South Carolina Lawyers Weekly December 5, 2022

TEST CASE

Former state representative joins firm

Former member of the S.C. House of Representatives, combat veteran and experienced litigator James E. Smith, Jr. has joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in its Columbia, S.C. office as a partner, a news release stated.

Smith joins the firm from the University of South Carolina, where he was the special assistant to the president from 2020-2022.

Smith brings vast legal experience to the firm in commercial litigation, business litigation, civil litigation, personal injury, product liability, alternative dispute resolution, contract negotiation, and medical malpractice.

4th Circuit reverses dismissal of ADEA, Title VII claims

■ BY NICK HURSTON BTM Wire Services

A plaintiff who said a required physical fitness test was a discriminatory condition of her government employment and that she was injured by a loss of income when she resigned after failing it can pursue claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Title VII.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court holding that the plaintiff lacked standing because her resignation

did not constitute an “adverse employment action” under the ADEA or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

“[T]he district court inappropriately intertwined its standing analysis with the merits,” Judge Julian N. Richardson wrote for the court. “[The plaintiff] alleged that she suffered financial and job-related injuries in fact that are fairly traceable to the government’s action and likely to be redressed by a favorable ruling.”

Richardson’s decision in DiCocco v. Garland (VLW 022-2-236) was joined by Senior Judge Henry F.

Resignation

Dr. Jane DiCocco was 67 years old when she was hired in 2014 as a psychiatrist with the Bureau of Prisons, or BOP, to work at a correctional facility in Petersburg. All prison employees, regardless of age, position or gender, had to pass a physical abilities test.

DiCocco failed the test and refused to retake it within 24 hours because she feared that she would

Aside from his extensive legal practice, Smith is a veteran who served as an infantry officer in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan from 2007-2008. He earned the Bronze Star Metal, Combat Infantryman Badge, and Purple Heart during his service.

“James is a brilliant addition to the firm,” said David Dukes, a partner with the firm. “His experience and commitment add additional depth to the firm, creating great opportunities for the future.”

Established in 1897, Nelson Mullins is an Am Law 100 firm of more than 930 attorneys and government relations professionals with 31 offices in 15 states and Washington, D.C. For more information on the firm, go to www.nelsonmullins.com.

$15.75M settlement for fall that led to paraplegia

■ BY HEATH HAMACHER

A woman who was rendered paraplegic after falling from a scaffold at a Lousiana worksite has settled her claims for nearly $16 million.

Plaintiff Meylin Castro reported for work on July 12, 2017, as a temporary constructor laborer on an asbestos abatement project at a church near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While working on a scaffold, Castro fell approximately 20 feet through an unmarked, unguarded gap covered with a sheet of polyethylene plastic used to create a “containment area” for the asbestos project.

One of Castro’s attorneys, William Applegate

of Yarborough Applegate in Charleston, said that these types of companies must continue to be held accountable for what is “simply astounding” conduct at the expense of their own employees.

“Unfortunately, with companies that use immigrant labor, cutting corners on safety has become the norm but we have learned through experience that juries will not put up with companies who shirk their responsibilities to the very people who make them run.”

Castro claimed that the scaffolding was negligently built by defendant Sunbelt Rentals without guard rails required by OSHA regulations, leaving a dangerous open end of the scaffold. After construc-

tion of the scaffold, defendant 1 Priority covered the structure in plastic to create the containment zone for the asbestos, Castros’ attorneys said, adding that the quasi-opaque plastic created a false impression that the scaffold decking extended to the nearby wall.

Liam Duffy, also of Yarborough Applegate in Charleston, wrote in an email to Lawyers Weekly that “1 Priority also failed to give Ms. Castro any instruction, warning, training, supervision, or safety harness, despite being responsible for job site safety. The fall occurred on Ms. Castro’s first day on the job.”

Castro suffered a closed head injury and T3-lev-

Floyd and Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court holding that a plaintiff lacked standing because her resignation after a fitness test did not constitute an ‘adverse employment action’ under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. DepositPhotos

James E. Smith Jr.

Burr & Forman adds attorneys in SC

Burr & Forman LLP has an nounced the addition of 16 attorneys across the firm’s footprint.

