Richland County, intending to develop the property. Columbia Venture knew at the time of the…
Date: August 5, 2015
Docket Number: 27554
Justia Opinion Summary: In October 2011, respondent Cody Gordon was stopped at a license and registration checkpoint by a South Carolina Highway Patrol Officer. The officer administered several field sobriety tests. The test at issue in this…
Date: August 5, 2015
Docket Number: 27555
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Marie Borchers purchased the home at the heart of this controversy from Cammie Strawn. Cammie acquired the home, by deed, from her then-husband, Richard Strawn. Richard Strawn had previously given a mortgage to…
Date: August 5, 2015
Docket Number: 27556
Justia Opinion Summary: Latoya Brown purchased a Mazda 6 from Dick Smith Nissan, Inc. through the dealer's salesman, Robert Hiller. The purchase was contingent on acquiring third-party financing. Due to continuing and unresolved issues with…
Date: August 5, 2015
Docket Number: 27557
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent AVX Corporation manufactured electronic parts at a plant in North Myrtle Beach. In 1980, respondent began using a chemical called trichloroethylene (TCE) as a degreaser to clean machine tools and parts. At…
Date: August 5, 2015
Docket Number: 27558
Justia Opinion Summary: The minor lived with Appellant and her mother for approximately six years from the time she was five years old until she was eleven. Appellant and the child had a close relationship, even as her mother's and Appellant's…
Date: July 29, 2015
Docket Number: 27545
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed the court of appeals' decision to reverse respondent Christopher Broadnax's convictions for armed robbery and kidnapping, and remanding for a new trial. During his testimony, respondent denied any…
Date: July 29, 2015
Docket Number: 27552
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners Julia Gorman and Robert Palmer were tried jointly for the death of Gorman's seventeen month-old grandson. Palmer and Gorman, who lived together but were not married, were each convicted of homicide by child…
Date: July 29, 2015
Docket Number: 27553
Justia Opinion Summary: Amber Johnson filed suit against her closing attorney, Stanley Alexander, arguing he breached his duty of care by failing to discover the house Johnson purchased had been sold at a tax sale the previous year. The trial…
Date: July 22, 2015
Docket Number: 27548
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, formerly the part-time Chief Magistrate of Newberry County, brought this action in the South Carolina Supreme Court's original jurisdiction to determine whether defendants Newberry County and Wayne Adams,…
Date: July 15, 2015
Docket Number: 27547
Justia Opinion Summary: Georgia citizen George Skipper was involved in a motor vehicle accident with a logging truck that was driven by Harold Moors and owned by Specialty Logging, LLC. Specialty had a commercial automobile insurance policy…
Date: July 8, 2015
Docket Number: 27545
Justia Opinion Summary: The State of South Carolina appealed the Court of Appeals' decision reversing respondent Christopher Broadnax's convictions for armed robbery and kidnapping, and remanding for a new trial. The State argued: (1) the…
Date: July 8, 2015
Docket Number: 27546
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Rushan Counts was convicted of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, third offense. On appeal, he argued the circuit court judge erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence that was found at his…
Date: July 1, 2015
Docket Number: 27537
Justia Opinion Summary: During her commute to work, H.M., the victim, frequently passed by a local grocery store and casually greeted the people loitering outside, many of whom lived in the area and often gathered there. Although the victim did…
Date: July 1, 2015
Docket Number: 27538
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Steven Barnes' first capital conviction and sentence were reversed on appeal because he was denied his constitutional right to represent himself at trial. In that first case, the South Carolina Supreme Court…
Date: July 1, 2015
Docket Number: 27541
Justia Opinion Summary: A witness observed a vehicle being driven erratically on I-385 and ultimately wrecking. Police responded to the wreck and organized a search after learning from a witness that the driver had fled the scene. Officers were…
Date: July 1, 2015
Docket Number: 27543
Justia Opinion Summary: Christopher Taft was found to be a sexually violent predator and was committed to the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. He now argues the trial court should have granted his motion for directed verdict because…
Date: June 17, 2015
