Horton v. Jasper County School District

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

Randy Horton, Appellant,

v.

Jasper County School District, Respondent.

Appellate Case No. 2014-002612

Appeal From Jasper County
Carmen T. Mullen, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2016-UP-151
Submitted December 1, 2015 – Filed March 30, 2016

AFFIRMED

James Ashley Twombley, of Twenge & Twombley,
LLC, of Beaufort, for Appellant.

Dwayne Traynor Mazyck and Mary Allison Caudell,
both of Childs & Halligan, PA, of Columbia, for
Respondent.

PER CURIAM: Affirmed pursuant to Rule 220(b), SCACR, and the following
authorities: Sloan v. Friends of Hunley, Inc., 393 S.C. 152, 156, 711 S.E.2d 895,
897 (2011) ("The decision to award or deny attorney['s] fees under a state statute
will not be disturbed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion." (quoting Kiriakides
v. Sch. Dist. of Greenville Cty., 382 S.C. 8, 20, 675 S.E.2d 439, 445 (2009))); id.
("An abuse of discretion occurs when the conclusions of the [circuit] court are
either controlled by an error of law or are based on unsupported factual
conclusions." (quoting Kiriakides, 382 S.C. at 20, 675 S.E.2d at 445)); S.C. Code
Ann. § 30-4-100(b) (2007) ("If a person or entity seeking such relief prevails
[under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)], he or it may be awarded
reasonable attorney['s] fees and other costs of litigation. If such person or entity
prevails in part, the court may in its discretion award him or it reasonable
attorney['s] fees or an appropriate portion thereof."); Campbell v. Marion Cty.
Hosp. Dist., 354 S.C. 274, 288-89, 580 S.E.2d 163, 170 (Ct. App. 2003) (stating
under section 30-4-100, "the only prerequisite to an award of attorney's fees and
costs is that the party seeking relief must prevail, in whole or in part"); Burton v.
York Cty. Sheriff's Dep't, 358 S.C. 339, 357-58, 594 S.E.2d 888, 898 (Ct. App.
2004) ("The [FOIA attorney's fees] award, however, must be reasonable and
supported by adequate findings."); Jackson v. Speed, 326 S.C. 289, 308, 486
S.E.2d 750, 760 (1997) ("[O]n appeal, an award for attorney's fees will be affirmed
so long as sufficient evidence in the record supports each factor.").

AFFIRMED.1

HUFF, A.C.J, and WILLIAMS and THOMAS, JJ., concur.

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