SCJD Appellate Roster

February 2012

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, February 7, 2012
09:30 a.m.	Andrew P. (Andy) Ballard, Respondent, v. Tim Roberson, Rick Thoennes, Rick Thoennes, III and Warpath Development, Inc., Appellants. Joshua L. Howard, of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., of Greenville, for Appellants. Wallace K. Lightsey and Hannah Rogers Metcalf, of Wyche Burgess Freeman & Parham, PA, of Greenville, for Respondent. Tim Roberson, Rick Thoennes, Rick Thoennes III, and Warpath Development, Inc. appeal the circuit court's order requiring them to purchase Andrew Ballard’s Warpath shares at fair market value after finding they had acted in a manner that was illegal, oppressive, or unfairly prejudicial to him under South Carolina Code Section 33-14-300(2)(ii), and also requiring them to place sixty shares of Warpath stock in escrow pursuant to South Carolina Code Section 33-6-210.
10:00 a.m.	The State, Respondent, v. Joey Ellis, Appellant. Appellate Defender Breen Stevens, of South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, of Columbia, for Appellant. John Benjamin Aplin, of South Carolina Department of Probation Parole and Pardon Services, of Columbia, for Respondent. Joey Ellis (Appellant) appeals the circuit court order revoking and terminating his probation. Petitioner argues that the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the probation violation warrant was not issued during the term of his probation.
10:30 a.m.	Arrow Bonding Company, Respondent, v. Jay Edward Warren, Appellant. Tara Dawn Shurling, of Columbia, for Appellant. G. Murrell Smith, Jr., of Lee, Erter, Wilson, James, Holler & Smith, LLC, of Sumter, for Respondent. This is an appeal from an order refusing to set aside a judicial sale.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
09:00 a.m.	Thomas W. Gladden and Vera H. Gladden, Appellants, v. Olivia M. Boykin, Elizabeth Beard, Deborah Appleton, Bob Capes Realty, Inc., Russell & Jeffcoat Realtors, Inc. and Palmetto Home Inspection Services, LLC, Defendants, Of Whom Palmetto Home Inspections Services, LLC is the, Respondent. B. Michael Brackett, of Moses, Koon and Brackett, of Columbia, for Appellants. Joseph Scott McCue and Logan M. Wells, of Collins & Lacy, of Columbia, for Respondent. The buyers of real estate brought this action against a home inspection company for breach of contract, alleging the inspector improperly performed the inspection when he failed to discover and to report water damage, mold and mildew, and other deficiencies existing in the home that adversely affected the home's value and/or habitability. The parties filed cross motions for summary judgment. The circuit court granted summary judgment to the company on the basis a limitation of liability provision in the parties' contract limited the company's liability to the return of the inspection fee. The buyers appeal, arguing the limitation clause is unenforceable because it is unconscionable and against public policy.
09:30 a.m.	Wayne Argabright, Respondent, v. Lisa Argabright, Appellant. Richard T. Jones, of Jones, Seth, Shuler & Killen, LLP, of Sumter, for Appellant. T.H. Davis, of Atkinson & Davis, of Sumter, and Blake Alexander Hewitt and John S. Nichols, of Bluestein, Nichols, Thompson and Delgado, LLC, of Columbia, for Respondent. This is an appeal from the family court's order imposing a restraining order that prohibits contact between a minor child and a convicted sex offender.