Docket Number: 27530
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue before the Supreme Court in this case was a circuit court's order upholding the validity of an ordinance amending respondent City of North Augusta's 1996 Tax Increment Financing District (TIF) ordinance, and a…
Date: June 17, 2015
Docket Number: 27531
Justia Opinion Summary: In exchange for the State's promise not to seek the death penalty on three charges of murder, Anthony Sanders consented to a bench trial and waived his right to any appellate, post-conviction, or habeas corpus review. He…
Date: June 17, 2015
Docket Number: 27532
Justia Opinion Summary: Lawrence and Evelyn Morrow filed a lawsuit against THI of South Carolina at Magnolia Place at Spartanburg, LLC (Magnolia Place) alleging personal injuries to Lawrence as a resident. The Morrows alleged that due to…
Date: June 10, 2015
Docket Number: 27510
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Richard Niles, Jr. was convicted of murder, armed robbery, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Respondent, his girlfriend and Ervin Moore met the victim, James Salter, in a…
Date: June 10, 2015
Docket Number: 27528
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from the death of Martin Gasque after a 2010 University of South Carolina football game against the University of Alabama. Both Appellant Curtis Simms and the victim tailgated near the stadium during the…
Date: May 27, 2015
Docket Number: 27525
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner-respondent Roger Bruce was convicted of murder for the death of his girlfriend Laura Creel. Police performed a welfare check on the home Bruce and Creel shared. Bruce allowed the officers inside. Finding…
Date: May 13, 2015
Docket Number: 27522
Justia Opinion Summary: Charleston Auto Auction (Charleston Auto) is a wholesale auctioneer of automobiles. In 2008, an automobile dealer, A3 Auto Center (A3), sought to purchase three automobiles from other car dealerships (Sellers) and use…
Date: May 6, 2015
Docket Number: 27520
Justia Opinion Summary: W. H. Bundy, Jr. sought a determination of whether Bobby Brent Shirley established a prescriptive easement over a road on rural property owned by Bundy. The special referee found Shirley was entitled to the easement. The…
Date: April 29, 2015
Docket Number: 27519
Justia Opinion Summary: Gregory Collins worked for West Expedited & Delivery Service, Incorporated, and was killed in an automobile collision while returning to South Carolina after making a delivery in Wisconsin for Seko Charlotte. West…
Date: April 22, 2015
Docket Number: 27515
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Derrick McDonald and two codefendants were convicted of murder and first-degree burglary. The court of appeals affirmed, rejecting McDonald's argument that his Confrontation Clause rights were violated when…
Date: April 22, 2015
Docket Number: 27516
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Ricky Rhame filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits. The single commissioner found the claim compensable. Respondent Charleston County School District sought review, and the matter was heard by an…
Date: April 22, 2015
Docket Number: 27517
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Anthony Odom appealed his conviction for criminal solicitation of a minor. Appellant's conviction stemmed from a series of internet chat sessions with an undercover Westminster, South Carolina, city police…
Date: April 15, 2015
Docket Number: 27514
Justia Opinion Summary: In a joint trial, petitioner Kenneth Workman and codefendant Oshawn Robinson were convicted of assault and battery, conspiracy, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, and armed robbery. After…
Date: March 25, 2015
Docket Number: 27510
Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from the shooting death of James Salter (the victim) in a Best Buy parking lot in Myrtle Beach. It was undisputed that defendant Richard Niles, Jr., his fiancé, Mokeia Hammond, and Ervin Moore met the…
Date: March 18, 2015
Docket Number: 27507
Justia Opinion Summary: In January 1994, Respondent purchased two parcels of property located on Folly Island, South Carolina: 806 East Cooper Avenue, and Tract D. These lots were previously a contiguous tract of high ground property in which…
Date: March 18, 2015
Docket Number: 27509
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner LeAndra Lewis was injured by an errant bullet at Studio 54 Boom Boom Room while she was working as an exotic dancer. The question this case presented for the Supreme Court's review was whether she was an…
Date: March 4, 2015
Docket Number: 27504
