Gloria Smalls v. Sharon Terry

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

Gloria Smalls, Appellant,

v.

Sharon Guy Terry, Respondent.

Appellate Case No. 2022-001513

Appeal From Beaufort County
Deborah A. Malphrus, Family Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2026-UP-178
Submitted May 15, 2025 – Filed April 22, 2026

AFFIRMED

Gloria Smalls, of Beaufort, pro se.

Sharon Guy Terry, of Chase City, Virginia, pro se.

PER CURIAM: Gloria Smalls appeals the family court's order dismissing her
annulment claim after she failed to provide proof of service for her initial summons
and complaint. On appeal, Smalls argues that the court abused its discretion when
it dismissed her annulment claim because (1) she was entitled to notice of her
deficiency before dismissal and (2) the dismissal violated her due process right to
be heard before final judgment was entered. We affirm pursuant to Rule 220(b),
SCACR.
We hold Smalls's arguments are not preserved for appellate review because they
were raised for the first time on appeal and were not argued during Smalls's
September 19, 2022 hearing or in a motion filed after the hearing. See Wilder
Corp. v. Wilke, 330 S.C. 71, 76, 497 S.E.2d 731, 733 (1998) ("It is axiomatic that
an issue cannot be raised for the first time on appeal, but must have been raised to
and ruled upon by the trial [court] to be preserved for appellate review."); S.C.
Dep't of Transp. v. First Carolina Corp. of S.C., 372 S.C. 295, 301-02, 641 S.E.2d
903, 907 (2007) ("There are four basic requirements to preserving issues at trial for
appellate review. The issue must have been (1) raised to and ruled upon by the
trial court, (2) raised by the appellant, (3) raised in a timely manner, and (4) raised
to the trial court with sufficient specificity." (quoting Jean Hoefer Toal et al.,
Appellate Practice in South Carolina 57 (2d ed. 2002))); I'On, L.L.C. v. Town of
Mt. Pleasant, 338 S.C. 406, 422, 526 S.E.2d 716, 724 (2000) ("[T]he losing party
generally must both present his issues and arguments to the lower court and obtain
a ruling before an appellate court will review those issues and arguments."); id. ("If
the losing party has raised an issue in the lower court, but the court fails to rule
upon it, the party must file a motion to alter or amend the judgment in order to
preserve the issue for appellate review.").

AFFIRMED.1

THOMAS, HEWITT, and CURTIS, JJ., concur.

1
We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.