CEO Ed Christian commented on the new editions, “Burr remains com mitted to adding quality attorneys in tandem with client needs and we are excited to continue building the next generation of attorneys.”

Four attorneys join the firm as counsel in Birmingham, Ala., Daniel Island and Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Nashville.

Julie A. Oliver joins the Myrtle Beach, S.C., office as counsel in the Corporate and Tax Practice Group. She counsels clients in all areas of estate planning, including complex gift, generation skipping transfer tax, estate tax planning, lifetime giving and charitable planning, and prenuptial agreements. She also handles all aspects of probate and trust administration, including ad vising fiduciaries throughout the ad ministrative process.

Sara S. Parrish joins the Dan iel Island, S.C., office as counsel in the Government Relations Practice Group. Prior to joining Burr & For

man, she served as Counsel to the Clerk in the South Carolina Senate where she provided legal counsel and drafted legal research, bills, and amendments. Within the South Carolina Senate, she also served as an Oversight Analyst in the Office of Senate Oversight and as a Staff Attorney on the Judiciary Commit tee. Sara also worked with the South Carolina Ports Authority as a Gov ernment Relations Manager.

Twelve attorneys joined the firm as associates in seven offices.

The 12 new associates include Charles S. Kinley, South Carolina, intellectual property.

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd adds 3 associates

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A.

has announced that Alexandra “Alex” C. Glunt, Jennie J. Steiner and Rob Tiro have joined the firm.

Glunt is based in the Columbia of fice and practices in the area of financial services litigation. She represents lenders and banks in connection with consumer and com mercial loan disputes. She received her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of South Caroli na School of Law and her Bachelor’s degree from Flagler College. While in law school, Alex served as Student Works Editor for the South Carolina Law Review and was President of the Labor & Employment Law Soci ety.

Based in the firm’s Charleston of fice, Steiner works with the firm’s construction litigation practice group. She received her Juris Doc tor from Wake Forest University, her Nonprofit Management Certifi cate from the University of Texas at Austin and her Bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Miami Uni versity. During law school, Jennie

served as Notes and Comments Edi tor for the Wake Forest Journal of Business & Intellectual Property Law and was an intern for the Hon. Philip E. Berger Jr., North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Tiro is based in the firm’s Greenville office and works with its public finance and commercial real estate teams. He received his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of South Caro lina School of Law and his Bache lor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross. In law school, Rob was an Articles Editor for the South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business, a 2021 Cohort member of the Konduros Leader ship Development Program and a member of the South Carolina Moot Court Bar.

Pickens County resident awarded Order of the Palmetto

■ BY ROSS NORTON rnorton@scbiznews.com

The woman who has led the cam paign to save a historic Black church in Pickens County was awarded the Order of the Palmetto.

The honor — the highest award ed by the state to its citizens — was presented to Mable Owens Clarke on Nov. 17.

“Having been born and raised in rural Pickens County on land pur chased by my ancestors who had lived as slaves, it is humbling and amazing that my home state would recognize me with such an honor as the Order of the Palmetto,” Clarke said in a news release. “My work to serve and protect Soapstone Church has been a labor of love and honor to my parents and our God. I’m almost speechless — that’s saying something for a woman who is rarely without words.”

Former governor and education secretary Dick Riley and former am bassador to Canada and state house speaker David Wilkins, along with Chandra Dillard presented the award to Clarke at the Furman University Younts Center.

Clarke is the sixth-generation steward and matriarch of Soapstone Baptist Church. In 1999, after her mother died, Clarke made her prom ise never to let the historically Black church in the Liberia community of Pickens County close. In the past few months, groups including the South Carolina Conservation Bank, Up state Forever, and the Upstate Land Conservation Fund, created a con servation easement that ensures the property will never be used for devel opment such as residential subdivi sions or commercial operations.

Reach Ross Norton at 864-7201222.

McMaster picks experienced friend to run inauguration

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is turning to an experienced friend to lead January’s inauguration ceremo nies for his second term.

Bill Stern and his wife, Linda, will lead the Inaugural Committee plan ning the events, including McMaster taking the oath of office on the State house steps on Jan. 11, inaugural spokesperson Rob Godfrey said Tues day.