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Jeffrey Allen, on behalf of his daughter, appealed the Administrative Law Court's (ALC) order affirming the Appeals Committee of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board Employee Insurance Program's (EIP…
Date: February 25, 2015
Docket Number: 27499
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent David DeCarlis was the sole member of respondent Buncombe Professional Park, L.L.C., which owned an undeveloped parcel of land. In 2007, DeCarlis, as Buncombe's representative, executed a note and mortgage…
Date: February 25, 2015
Docket Number: 27502
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Janssen) manufactured the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. The Attorney General of South Carolina believed that Janssen had violated the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices…
Date: February 11, 2015
Docket Number: 27497
Justia Opinion Summary: Mark Baker was convicted of four counts of committing a lewd act upon a minor. In October 2004, Victim Two, Baker's youngest niece, informed her mother that "Uncle Mark was messing with" her older sister, Victim One. At…
Date: February 4, 2015
Docket Number: 27491
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant George Chavis was convicted of multiple crimes involving unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, Appellant's step-daughter. The issues this case presented for the Supreme Court's review concerned the…
Date: January 28, 2015
Docket Number: 27485
Justia Opinion Summary: The federal district court certified a question of South Carolina law to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Behrooz Taghivand was the manager of a Rite Aid store in a high crime area of North Charleston. While on duty,…
Date: January 28, 2015
Docket Number: 27486
Justia Opinion Summary: BADD, L.L.C. purchased three warehouse units in Myrtle Beach. To finance the transaction, BADD executed two promissory notes. A personal guaranty was also executed by William McKown, who was a member of BADD. After BADD…
Date: January 28, 2015
Docket Number: 27487
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Jaquwn Brewer was convicted of multiple charges in connection with the shooting of two individuals at a nightclub. The issue on appeal to the Supreme Court concerned the admission of Brewer's unredacted…
Date: January 28, 2015
Docket Number: 27488
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Kenneth Morris, II appealed the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress ecstasy and marijuana discovered during a traffic stop, arguing they were obtained as the fruits of an illegal search and seizure…
Date: January 28, 2015
Docket Number: 27490
Justia Opinion Summary: In late 2008, Cynthia McNaughton, who was in her early to mid 50's at the time, was accepted into the South Carolina Department of Education's Program of Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE program), which…
Date: January 21, 2015
Docket Number: 27484
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, Dr. Michael Hayes and Dr. Michael Taillon were working as emergency room physicians at Providence Hospital, presumably as independent contractors. Arthur Sharpe came to the Providence Hospital emergency room…
Date: January 14, 2015
Docket Number: 27477
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Charvus Nesbitt appealed a circuit court judgment finding that he entered a knowing and voluntary "Alford" plea to three of four charges listed in a negotiated plea agreement. On appeal, he argued that his plea…
Date: January 14, 2015
Docket Number: 27478
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant-petitioner Carolyn Nicholson, a supervisor in the investigations area of child protective services for the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS), was on her way to a meeting when her foot caught on…
Date: January 14, 2015
Docket Number: 27479
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee-petitioner Judy Barnes was employed as an administrative assistant at Charter 1 Realty. On the day of her injury, Barnes was asked to check the e-mail of one of the realtors before noon. Around 11:30 a.m.,…
Date: January 7, 2015
Docket Number: 27475
Justia Opinion Summary: North American Rescue Products, Inc. (NARP) brought a declaratory judgment action to determine whether P. J. Richardson had the right to purchase 7.5% of NARP's stock at a discount despite the fact that he had been…
Date: January 7, 2015
Docket Number: 27476
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, respondent Alonzo Hawes shot and killed his estranged wife in the presence of their children. Following a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter, the trial court granted Hawes's section 16-25-90 motion for…
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
