RM & Sons v. SCDOR ( 2022 )

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
RM & Sons, LLC d/b/a Anderson Liquor,
Petitioner/Respondent,
v.
South Carolina Department of Revenue and City of
Anderson, Respondents,
Of Which City of Anderson is the Appellant.
Appellate Case No. 2020-001691
Appeal From The Administrative Law Court
S. Phillip Lenski, Administrative Law Judge
Unpublished Opinion No. 2022-UP-404
Submitted October 1, 2022 – Filed November 9, 2022
AFFIRMED
Stacey Todd Coffee, of Logan & Jolly, LLP, and
J. Franklin McClain, of City of Anderson Attorney's
Office, both of Anderson, for Appellant.
Kenneth E. Allen, of Ken Allen & Associates, LLC, of
Columbia; and S. Jahue Moore and John Calvin Bradley,
Jr., both of Moore Bradley Myers, PA, of West
Columbia, all for Petitioner/Respondent.
PER CURIAM: The City of Anderson appeals an order of the administrative law
court (ALC), arguing the ALC erred by (1) finding the City and the South Carolina
Department of Revenue failed to show the proposed location for a retail liquor
store was not a "suitable place" under section 61-6-910 of the South Carolina Code
(2022) and (2) ordering the Department to grant the application for a retail liquor
license submitted by RM & Sons, LLC d/b/a Anderson Liquor. We affirm.
We hold substantial evidence supports the ALC's finding that the City and the
Department failed to show the proposed location was not a "suitable place" for a
retail liquor store. See S.C. Code Ann. § 1-23-610(B)(e) (Supp. 2022) (implying
an appellate court should affirm the ALC's decision if it is supported by substantial
evidence); § 61-6-910(2) ("The [D]epartment must refuse to issue [a retail liquor]
license . . . if the [D]epartment is of the opinion that . . . the store or place of
business . . . is not a suitable place . . . ."). The police chief from Anderson City
Police Department testified there had never been any alcohol-related incidents at
the proposed location or the Shell Station located across the street, even though the
Shell Station sold beer and wine. Further, a retired police officer testified he lived
near the proposed location and the crime rate was no greater than any other area of
Anderson. Accordingly, we hold the ALC did not err by ordering the Department
to grant RM & Sons's application for a retail liquor license. See Schwiers v. S.C.
Dep't of Health & Env't Control, 429 S.C. 43, 49, 837 S.E.2d 730, 733 (Ct. App.
2019) ("In determining whether the decision of the ALC was supported by
substantial evidence, a reviewing court 'need only find, looking at the entire record
on appeal, evidence from which reasonable minds could reach the same conclusion
as the ALC.'" (quoting Kiawah Dev. Partners II v. S.C. Dep't of Health & Env't
Control, 411 S.C. 16, 28, 766 S.E.2d 707, 715 (2014))).
AFFIRMED. 1
GEATHERS, MCDONALD, and HILL, JJ., concur.
1
We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.