This will be the third time Bill Stern and his wife have put together ceremonies for governors as they take power. The South Carolina Ports Au thority board chair, developer and sig nificant Republican donor organized McMaster’s first inaugural in 2019 and Gov. Mark Sanford’s second inau gural in 2007.

McMaster thanked the Sterns for their work and said he and his wife, Peggy, know they will put together two days of memorable events.

“The inauguration is a celebration Peggy and I cherish because it brings together the people of our great state every four years to honor precisely what it is that makes South Carolina unique,” the governor said in a state ment.

The full schedule of events will be announced later, but inauguration day typically starts with a prayer ser vice at a downtown Columbia church, the swearing-in ceremony around noon, an open house at the Governor’s Mansion, and an inaugural ball.

The South Carolina Constitution sets the governor’s four-year term to start at noon on the Wednesday after the second Tuesday in January. That date falls on Jan. 11 in 2023.

Bill Stern said he and Linda are honored and excited to put together another ceremony.

“We are proud to call South Caroli na home, and we never miss an oppor tunity to showcase why. The inaugu

ration of the governor and lieutenant governor are the perfect chance to do just that,” Stern said in a statement.

McMaster, 75, won reelection in November with 58% of the vote. If he completes his second term, he would serve as governor for 10 years, longer than any other executive in the state’s history, since he took office in 2017 for the final two years of Gov. Nikki Hal ey’s term.

She had resigned to be former President Donald Trump’s U.N. am bassador. Both Stern and McMaster were early supporters of Trump’s presidential bid.

McMaster is already the oldest governor in the state’s history. His reelection argument was simple — if you like what you’ve seen so far, I’ll give you more. He has touted the booming economy and his willingness to fight Democratic President Joe Biden when needed.

The other members of the Inaugu

ral Committee who will join Stern are C. Dan Adams; Bill and Sheri Biggs; Wallace and Sloan Cheves; Henry and Nevitte Swink; and Greg and Danielle Thompson.

McMaster turned to legislative leaders to be honorary chairs of his Inaugural Committee, tapping Sen ate President Thomas Alexander, House Speaker Murrell Smith, and former House Speaker and Ambassa dor to Canada David Wilkins.

Staff report

Julia A. Oliver

Alexandra “Alex” C. Glunt

Jennie J. Steiner

Sara S. Parrish

Rob Tiro

Mable Owens Clarke has been awarded the Order of the Palmetto for her work in sav ing a Black church in Pickens County. Submitted photo

Henry McMaster Photo/AP

Lockheed Martin unveils Greenville-built F-16

■ BY JASON THOMAS jthomas@scbiznews.com

Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new F-16 fighter jet that is being built at its Greenville manufactur ing and sustainment facility.

The first F-16 Block 70 Viper jet has completed the Final Assem bly & Checkout (FACO) and paint phases at Lockheed’s Greenville facility, according to a statement from the company.

The jet, according to the state ment, is preparing for its first flight, which Lockheed anticipates will occur by early next year.

Delivery to the U.S. government is scheduled in the first quarter of 2023, followed by flight test at Ed wards Air Force Base, according to the statement.

Related content: F-16 back order rises to 136 with order

This first F-16 Block 70 jet is for Bahrain, and Lockheed will have multiple other jets in production, including for Slovakia and Bul garia, according to the statement. The production rate will increase significantly throughout 2023, with deliveries for additional cus tomers continuing into the mid-to late-2020s.

In a LinkedIn post, O.J. San chez, Integrated Fighter Group vice president and general man ager at Lockheed Martin, shared

news of the rollout, writing: “Thank you to the entire Green ville and Lockheed Martin team for this outstanding accomplish ment. More to come and eyes for ward!”

Lockheed Martin moved F-16 production to Greenville in 2019, and has approximately 700 work ers at its Greenville site with an average annual economic impact of $100 million to the area, the

company says. More information will be re vealed in the next couple of weeks on the new-production F-16, ac cording to Lockheed. Check www. scbiznews.com for updates.

Lockheed Martin has unviled its new era F-16 Viper fighter jet that is assembled at its Greenville manufacturing and sustainment facility. The jet is expected to make its maiden flight early next year. Photo/Lockheed Martin

Hit-and-run victim settles for $900,000 after being injured

■ BY HAVILAND STEWART Hstewart@nclawyersweekly.com

A motorcyclist was awarded $900,000 after being injured in an accident.

