Tench v. The South Carolina Board of Education

This appeal is from a trial court's Order granting relief under Rule 60(b)(1) and Rule 60(b)(5), SCRCP, and an Order granting summary judgment. The trial court found a father could not recover under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-78-10 to 15-78-200 (Supp. 2000) (the "Act"), for medical expenses resulting from injuries to his son, who was the legal age of majority at the time of the accident.

Factual/Procedural Background

On October 6, 1994, eighteen year old Jason Tench ("Tench") was involved in an automobile accident with a school bus operated by the South Carolina Department of Education ("Department"). The school bus pulled in front of Tench's car, and he could not avoid driving underneath it. As a result, Tench suffered an almost fatal head injury, which left him with severe brain damage.

Tench was hospitalized and remained in a coma or a partial coma for six months. He currently lives at home where he needs constant and total care because he cannot take care of his basic needs. He cannot talk, eat, use the bathroom, dress, walk, or stand by himself. Tench spends his time either in bed or occasionally in a wheelchair. His condition is permanent, and he will never be able to care for himself. Without the care of his parents, Tench would have to live in a nursing home.

At the time of the accident, Tench was eighteen years old and had graduated from high school just four months earlier. He was attending Greenville Technical College and working part-time in his father's grocery store. He was dependent upon and supported by his parents. His father paid his college tuition and did not require Tench to pay rent.

Gary Tench ("Appellant") sued the Department as Tench's conservator, asserting a claim on behalf of his son for personal injuries and loss of enjoyment of life. Appellant also asserted an individual claim for medical bills and other expenses he incurred and continues to incur as a result of Tench's injuries. (1) The Department did not contest liability and stipulated the medical bills for Appellant's treatment exceeded $250,000. The Department tendered $250,000, the statutory maximum under the Act at that time, for Tench's claim. What then followed was a procedural nightmare.

On July 9, 1996, the Department filed a Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), SCRCP on the grounds of failure to state a viable cause of action. The Department contended Appellant was not entitled to make an individual claim under the Act because Tench was eighteen at the time of the accident and emancipated as a matter of law. By stipulation, the parties agreed Appellant's claim would be resolved based upon the trial court's resolution of the Motion to Dismiss.

On September 20, 1996, the trial judge issued an Order which approved the $250,000 settlement for Tench's claims and denied the Department's Motion to Dismiss Appellant's claim. The trial judge ruled Appellant was entitled to make a claim under the Act for the recovery of medical expenses and loss of services resulting from injuries to Tench. The trial judge also held "the parties . . . argued substantially outside the pleadings and have agreed that this Order will dispose of the case as far as the Circuit Court is concerned . . . . The Court rules as if this is a Summary Judgment Motion." The effect of the circuit court's order was to grant summary judgment to Appellant, and to enter a judgment on his behalf in the amount of $250,000.

We REVERSE the trial court's Order vacating the September 20, 1996, Order and reinstate the $250,000 judgment awarded Appellant.

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