10:00 a.m.	South Carolina Department of Revenue, Respondent, v. Blue Moon of Newberry, Inc., d/b/a Blue Moon Sports Bar, Petitioner. Richard J. Breibart, of Lexington, for Petitioner. Harry A. Hancock, of Columbia, for Respondent. The Court granted certiorari to review the opinion of the court of appeals revoking Blue Moon of Newberry’s liquor license. Blue Moon contends the court of appeals (1) erroneously narrowed the definition of “bona fide guest” under Section 7-401.1(K) of the South Carolina Code of Regulations and (2) denied it due process by revoking its license in the absence of admissible evidence showing alcohol was consumed by someone who is not a member or a bona fide guest.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
09:30 a.m.	Connie Carson as Personal Representative of the Estate of Beryl Harvey, Appellant, v. CSX Transportation, Inc., Respondent. John E. Parker, R. Alexander Murdaugh, William F. Barnes, III, and Matthew V. Creech, of Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick, PA, of Hampton, and J. Christopher Wilson, of Wilson, Luginbill & Kirkland, of Bamberg, for Appellant. John C. Millberg, of Millberg Gordon Stewart, of Raleigh, North Carolina, Elizabeth A. McLeod and Mark C. Wilby, of Fulcher Hagler, of Augusta, Georgia and Jonathan P. Harmon, of McGuire Woods, of Richmond, Virginia, for Respondent. In this wrongful death and survival action involving a train collision, Appellant argues the circuit court erroneously excluded certain evidence, erroneously charged the jury, and erroneously allowed an inconsistent verdict in the survival action.
10:00 a.m.	Yelsen Land Company, Inc., Appellant, v. The State of South Carolina and the State Ports Authority, Respondents. Alice Richter Lehrman, of Mount Pleasant, and Donald Bruce Clark, of Charleston, for Appellant. Attorney General Alan Wilson and Assistant Deputy Attorney General J. Emory Smith, Jr., of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, for Respondents. This is an appeal from an order granting respondents summary judgment.
10:30 a.m.	In the Matter of Kenneth Gary Cooper, Respondent. Disciplinary Counsel Lesley M. Coggiola and Senior Assistant Disciplinary Counsel C. Tex Davis, Jr., of Columbia, for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Kenneth Gary Cooper, of Summerville, pro se Respondent. This is an attorney disciplinary case.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
09:30 a.m.	Christopher M. Stogner, Petitioner, v. State of South Carolina, Respondent. Appellate Defender Kathrine H. Hudgins, of South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan Wilson, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott and Assistant Attorney General Kaelon E. May, of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, for Respondent.
10:00 a.m.	Ryan Adams (Deceased), Appellant, v. South Carolina Lighting Protection, Inc. and Travelers Insurance Co., Respondents. William Harold Nixon, Jr., of Charleston, for Appellant. William B. Jung, of Mt. Pleasant and Katie L. Veatch, of Wilson, Jones, Carter & Baxley of Mt. Pleasant, for Respondents.
10:30 a.m.	Robert W. Oskin, Glenn Small, and Freddie Kanos, Appellants, v. Stephen Mark Johnson, Michael Brown, Joan Conner Brown and J. Conner, LLC, Respondents, and State of South Carolina, ex rel. Alan Wilson, Attorney General is, Intervening Party. Mark Andrew Brunty, of Myrtle Beach, and Michael J. Anzelmo, of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, of Columbia, for Appellants. Danny Villacarlos Butler and Henrietta Golding, of McNair Law Firm, of Myrtle Beach, and C. Scott Masel, of Newby, Sartip, Masel & Casper, LLC, of Myrtle Beach, for Respondents.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
09:30 a.m.	The State, Respondent, v. Robert Whitesides, Appellant. Blake A. Hewitt and John S. Nichols, of Bluestein, Nichols, Thompson and Delgado, LLC, of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Alan Wilson, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh and Assistant Attorney General Ashley A. McMahan, of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, for Respondent.
10:00 a.m.	The State, Respondent, v. Benjamin P. Green, Appellant. Deputy Chief Appellate Defender Wanda H. Carter, of South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Alan Wilson, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott and Assistant Attorney General William M. Blitch, Jr., of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, and Solicitor James Strom Thurmond, Jr., of Aiken, or Respondent.
10:30 a.m.	The State, Respondent, v. Chris Anthony Liverman, Petitioner. Chief Appellate Defender Robert M. Dudek, of South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan Wilson, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka and Senior Assistant Attorney General William Edgar Salter, III, of Office of the Attorney General, and Solicitor Daniel E. Johnson, all of Columbia, for Respondent.