On May 11, 2018, plaintiff Gail Thomas was rid ing her motorcy cle north on U.S. 17 near Surfside Beach, South Caro lina. According to her counsel, Mark J. Bringardner, as she reached the in tersection of U.S. 17 and Atlantic Avenue, the de fendant, Christopher Conrad Jr., made a sudden and unsafe left turn and crashed into plaintiff. Follow ing the accident, defendant fled the scene but was never apprehended or charged with a hit-and-run.

claimed that he had a green turn arrow, which was disputed by the plaintiff. The defendant did admit to fleeing the scene of the accident but claimed that he was not at-fault for the crash. Liability was disput ed for the duration of the case.

tiff sustained a broken arm which required surgical intervention and the implantation of hardware. Her broken arm, as well as additional

Type of Action: Civil

Injuries Alleged: Left humeral fracture, lumbar facet joint injuries, left hip injury, neck injury

Name of Case: Gail Thomas v. Christopher Conrad, Jr.

Court: Court of Common Pleas, Horry County Case number: 2019-CP-26-07285

Tried Before: Settled during litigation for the insurance policy limits.

Judge, arbitrator, or mediator: Tom Wills

Special Damages: $174,901

Verdict or Settlement: Settlement Amount: $900,000.00

Date of Settlement: August 27, 2022 Demand: $900,000

pain or limitation, Bringardner re

The defense attorneys did not re

Family receives $19 million in settlment from fatal car crash in South Carolina

vehicles engaged in a near head on collision. They were travelling in

soon after the crash.

that helped illustrate the loss that the plaintiff’s family experi

This case settled for $19 mil

Many details of this case have been withheld due to a confidenti

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different directions in a small county in South Carolina.

Mark J. Bringardner

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Gerald Malloy

CASE / Lower court dismissed complaint for lack of standing

be unable to satisfactorily complete it in her exhausted physical condition. The Bureau told her that, unless she resigned, she would be fired for not passing the test.

DiCocco resigned and filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging disparate-impact theories of sex discrimination under Title VII and age discrimination under the ADEA.

The government argued that DiCocco lacked standing. Alternatively, it claimed she had failed to plead an adverse employment action, and that her ADEA claim was barred by sovereign immunity.

The Eastern District of Virginia dismissed DiCocco’s complaint for lack of standing.

Standing

The 4th Circuit panel noted that a plaintiff has Article III standing if “she (1) suffers an injury in fact that

is (2) fairly traceable to the challenged conduct and (3) likely to be redressed if the court rules in her favor.”

The district court found that DiCocco failed to state a valid cause of action because she alleged no injury and therefore lacked standing.

Richardson disagreed.

“[T]his approach improperly conflated the threshold standing question with the merits of her claims,” he explained. “Standing does not turn on whether a plaintiff has definitively stated a valid cause of action. In other words, a valid claim for relief is not a prerequisite for standing.”

Here, DiCocco sufficiently pleaded an injury in fact by alleging that she was injured by a loss of employment and the resulting loss of wages and other benefits.

“Such harms are ‘classic and paradigmatic’ injuries for standing purposes,” Richardson noted.

The judge pointed out that “a

plaintiff’s injury is not fairly traceable to the defendant’s action if the plaintiff ‘independently caused his own injury.’”

But DiCocco’s contentions didn’t show she independently caused her own injuries; her complaint said that, unless she resigned, the BOP would fire her.

“Perhaps Dr. DiCocco’s choice to resign rather than retake the test was a proximate cause of her injuries. But that does not defeat standing,” Richardson wrote.

The judge concluded that DiCocco had sufficiently asserted her injuries were caused by the BOP’s allegedly discriminatory policy that required new hires to take and pass the test or be terminated because, without that policy, she would not have resigned.

Disparate impact

The government originally argued that the suit was barred by sovereign immunity because the

ADEA provision governing federal employees provides no disparate impact cause of action.

Another 4th Circuit panel had agreed, but the decision was vacated after a rehearing en banc.

Prior to oral argument about the standing issue raised here, the government reversed its position, agreeing that the ADEA permits disparate impact claims by federal employees.

