Scott v. SCPEBA ( 2019 )

THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE. IT SHOULD NOT BE
CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING
EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.
THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Court of Appeals
L'Tonya Scott, Appellant,
v.
South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority,
Employee Insurance Program, Respondent.
Appellate Case No. 2017-000780
Appeal From The Administrative Law Court
Deborah Brooks Durden, Administrative Law Judge
Unpublished Opinion No. 2019-UP-003
Submitted November 1, 2018 – Filed January 4, 2019
AFFIRMED
Melissa Leila Louzri, of Greenville, for Appellant.
Michael T. Brittingham, of Nexsen Pruet, LLC, of
Columbia; and James T. Hedgepath, of Nexsen Pruet,
LLC, of Greenville, both for Respondent.
PER CURIAM: Affirmed pursuant to Rule 220(b), SCACR, and the following
authorities: Allen v. S.C. Pub. Emp. Benefit Auth., 411 S.C. 611, 615, 769 S.E.2d
666, 668 (2015) ("A party who has exhausted all administrative remedies available
within an agency and who is aggrieved by an [administrative law court's (ALC's)]
final decision is entitled to judicial review."); S.C. Code Ann. § 1-23-610(B)
(Supp. 2018) ("The court of appeals may affirm the decision or remand the case for
further proceedings; or, it may reverse or modify the decision if the substantive
rights of the petitioner have been prejudiced because the finding, conclusion, or
decision is: (a) in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; (b) in excess of
the statutory authority of the agency; (c) made upon unlawful procedure; (d)
affected by other error of law; (e) clearly erroneous in view of the reliable,
probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or (f) arbitrary or
capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise
of discretion."); id. ("The court may not substitute its judgment for the judgment of
the [ALC] as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact."); MRI at Belfair,
LLC v. S.C. Dep't of Health & Envtl. Control, 379 S.C. 1, 6, 664 S.E.2d 471, 474
(2008) ("As to factual issues, judicial review of administrative agency orders is
limited to a determination whether the order is supported by substantial
evidence."); Murphy v. S.C. Dep't of Health & Envtl. Control, 396 S.C. 633, 639,
723 S.E.2d 191, 194-95 (2012) ("When finding substantial evidence to support the
ALC's decision, the [c]ourt need only determine that, based on the record as a
whole, reasonable minds could reach the same conclusion."); DuRant v. S.C. Dep't
of Health & Envtl. Control, 361 S.C. 416, 420, 604 S.E.2d 704, 707 (Ct. App.
2004) ("The mere possibility of drawing two inconsistent conclusions from the
evidence does not prevent a finding from being supported by substantial
evidence."); Wilson v. State Budget & Control Bd. Emp. Ins. Program, 374 S.C.
300, 305, 648 S.E.2d 310, 313 (Ct. App. 2007) ("While we recognize . . . the
Social Security Administration found otherwise, we remain cognizant that as an
appellate court, we must affirm an agency's decision when substantial evidence
supports the decision.").
AFFIRMED.1
KONDUROS, MCDONALD, and HILL, JJ., concur.
1
We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.