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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 28, 2023
9:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)
2021-001339 Phillip Francis Luke Hughes, on behalf of the Estate of Jane K. Hughes, Petitioner, v. Bank of America National Association, Respondent.
Bradley Davis Hewett and D. Michael Kelly, of Mike Kelly Law Group, LLC; and Jamie Nicole Smith, of South Carolina Human Affairs Commission, all of Columbia, for Petitioner. Robert A. Muckenfuss, of Charlotte, NC; Elizabeth Marion Zwickert Timmermans and Jonathan Y. Ellis, of Raleigh, NC; and Kathryn M. Barber, of Richmond, VA, all of McGuire Woods, LLP, for Respondent.
This Court granted Phillip Hughes's petition for a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in Hughes v. Bank of America National Association, Op. No. 2021-UP-341 (S.C. Ct. App. filed Sept. 29, 2021). We will address whether civil claims for fraud should survive the death of the victim.
10:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 10-10-5)
2022-000079 Phillip Francis Luke Hughes, on behalf of the Estate of Jane K. Hughes, Petitioner, v. Bank of America National Association, Respondent.
Bradley Davis Hewett and D. Michael Kelly, of Mike Kelly Law Group, LLC; and Jamie Nicole Smith, of South Carolina Human Affairs Commission, all of Columbia, for Petitioner. Robert A. Muckenfuss, of Charlotte, NC and Elizabeth Marion Zwickert Timmermans, of Raleigh, NC, both of McGuire Woods, LLP, for Respondent.
This Court granted Phillip Hughes's petition for a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in Hughes v. Bank of America National Association, Op. No. 2021-UP-354 (S.C. Ct. App. filed Oct. 13, 2021). We will address whether the court of appeals correctly held Bank of America National Association's motion for sanctions was timely.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
09:30 a.m. 2021-001042 Hicks Unlimited, Inc., Petitioner, v. UniFirst Corporation, A Massachusetts Corporation, Respondent.
James S. Eakes, of Allen & Eakes, and David James Brousseau, of McIntosh, Sherard, Sullivan & Brousseau, both of Anderson, for Petitioners. Ian Douglas McVey, of Turner Padget Graham & Laney, P.A., of Columbia; and Jude C. Cooper, of Becker & Poliakoff, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, for Respondents.
10:30 a.m. 2021-000233 Paul Branco and Branco Investments, Inc., d/b/a Great American Cookie Co., Petitioners, v. Hull Storey Retail Group, LLC and Sumter Mall, LLC, Respondents.
John S. Simmons, of Simmons Law Firm, LLC, of Columbia; and Patrick McFadden Killen, of Sumter, for Petitioners. Miles Edward Coleman, of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, of Greenville; and John M. Markwalter, of Hull Property Group, LLC, of Augusta, GA, for Respondents.
We granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the court of appeals in Branco v. Hull Storey Retail Group, LLC, 2021-UP-009 (S.C. Ct. App. filed Jan. 13, 2021), which reversed the trial court's judgment for Petitioners on their claim against Respondents for tortious interference with a contract.
Thursday, March 30, 2023
09:30 a.m. 2022-000463 Daufuskie Island Utility Company, Inc., Appellant, v. South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff, Haig Point Club and Community Association, Inc., Melrose Property Owner's Association, Inc., Blood Point Property Owner's Association, and Beach Field Properties, LLC, Respondents.
Thomas P. Gressette, Jr. and George Trenholm Walker, of Walker Gressette & Linton, LLC, of Charleston, for Appellant. John Julius Pringle, Jr. and Lyndey R. Z. Bryant, of Adams and Reese, LLP, of Columbia, for Respondents Haig Point Club and Community Association. Andrew McClendon Bateman, Benjamin Parker Mustian and Steven W. Hamm, of Columbia, for Respondent South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff.
In this direct appeal, appellant Daufuskie Island Utility Co. (DIUC) appeals an order from the Public Service Commission denying DIUC the ability to charge its customers a "reparations surcharge rate."