“In light of this unusual change in position, the en banc court returned the case to the panel,” Richardson wrote. “We now remand to permit the district court to consider the ADEA claim, including, should the district court deem it necessary, whether or not the disparate-impact standard provides the appropriate framework for its resolution.”

The court also remanded the question of whether DiCocco’s Title VII claim failed to show an adverse employment action to the district court.

SETTLEMENT / $15.75M settlement for fall that led to paraplegia

el paraplegia. Her past medical bills totaled nearly $1 million while Castro’s life care plan is approximately $8 million, Duffy wrote.

Duffy said that the defendants “vigorously defended the case on every aspect of liability and damages,” blaming one another for creating the hazardous condition.

“For example, Sunbelt blamed 1 Priority for its failure to provide a safety harness, safety training, and supervision,” Duffy said. “Meanwhile, 1 Priority blamed Sunbelt for not building an OSHA-compliant scaffold. Both parties blamed Ms. Castro for not being careful enough, the church for failing to conduct daily inspections, and multiple other non-parties who would have been included on the verdict form at trial under Louisiana’s unique fault-apportionment scheme.”

Duffy said that the case involved complex and legal insurance coverage issues both at the trial level and during several interlocutory appeals filed by the defendants, the most significant of which involved 1 Priority’s asser-

SETTLEMENT

tion that it was immune from suit as Ms. Castro’s statutory employer. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the defendant, meaning that Castro’s only avenue of recovery against 1 Priority was to prove that the company knew an injury was “substantially certain to follow” from its action. This, Duffy said, would trigger the intentional act exception to her employer’s tort immunity.

“Despite this significant legal hurdle, Ms. Castro and her counsel were able to defeat multiple summary judgment motions and an

Injuries alleged: Paraplegia and closed head injury

Case name: Meylin Castro v.

Withheld

Attorneys for plaintiff: Liam Duff y, William Applegate, and John Dodds IV of Yarborough Applegate in Charleston and John Redmann and Edward Moreno of New Orleans

Attorneys for defendant: Andrew Vicknair and Ashley Robinson of New Orleans (pre-trial counsel); James Williams, Inemesit O’Boyle, and Phillip La Borde of New Orleans; Todd Mensing, Paul Turkevich, and Kelsi White of Houston; and Martha Curtis of New Orleans

appeal on this defense, which ultimately meant the question would be answered at trial by the jury,” Duffy wrote.

The case settled just one week before trial, after more than four years of litigation. Sunbelt agreed to pay $8 million, 1 Priority paid $6 million, and the church chipped in $1.75 mil-

lion after mediation in 2020.

Duffy described Castro as a “wonderful woman” and said that the incident had had a profound impact on her and her family.

“The magnitude of their loss was matched only by the courage and perseverance they showed throughout the years of litigation,” Duffy said.

Hon. Margaret Seymour (Ret.) joins Saxton & Stump in Charleston, SC

After serving as a federal judge for the U.S. District of South Carolina for over 20 years, I am pleased to share that I am now available to serve as a neutral for mediations and arbitrations.

I will also practice well as for counsel for investigations and equal opportunity or labor disputes.

To learn more, contact me at: (843) 724-7753 or mseymour@saxtonstump.com

Liam Duff y

John Dodds IV

William Applegate

Opinions

Domestic Relations

Prenuptial Agreement – Life Insur ance – Separate Property – Benefi ciary Change

Before they married, decedent and the appellee-husband signed an antenuptial agreement which designated as decedent’s separate property a life insurance policy that named appellants – decedent’s chil dren from a previous marriage – as beneficiaries. When decedent sub sequently designated her new hus band, instead of her children, as beneficiary of the policy, she did not transfer ownership of the policy to her husband, so she did not modify or violate the antenuptial agree ment. In any event, the antenuptial agreement permitted transfers, in cluding gifts of separate property, between the spouses.

We affirm summary judgment for the husband.

State Farm Life Insurance Co. v. Rogers (Lawyers Weekly No. 003043-22, 5 pp.) (Per Curiam) 21-2320. Appealed from USDC at Columbia, S.C. (Joseph Anderson, S.J.) Thom as Lydon for appellants; Spencer Andrew Syrett for appellee. 4th Cir. Unpub.

