THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Court of Appeals

Lamar W. Dawkins and George W. Chisholm, Appellants,

v.

Richard E. Fields; Louis O. Dore; Margaret W. Lesesne, Personal Representative of the Estate of Theodore Lesesne; Mildred Bobo, Personal Representative of the Estate of William Bobo; Herbert A. DeCosta, Jr.; Juanita J. Washington; Richard N. Whitney; R. M. Stiney, Jr.; James Vickers; Agatha Cooper; Harold Lesesne; DIA-Dick Realty Company; and Seaside Development Corporation, Respondents.

Appeal From Beaufort County
Gerald C. Smoak, Sr., Circuit Court Judge

REVERSED AND REMANDED

Wilmot B. Irvin, of Law Offices of Wilmot B. Irvin, and Blaney A. Coskrey, III, of Law Offices of Blaney A. Coskrey, III, both of Columbia, for appellants.

Steven P. Groves, Sr., Carol B. Ervin and Stephen L. Brown, all of Young, Clement, Rivers & Tisdale, of Charleston, for respondents.

GOOLSBY, J.: Lamar W. Dawkins and George W. Chisholm, shareholders of Seaside Development Corporation (Seaside), filed this action against the corporation's directors and officers and a shareholder corporation, alleging common law breach of fiduciary duty, violation of statutory standards for directors, corporate oppression, and violation of preemptive rights. The trial court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment. Dawkins and Chisholm appeal, arguing the trial court erred in excluding their expert's affidavit, in refusing to treat their verified complaint as an affidavit, in resolving issues of fact, and in granting summary judgment before discovery could be completed. We reverse and remand.

FACTS/PROCEDURAL HISTORY

All of the parties are shareholders of Seaside. The defendants were, at all times relevant to the plaintiffs' allegations, directors of Seaside, with the exception of Seaside itself and DIA-Dick Realty Co., a company owned and controlled by Richard E. Fields. Additionally, three of the defendants were officers of the corporation.

Seaside was established in 1959 for the purpose of acquiring and holding real estate on Hilton Head Island. The company purchased a large tract of land on the island. On January 23, 19