Lemons and Gold Coast Resorts v. The McNair Law Firm

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
Scott Lemons and Gold Coast Resorts, LLC, Appellants,
v.
The McNair Law Firm, P.A., Respondent.
Appellate Case No. 2012-213156
Appeal From Horry County
Larry B. Hyman, Jr., Circuit Court Judge
Unpublished Opinion No. 2014-UP-117
Heard October 3, 2013 – Filed March 19, 2014
AFFIRMED
Mark Weston Hardee, of The Hardee Law Firm, of
Columbia, for Appellants.
Robert E. Stepp, Roland M. Franklin, Jr., and William
Hammond Jordan, all of Sowell Gray Stepp & Laffitte,
LLC, of Columbia, for Respondent.
PER CURIAM: In this legal malpractice action, Appellants seek review of the
circuit court's order granting summary judgment to Respondent. We affirm
pursuant to Rule 220(b), SCACR, and the following authorities: Crowley v.
Harvey & Battey, P.A., 327 S.C. 68, 70, 488 S.E.2d 334, 334-35 (1997) ("In South
Carolina, an attorney may settle litigation on behalf of his client, and absent fraud
or mistake, such a settlement is binding on the client." (emphasis added) (citations
omitted)); Stiltner v. USAA Cas. Ins. Co., 395 S.C. 183, 191, 717 S.E.2d 74, 78
(Ct. App. 2011) ("One asserting ratification must establish the following three
elements: (1) acceptance by the principal of the benefits of the agent's acts, (2) the
principal's full knowledge of the facts, and (3) circumstances or an affirmative
election demonstrating the principal's intent to accept the unauthorized
arrangements."); Lincoln v. Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 300 S.C. 188, 191, 386 S.E.2d
801, 803 (Ct. App. 1989) ("Ratification . . . means the express or implied adoption
and confirmation by one person of an act or contract performed or entered into in
his behalf by another who at the time assumed to act as his agent." (citation
omitted)); Restatement (Third) of Agency § 4.01(2) (2006) ("A person ratifies an
act by (a) manifesting assent that the act shall affect the person's legal relations, or
(b) conduct that justifies a reasonable assumption that the person so consents.").
AFFIRMED.
FEW, C.J., and SHORT and GEATHERS, JJ., concur.