Attorneys

Discipline – Definite Suspension –Overbilling

The respondent-associate is sus pended from the practice of law after using his firm’s software to inflate the hours that he worked, resulting in an overpayment of $17,772.74 by the firm (no clients overpaid). The associate repaid the overpayment, expresses remorse and explains that his preoccupation with financial se curity arose from his disadvantaged upbringing. Respondent explains that he erred in allowing his des peration to prove his personal wor thiness and to achieve financial security to eclipse his better judg ment. Respondent also states he has worked with several counselors to understand why he committed mis conduct.

We accept the agreement for dis cipline by consent and suspend re spondent from the practice of law in this state for six months.

In re Jacob (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-046-22, 3 pp.) (Per Curiam) John Nichols and Sara Parker Mor ris for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel; Barbara Marie Seymour for respondent. S.C. S. Ct.

Domestic Relations

Parent & Child – Custody – Appeals –Changed Circumstances

The matter of physical and legal custody of the parties’ minor child has been in contention for almost six years—since the child was two

months old. We regret the delay caused in part by our state’s court system and acknowledge consider able changes and milestones could occur for a minor child during such a substantial delay that may alter the determination of an arrangement created in the best interests of the child. Indeed, it is more than likely the amount of time that has passed since the family court’s order has re sulted in a stale record incapable of reflecting facts and circumstances from which the current best inter ests of the child can be determined.

Accordingly, we remand this mat ter to the family court for a trial de novo on the custody issue to ensure the custody determination is based on the current best interests of the child, and direct the family court to revise the award of attorney’s fees in light of the new trial on the custody issue.

Rossington v. Rossington (Law yers Weekly No. 010-047-22, 2 pp.) (Per Curiam) Appealed from Berke ley County Family Court (Michael Holt, J.) Brett Lamb Stevens for petitioner; Megan Catherine Hunt Dell for respondent; Suzanne Groff, guardian ad litem. S.C. S. Ct.

Criminal Practice

Stand Your Ground – Insufficient Findings – Conflicting Evidence –Video Authentication – Jury Delibera tions

In this case arising out of a shoot ing during an altercation on the lawn of a mutual friend of defen dant and the victim, the trial court’s decision under the Protections of Persons and Property Act failed to make specific findings to support its determination that defendant was not entitled to immunity. The trial court twice explained that it de nied defendant immunity due to the conflicting evidence and the “open question” of whether defendant was entitled to a self-defense jury in struction. The trial court concluded that “such matters are best left to the finders of fact, namely the trial jury.” Consequently, the trial court failed to sit as the fact-finder at de fendant’s immunity hearing.

We remand for the trial court to make specific findings that support its determination of whether de fendant is, or is not, entitled to im munity. We affirm the trial court’s admission of surveillance video into evidence and its denial of defen dant’s new-trial motion without a hearing.

Defendant shot the victim in the yard of their mutual friend, Ricky Grant. Grant’s neighbor, Jeovani Vacquec, provided surveillance vid eo from his home security system. Vacquec’s testimony sufficiently au thenticated the video. He explained that the time stamp on the video was incorrect because he did not set the correct date or time when he set up the security system. It is irrelevant that Vacquec was not watching his

monitor at the time of the shooting. The surveillance video provided an alternative perspective of the shooting that was objective and neutral. Moreover, the surveillance video clearly contradicted some of defendant’s testimony. Despite the dark image, the video clearly shows more than two people in and around Grant’s yard at the time of the shooting. Therefore, the surveil lance video was highly probative.

While the quality of the surveil lance video made it difficult to dis cern what happened, the jury was able to replay the video, or portions of it, as many times as it wanted to. Therefore, allowing the jury to view the surveillance video was unlikely to cause confusion, and its probative value outweighed any danger that it would.

Finally, defendant asserts the trial court erred by denying his mo tion for a new trial without a hear ing. Defendant contends he should have been allowed to ask all 12 ju rors whether the length of their de liberations, lack of dinner, or their understanding of whether a verdict had to be rendered had an impact on their verdict. We disagree.

