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Supreme Court Seal
South Carolina
Judicial Department
Court of Appeals Published Opinions - May 2023

Note: Beginning in June 2012, opinions will be posted as Adobe PDFs. You can download a free copy of Adobe Reader here.

The summary following each opinion is prepared to offer lawyers and the public a general overview of what a particular opinion decides. The summary is not necessarily a full description of the issues discussed in an opinion.


5-3-2023 - Opinions

5984 - In the Matter of the Estate of Chris Combis

George Combis and Chris Combis (collectively, Appellants) appeal the circuit court's order finding them in civil contempt and imposing a joint and several award in the amount of $70,000 to be paid to Desa Ballard, as personal representative of the estate of Chris 'Pop' Combis (the Estate), as compensatory contempt. Appellants argue the circuit court erred in finding them in contempt, imposing a sanction that was criminal in nature, determining the sanction amount based on attorney's fees, failing to narrowly tailor the sanction to the Estate's actual loss or fees attributable to Appellants' contemptuous conduct, imposing a joint and several sanction, and failing to determine Appellants' ability to pay the sanction. We affirm in part, and reverse and remand in part.

5-11-2023 - Opinions

5985 - Buffalo Creek investments, Inc. v. Stephen H. Pettus

In this foreclosure action, Edwin Young and Barrett Maners allege the special referee erred by granting Stephen H. Pettus's and Christopher Gravely's motion to vacate a foreclosure and set aside a judicial sale. We reverse.

5-24-2023 - Opinions

5986 - State v. James E. Daniels, Jr.

In January 2015, two masked men robbed three Horry County convenience stores; the men shot and killed the clerk at one store and an employee at another. James Elbert Daniels, Jr. served as the scout before his masked accomplices entered the stores. Daniels now appeals his convictions for murder and armed robbery, arguing law enforcement elicited his incriminating statements in violation of his constitutional rights. As evidence supports the circuit court's findings that Daniels voluntarily accompanied officers to a police substation and his initial thirty-one minute interview was not custodial, we affirm the convictions.