Opinion ID: 2755604
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The 2002 Malpractice Lawsuit

Text: In April 2002, Respondent filed a pro se complaint (the 2002 malpractice lawsuit) in the Court of Common Pleas of Charleston County against Manton Grier, James Y. Becker, and Sinkler & Boyd, P.A. Respondent alleged legal malpractice against the attorneys who had represented her in the 1999 Lawsuit against Tenet HealthSystem and East Cooper.4 Venue was transferred to Richland County on motion of the defendants. Respondent appealed both the order transferring venue and the court's denial of her motion for clarification of the order transferring venue to Richland County. Respondent invoked a wide array of appellate procedures, extending the interlocutory appeal of a change of venue for more than a year. Respondent moved for transfer of venue back to Charleston County, citing the convenience of numerous physicians who resided and worked in Charleston and who would be witnesses in her case-in-chief. Respondent frequently referred to fifty physicians whom she intended to call as witnesses. Virtually none of those witnesses testified at trial, and the one witness who did appear at trial testified regarding matters that were immaterial to Respondent's claims against her former lawyers. While the appeal concerning venue was pending, Respondent filed numerous motions in Charleston County, which the court denied based upon lack of jurisdiction, as the case had been transferred to Richland County. Respondent appealed and, upon dismissal of the appeal, Respondent moved for rehearing and petitioned for a writ of certiorari from this Court. That round of appeals continued for nearly two years until October 2006. 3 The Court certified the appeal from the court of appeals, and the appeal was pending when ODC filed the formal charges. The Court has since affirmed the summary judgment and sanctions orders. See Holmes v. E. Cooper Cmty. Hosp., Inc., 408 S.C. 138, 758 S.E.2d 483 (2014). 4 Respondent also sued her Tennessee lawyers for malpractice. That suit was dismissed. In April 2007, Respondent filed an amended complaint pro se in the Court of Common Pleas in Richland County naming as defendants Manton Grier, James Y. Becker, and Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., successor firm to Sinkler & Boyd, P.A. The case was transferred to the Court of Common Pleas in Charleston County pursuant to Respondent's change of venue motion. Thereafter, Respondent filed numerous motions, including motions to strike defendants' motion to quash; a request that defendants produce 'all documents'; a request that defendants supplement their response regarding Continuing Legal Education; a motion to compel regarding professional negligence actions; a motion to compel regarding defendants' insurance policy; a motion to compel with respect to legal articles, treatises, and like; and a motion to compel employment contracts. Respondent's motions were denied. Respondent filed a notice of appeal in the court of appeals appealing all of the orders denying her motions. Respondent then filed a Supplemental Notice of Appeal appealing additional orders the circuit court entered in March and July 2008. The court of appeals filed an order dismissing all of Respondent's appeals as interlocutory. Respondent then filed an Amended Supplemental Notice of Appeal appealing an order the circuit court filed in May 2008. That appeal was also dismissed. Respondent filed petitions for certiorari regarding both dismissals, which were denied. Respondent's petition for rehearing was also denied. The case proceeded to trial on June 8, 2009. The circuit court granted a directed verdict in favor of all the malpractice defendants on all claims because the Respondent failed to present any evidence or expert testimony to establish the elements of her claims and on other grounds. The circuit court also dismissed the claims against the individual malpractice defendants because Respondent failed to file her lawsuit within the statute of limitations. The malpractice defendants filed a motion for sanctions. Respondent then filed a motion to strike or dismiss the malpractice defendants' motion for sanctions, a motion for a new trial, a motion for reconsideration of the court's order denying Respondent's motion for continuance, and a motion for sanctions. In November 2009, the circuit court denied all of the motions filed by Respondent and granted the malpractice defendants' motion for sanctions. The court awarded the malpractice defendants $200,000 in sanctions against Respondent, finding that she had filed a nonmeritorious and baseless lawsuit and that she lacked any substantial evidence to support her claims[,] that [her] initiation and continuation of this lawsuit was done with no reasonable cause, and that any reasonable attorney would have believed that the proceedings to date have been frivolous. The order also stated that Respondent engaged in dilatory litigation tactics and appealed numerous interlocutory matters which were likewise frivolous and dilatory. Respondent filed a notice of appeal in the court of appeals. In February 2010, the court of appeals dismissed the appeal. In April 2010, Respondent hired Chalmers Johnson, who filed a notice of appearance and an amended notice of appeal, which appealed virtually every order issued in all Respondent's cases. The court of appeals dismissed that appeal in June 2011 for failure to file an initial brief and failure to communicate with the court. Respondent filed another appeal of the directed verdict and the sanctions order in the court of appeals. This Court certified the appeal.5