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant’s motion for a new trial without a hearing. The trial court aptly rec ognized that defendant’s requested inquiries are prohibited by Rule 606(b), SCRE. A juror’s Facebook post – saying she “just couldn’t leave without a verdict” – did not indicate that any extraneous prejudicial in formation or outside influence had an impact on the jury’s delibera tions; it also did not indicate that defendant’s verdict was reached as a result of racial or gender intimi dation or that the jury began delib erating prematurely. Therefore, de fendant’s requested inquiries would have involved juror testimony about internal influences unrelated to fun damental fairness.

Affirmed in part and remanded.

State v. Gray (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-069-22, 12 pp.) (Aphrodite Konduros, J.) Appealed from Green wood County Circuit Court (Frank Addy, J.) Susan Barber Hackett and Sarah Elizabeth Shipe for appel lant; Alan McCrory Wilson, Donald Zelenka, Melody Jane Brown, Mi chael Ross and David Stumbo for respondent. S.C. App.

Tort/Negligence

collisions. Nevertheless, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the trooper’s copy of the video into evidence.

We affirm judgment for the defen dant-sheriff.

The trooper testified that busi ness owner Matthew Cagle told him there was no way to get the data off the hard drive and he used a cam corder to record the surveillance footage because he realized the evi dence could be lost.

Plaintiff did not argue the origi nal was not lost or that defendant lost the original. Plaintiff also did not argue the video was not a copy of the original, just that the video is fast-forwarded to the time of the col lisions, does not show the collisions, and the quality is low.

The trial court found the video complied with Rules 1001 to 1004, SCRE, because (1) the video record ed by the trooper was a duplicate of the images shown on the original surveillance video, (2) there was no genuine question raised as to the authenticity of the original video, and (3) the original video was never in the possession of defendant and is no longer available for reasons fully explained at trial (the surveillance system records over old video after several months). The evidence sup ports this conclusion; thus, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the video.

Plaintiff argues the video was not relevant and was prejudicial to her because the video’s time stamp be gins 20 minutes after the collisions occurred and does not show either of the collisions at issue. Plaintiff as serts this unresolved time discrep ancy bars authentication of the orig inal video. She asserts Cagle had no training relevant to surveillance systems, four of his system camer as did not work at the time of the wreck, and eight of the cameras did not work at the time of the trial, yet he testified his system worked well.

Thus, plaintiff argues Cagle’s tes timony is not adequate to authen ticate the original video’s accuracy. She also asserts the trooper could not authenticate the video because he lacked personal knowledge and could not testify the surveillance equipment kept reliable, accurate time.

In this case arising out of a deputy sheriff’s U-turn and two successive collisions, the original of a surveil lance video from a nearby business was not produced because the vid eo was recorded to a hard drive. A state trooper set up a camera and recorded a copy of the surveillance video, reducing its quality. What is more, the video did not show the ac tual collisions, only an area near the

Although the time stamp of the video begins 20 minutes after the collisions occurred, Cagle testified the system is reliable and the date and time stamp was accurate. He also testified the video was a record ing of what played on his surveil lance monitor and that no alteration of the video occurred between the time of the accident and the time the trooper recorded it with his cam corder.

Rule 901(b)(1), SCRE, provides that authentication may be made by “[t]estimony that a matter is what it is claimed to be.” A witness need not be an expert, but should have experi ence with the electronic monitoring

system used and provide testimony describing the system. The trooper testified the video was a true and accurate representation of what he recorded on his camcorder when he went to Cagle’s business. Thus, we find Cagle and the trooper’s testi mony was sufficient to authenticate the video, and the court did not err in admitting it into evidence at trial.

Plaintiff argues the video is of such poor quality that its probative value is extremely low. She further asserts its probative value is far out weighed by its unfair prejudice, con fusion of the issues, and tendency to mislead the jury because it is silent, in black and white, and does not de pict either of the collisions at issue.

Plaintiff argues the full effect of the unfair prejudice caused by the video is shown in the jury’s find ing that the deputy Holmes was not negligent in making his left U-turn, on an unlit and very dark stretch of road at night, without a siren, with out overhead flashing lights or even a turn signal, and when there were at least three other vehicles follow ing close behind him. Further, she argues it is undisputed that the col lisions were only seconds apart, but the video was used to convince the jury that there was a longer time

between impacts, so as to place li ability on plaintiff.