10:30 a.m. 2021-000910 The State, Respondent, v. William C. (Billy) Sellers, Petitioner.
Chief Appellate Defender, Robert Michael Dudek, of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Melody Jane Brown, and Senior Assistant Attorney General J. Anthony Mabry, of Columbia; and Solicitor Samuel R. Hubbard, III, of Lexington, all for Respondent.
Tuesday, April 18, 2023
9:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)
2019-000529 Abdiyyah Ben Alkebulanyahh, aka Tyree Roberts, Petitioner, v. State of South Carolina, Respondent.
Lindsey Sterling Vann, Emily C. Paavola and Allison Ann Franz, of Justice 360, all of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Melody Jane Brown, and Assistant Attorney General William Joseph Maye, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Isaac McDuffie Stone, III, of Bluffton, for Respondent.
The Court granted a writ of certiorari to review the post-conviction relief (PCR) court's decision regarding what procedures are required by the Court's prior decision in Robertson v. State, 418 S.C. 505, 795 S.E.2d 29 (2016) (permitting successive PCR applications when PCR counsel is not statutorily qualified under the South Carolina Effective Death Penalty Act).
10:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)
2021-000625 Road, LLC and Pinckney Point, LLC, Plaintiffs, of which Road, LLC is the Petitioner, v. Beaufort County, a political subdivision of the State of South Carolina, Respondent.
George Trenholm Walker and John Phillips Linton, Jr., both of Walker, Gressette & Linton, LLC, of Charleston, for Petitioner. C. Mitchell Brown, Allen Mattison Bogan, Nicholas Andrew Charles, all of Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough, LLP, of Columbia; and Robert W. Achurch, III, and Mary Bass Lohr, both of Howell, Gibson & Hughes, P.A., of Beaufort, for Respondent.
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
9:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)
2021-001043 The State, Respondent, v. General T. Little, Petitioner.
Vordman Carlisle Traywick, III, of Robinson Gray Stepp & Laffitte, LLC, and Chief Appellate Defender Robert Michael Dudek, both of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Melody Jane Brown and Assistant Attorney General Tommy Evans, Jr., all of Columbia; and Solicitor Scarlett Anne Wilson, of Charleston, all for Respondent.
We granted Little's petition for a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in State v. Little, Op. No. 2021-UP-196 (S.C. Ct. App. filed July 21, 2021). We will determine whether the trial court erred in (1) denying Little's motion to suppress, (2) denying Little's motion for a mistrial, and (3) admitting testimony from the State's footwear expert.
10:30 a.m. 2021-001520 Jeffrey Lance Cruce, Petitioner, v. Berkeley County School District, Respondent.
Nancy Bloodgood and Lucy Clark Sanders, of Bloodgood & Sanders, LLC, of Mt. Pleasant, for Petitioner. Andrew F. Lindemann, of Lindemann & Davis, P.A.; Richard J. Morgan, of Burr & Forman, LLP, both of Columbia; and E. Brandon Gaskins, of Moore & Van Allen, PLLC, of Charleston, all for Respondent.
Thursday, April 20, 2023
9:30 a.m. 2021-000947 The State, Petitioner, v. John Ernest Perry, Jr., Respondent.
Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson and Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General William M. Blitch, Jr., both of Columbia; and Solicitor Kevin Scott Brackett, of York, for Petitioner. Chief Appellate Defender Robert Michael Dudek, of Columbia, for Respondent.
10:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 10-10-5) 2021-001246 The State, Petitioner-Respondent, v. Charles Dent, Respondent-Petitioner.
Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General William M. Blitch, Jr. and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Scott Matthews, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Isaac McDuffie Stone, III, of Bluffton, for Petitioner-Respondent. E. Charles Grose, Jr, of The Grose Law Firm, of Greenwood, for Respondent-Petitioner.
The Court granted a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in State v. Dent, 434 S.C. 357, 863 S.E.2d 478 (Ct. App. 2021).