Opinion ID: 1292855
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Court of Appeals Procedural Issues

Text: Williamson argues on appeal that the Court of Appeals committed a number of procedural errors in granting and conducting rehearing en banc. We find no error. Following the decision by the three-judge panel, Middleton petitioned for rehearing of the case and the Court of Appeals granted rehearing en banc. Though the endorsement letter showing that the Court of Appeals granted rehearing en banc shows the signatures of only five judges, six judges actually voted for rehearing. [1] After rehearing, the Court of Appeals en banc voted 5-4 to affirm the trial court's decision. Williamson first argues that the Court of Appeals erred in granting rehearing en banc on the votes of only five judges because S.C.Code Ann. § 14-8-90(a)(1) requires six votes to hear a case en banc. S.C.Code Ann. 14-8-90(a)(1) (2008). As referenced above, a letter from the Clerk of the Court of Appeals explained that the signature of Judge Williams was mistakenly omitted from the endorsement letter. In fact, the Clerk explained that six judges voted to hear the case en banc. Consequently, Williamson's argument is without merit. Next, Williamson contends that even if six judges voted to hear the case en banc, sufficient grounds did not exist to support rehearing under Rule 219 of the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules (SCACR). We note that while Rule 219 lists certain grounds on which rehearing en banc may be granted, it provides only that rehearing en banc  ordinarily will not be ordered except upon the listed grounds. Rule 219, SCACR (2007) (emphasis added). The Court of Appeals has discretion as to whether or not to accept rehearing and we find no error in the exercise of such discretion here. Williamson next argues that six votes of the Court of Appeals en banc were required to uphold the award of attorney's fees. Williamson notes that S.C.Code Ann. § 14-8-90(b) requires six votes of the en banc panel to reverse the judgment below. In Williamson's view, the judgment below is the opinion of the three-judge panel rather than the decision of the trial court. We disagree and find no error. See Rule 202(b)(1), SCACR (2007) (defining term lower court as the circuit court . . . from which the appeal is taken); State v. McAteer, 333 S.C. 615, 616, 511 S.E.2d 79, 80 (Ct.App.1998), overruled on other grounds, 340 S.C. 644, 532 S.E.2d 865 (2000) (granting of rehearing en banc by the Court of Appeals effectively vacates the original panel opinion). Williamson's final procedural argument is that the Court of Appeals erred in failing to limit its review to the existence or non-existence of a fee agreement, since in Williamson's view, the Court of Appeals granted rehearing only as to this issue. We disagree.