Brown v. Cherokee County School District One

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

Sharon Brown, Appellant,

v.

Cherokee County
School District One, Respondent.

Appeal From Cherokee County

J. Derham Cole, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2011-UP-048

Submitted January 4, 2011 – Filed February
4, 2011   

REVERSED AND REMANDED

Fletcher N. Smith, Jr., of Greenville, for
Appellant.

David T. Duff, of Columbia, for
Respondent.

PER CURIAM: Sharon
Brown appeals the circuit court's order granting Cherokee County School
District's (the District's) motion for summary judgment.  The circuit court
granted the District's motion, finding all of Brown's causes of action were
barred by the doctrine of res judicata.  We reverse and remand.[1]

In light of our decision in Brown
v. James, 389 S.C. 41, 697 S.E.2d 604 (Ct. App. 2010), Brown's present
action is not barred by the doctrine of res judicata because a final judgment
on the merits does not exist.  See McEachern v. Black, 329 S.C. 642,
651, 496 S.E.2d 659, 663 (Ct. App. 1998) ("The doctrine requires
three essential elements: (1) the judgment must be final, valid and on the
merits; (2) the parties in the subsequent action must be identical to those in
the first; and (3) the second action must involve matter properly included in
the first action."); Id. (stating "we need not address the
other two elements" of res judicata after a determination the first
element was not met). 

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

THOMAS,
PIEPER, and GEATHERS, JJ., concur. 

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