Opinion ID: 1292063
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: jury consideration of southern builing code

Text: Finally, County argues the trial court erred in submitting to the jury the question whether the Southern Building Code applied to docks and piers in Charleston County. This issue is not preserved. At trial, County contended that because the Southern Building Code was adopted by ordinance, the question whether it applied to docks and piers was a legal question for the judge's consideration. However, County backtracked on this position considerably, requesting that the judge at least submit the issue to the jury as a question of fact. When the judge submitted the issue to the jury as a question of fact, County did not object to the jury charge. Rule 51 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure provides that [n]o party may assign as error the giving or the failure to give an instruction unless he objects thereto before the jury retires to consider its verdict, stating distinctly the matter to which he objects and the grounds for his objection. See also, e.g., Belue v. City of Greenville, 226 S.C. 192, 84 S.E.2d 631 (1954)(refusing to consider on appeal a contention regarding the trial court's jury instruction that was not raised at trial); Sierra v. Skelton, 307 S.C. 217, 414 S.E.2d 169 (Ct.App.1992) (where party did not complain about judge's failure to instruct jury on issue, party could not complain on appeal about lack of jury instruction). As best we can discern, County's complaint on appeal about the trial court's error in submitting the issue to the jury is a complaint about the jury charge; i.e., the judge should not have charged the jury to determine, as a question of fact, the applicability of the Southern Building Code. Because County did not object to the jury instruction givenand, in fact, requested itthis issue is not preserved for our review.