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South Carolina
Judicial Branch
Supreme Court - Roster of Cases for Hearing

   
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, June 6, 2023
Supreme Court Courtroom
 09:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2022-000003   Vickie Rummage, Employee, Petitioner, v. BGF Industries, Employer, and Great American Alliance Insurance Co., Carrier, Respondents.

Andrew Nathan Safran, of Columbia, for Petitioner. David Alan Wilson, of Wilson & Englebardt, LLC, of Greenville, for Respondents.

The Court has granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the court of appeals in Rummage v. BGF Industries, 434 S.C. 441, 865 S.E.2d 380 (Ct. App. 2021). The petitioner contends the court of appeals erred in affirming an order of the Appellate Panel of the Workers' Compensation Commission denying her claim for benefits based on the aggravation of a preexisting psychological condition.

 10:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2020-000108   The State, Respondent, v. Thomas Charles Felton Jones, Appellant.

Andre Ta Nguyen, Jacob Goldstein, and John Christopher Shipman, all of Greenville, for Appellant. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson and Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Mark Reynolds Farthing, both of Columbia, for Respondent.

In this case, the Court will address challenges to the constitutionality of a Greenville County ordinance pertaining to interfering with law enforcement officers.

Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Supreme Court Courtroom
 09:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 10-10-5)  
2021-001292   Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Trustee for NovaStar Mortgage Funding Trust, Series 2007-1 NovaStar Equity Loan Asset Backed Certificates, Series 2007-1, Respondent, v. The Estate of Patricia Ann Owens Houck; Tammy M. Bailey; South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, Defendants, Of which the Estate of Patricia Ann Owens Houck and Tammy M. Bailey are the Petitioners.

Andrew Sims Radeker, of Harrison Radeker & Smith, P.A., of Columbia, for Petitioners. Jonathan Edward Schulz and George Benjamin Milam, of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP, both of Charlotte, NC, for Respondent.

In this appeal, we review the court of appeals' holding that Respondent's foreclosure claim was a permissive counterclaim and, therefore, not barred by the doctrine of res judicata. Deutsche Bank Nat. Tr. Co. v. Est. of Houck, 434 S.C. 500, 863 S.E.2d 829 (Ct. App. 2021).

 10:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2021-001498   The State, Respondent, v. Tommy Lee Benton, Petitioner.

Robert Walker Humphrey, II, of Willoughby & Hoefer, P.A., of Charleston, and 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 Assistant Attorney General Tommy Evans, Jr., of Columbia; and Solicitor Jimmy A. Richardson, II, of Horry, all for Respondent.

The Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the court of appeals in State v. Benton, 435 S.C. 250, 865 S.E.2d 919 (Ct. App. 2021). The Court will consider whether the court of appeals erred in (1) holding double jeopardy did not bar a second trial after the trial court declared a mistrial on Petitioner's charges of murder, first-degree burglary, first-degree arson, and third-degree arson based on Petitioner's failure to formally comply with the notice requirement for an alibi defense under Rule 5(e), SCRCrimP; (2) holding the trial court acted within its discretion in admitting photographs of the victim's body at the crime scene; and (3) affirming the trial court's admission of text and Facebook messages.

Thursday, June 8, 2023
Supreme Court Courtroom
 09:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2021-001505   The State, Respondent, v. Jason Franklin Carver, Petitioner.

Donald Loren Smith, of Anderson, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Chief Deputy Attorney General W. Jeffrey Young, Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka and Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Melody Jane Brown, all of Columbia, for Respondent.

The Court granted a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in State v. Carver, Op. No. 2021-UP-278 (S.C. Ct. App. filed July 21, 2021).

 10:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2022-000320   Frank James Rish, Sr., Petitioner, v. Kathy Cotney Rish, Respondent.

Kenneth Philip Shabel, of Kennedy & Brannon, LLC, of Spartanburg, for Petitioner. J. Edwin McDonnell, of Campobello, and Leslie Ragsdale Fisk, Law Office of Rhett D. Burney, PC, of Simpsonville, both for Respondent.

The Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the the court of appeals' decision in Rish v. Rish, 435 S.C. 681, 868 S.E.2d 719 (Ct. App. 2021). The Court will consider whether the court of appeals erred in vacating a family court order terminating alimony.

Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Supreme Court Courtroom
 09:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 30-30-10)  
2023-000896   PLANNED PARENTHOOD SOUTH ATLANTIC, on behalf of itself, its patients, and its physicians and staff; KATHERINE FARRIS, M.D., on behalf of herself and her patients; GREENVILLE WOMEN'S CLINIC, on behalf of itself, its patients, and its physicians and staff; and TERRY L. BUFFKIN, M.D., on behalf of himself and his patients, Respondents, v. STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA; ALAN WILSON, in his official capacity as Attorney General of South Carolina; EDWARD SIMMER, in his official capacity as Director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control; ANNE G. COOK, in her official capacity as President of the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners; STEPHEN I. SCHABEL, in his official capacity as Vice President of the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners; RONALD JANUCHOWSKI, in his official capacity as Secretary of the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners; GEORGE S. DILTS, in his official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners; DION FRANGA, in his official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners; RICHARD HOWELL, in his official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners; ROBERT KOSCIUSKO, in his official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners; THERESA MILLS-FLOYD, in her official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners; JENNIFER R. ROOT, in her official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners; CHRISTOPHER C. WRIGHT, in his official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners; SAMUEL H. McNUTT, in his official capacity as Chairperson of the South Carolina Board of Nursing; SALLIE BETH TODD, in her official capacity as Vice Chairperson of the South Carolina Board of Nursing; TAMARA DAY, in her official capacity as Secretary of the South Carolina Board of Nursing; JONELLA DAVIS, in her official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Nursing; KELLI GARBER, in her official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Nursing; LINDSEY K. MITCHAM, in her official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Nursing; REBECCA MORRISON, in her official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Nursing; KAY SWISHER, in her official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Nursing; ROBERT J. WOLFF, in his official capacity as a Member of the South Carolina Board of Nursing; SCARLETT A. WILSON, in her official capacity as Solicitor for South Carolina's 9th Judicial Circuit; BYRON E. GIPSON, in his official capacity as Solicitor for South Carolina's 5th Judicial Circuit; and WILLIAM WALTER WILKINS III, in his official capacity as Solicitor for South Carolina's 13th Judicial Circuit, Defendants, and THOMAS C. ALEXANDER, in his official capacity as President of the South Carolina Senate; G. MURRELL SMITH, JR., in his official capacity as Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives; and HENRY MCMASTER, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of South Carolina, Intervenors-Defendants, Of whom HENRY MCMASTER, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of South Carolina; G. MURRELL SMITH, JR., in his official capacity as Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives; THOMAS C. ALEXANDER, in his official capacity as President of the South Carolina Senate; STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA; and ALAN WILSON, in his official capacity as Attorney General of South Carolina, are Appellants.

Chief Legal Counsel Thomas Ashley Limehouse, Jr., Senior Litigation Counsel William Grayson Lambert, and Deputy Legal Counsel Erica Wells Shedd, all of Columbia, for Appellant Governor Henry D. McMaster. Solicitor General Robert D. Cook, Deputy Solicitor General J. Emory Smith, Jr., Assistant Deputy Solicitor General Thomas Tyler Hydrick, and Assistant Deputy Solicitor General Joseph David Spate, all of Columbia, for Appellant State of South Carolina and Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson. Kenneth M. Moffitt, John Potter Hazzard, V, and Jessica J. Godwin, all of Columbia, for Appellant President Thomas C. Alexander. Patrick Graham Dennis, of Columbia, for Appellant Speaker G. Murrell Smith, Jr., M. Malissa Burnette, Kathleen McColl McDaniel, and Grant Burnette LeFever, all of Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA, of Columbia; Catherine Peyton Humphreville, Kyla Eastling, Caroline Sacerdote and Jasmine Yunus, all of New York, NY, for Respondents. Randall Scott Hiller, of Randall S. Hiller, P.A., of Greenville; and Kimberly A. Parker, of Washington, DC and Hannah E. Gelbort, of Boston, MA, both of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, for American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ("ACOG"), American Medical Association ("AMA"), and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine ("SMFM"), Amicus Curiae. Christopher Ernest Mills, of Spero Law LLC, of Charleston, for American College of Pediatricians, Amicus Curiae. Christopher Ernest Mills, of Spero Law LLC, of Charleston, for South Carolina Association of Pregnancy Care Centers and Daybreak Lifecare Center, Amicus Curiae. Harmon L. Cooper, of Crowell & Moring LLP, of Washington, DC, for Women's Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN), Able SC, Dr. Deborah Billings, Dr. Cara Delay, Dr. Bambi W. Gaddist, The Hive Community Circle, Palmetto State Abortion Fund, Jill Perry, and SisterSong, Amicus Curiae.

This Court will review a circuit court order granting an injunction against enforcement of the 2023 Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act.