The relevant incidents were the two collisions, and the video cap tured the events that occurred rela tive to the time of the two collisions and were re-recorded in real time. Although the video does not show the actual impact of the collisions, the evidence supports the trial court’s conclusion that the video was relevant evidence because it provided information as to the posi tion of the vehicles, the timing of the collisions at issue, the roadway con ditions, and whether the motorists had their lights on. Thus, there was no abuse of discretion.

Affirmed.

Watts v. Chastain (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-070-22, 11 pp.) (Pau la Thomas, J.) Appealed from Lau rens County Circuit Court (Donald Hocker, J.) Thomas Thompson for appellant; Carly Davis and Russell Harter for respondents. S.C. App.

Domestic Relations

Alimony – Civil Practice – Consent Order – Res Judicata

When the parties entered into an October 2018 consent order to ret roactively terminate the plaintiff-

Father’s alimony obligation as of July 2018, there was another action pending requiring Father to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for disobeying the par ties’ divorce decree by failing to in crease his alimony payments to the defendant-Mother after the parties’ younger child graduated from high school in 2012. Res judicata did not bar the separate action.

We affirm the family court’s order requiring Father to pay an alimony arrearage of $13,800.

The October consent order clearly sets forth the parties’ intent to es tablish the end date for Father’s alimony obligation, but it is silent as to Father’s alimony arrearage. It does not contain language address ing the arrearage nor does it contain language indicating that the par ties agreed to forgive it. Further, the Consent Order does not address the separate pending rule to show cause. Therefore, we find the family court did not err in ordering Father to pay the alimony arrearage.

Father argues the family court erred in requiring him to pay alimo ny arrearages because Mother did not petition the family court to for mally end her child support obliga tion. Father asserts the family court had no basis to determine it was reasonable to conclude Daughter’s

emancipation terminated Mother’s child support obligation. Father’s argument is without merit.

In domestic matters, the family court has exclusive jurisdiction: “To make all orders for support run un til further order of the court, except that orders for child support run un til the child turns eighteen years of age . . . or past the age of eighteen years if the child is enrolled and still attending high school, not to exceed high school graduation . . . .” S.C. Code Ann. § 63-3-530(A)(17). Under the express terms of the statute, a parent’s obligation to pay child sup port does not require further court order to terminate and ends by oper ation of law when a child turns eigh teen or graduates from high school. Because Mother’s child support ob ligation terminated by operation of law when the parties’ daughter graduated from high school in 2012, Father’s alimony payment amount increased to the full $1,000 at that time.

Affirmed.

Fickling v. Fickling (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-030-22, 6 pp.) (Per Curiam) Appealed from Dorchester County Family Court (William Wy lie, J.) Julio Rossington and Brett Lamb Stevens for appellant; Wil liam Clifford for respondent. S.C. App. Unpub.

Columbia councilwoman elected to national board

■ BY CHRISTINA KNAUSS knauss@scbiznews.com

Columbia City Councilwoman Aditi Bussells was elected to the board of directors for the National League of Cities at the organization’s 2022 City Summit in Kansas City, Mo.

During her two-year term, Bussells will provide strategic direction and guidance for the League’s federal ad vocacy, governance and membership activities, according to a news release.

The NLC is the largest and most repre sentative organization for cities, their elected leaders and municipal staff, and advocates for city priorities by building strong partnerships between

the federal and local governments.

“I deeply believe in the power of lo cal government,” Bussells said in the release. “We can make change quickly

and efficiently. We can bring hope to our communities. We can build mo mentum for our bright future. That’s why I am so excited and honored to

represent South Carolina on a na tional stage as a board member for the League.”

Bussells will meet with the board in March, June and November to guide NLC’s strategic direction. A 15-mem ber nominating committee selects board members.

“NLC’s board is made of a group of incredible and diverse leaders, and I look forward to working closely to gether with them to advance priorities for cities, towns and villages across the country,” said Victoria Woodards, president of the NLC and mayor of Ta coma, Wash.

Reach Christina Lee Knauss at 803-753-4327.

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“We can bring hope to our communities. We can build momentum for our bright future. That’s why I am so excited and honored to represent South Carolina on a national stage as a board member for the League.”

Aditi Bussells

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