Shawn Eubanks v. SCPEBA

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

Shawn Eubanks, Appellant,

v.

South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority,
South Carolina Retirement Systems, Respondent.

Appellate Case No. 2020-001640

Appeal From The Administrative Law Court
Deborah Brooks Durden, Administrative Law Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2022-UP-138
Submitted January 1, 2022 – Filed March 23, 2022

AFFIRMED

Shawn David Eubanks, pro se, of Columbia.

Justin Richard Werner, of the South Carolina Public
Employee Benefit Authority, of Columbia, for
Respondent.

PER CURIAM: Shawn Eubanks appeals the Administrative Law Court's (ALC's)
grant of summary judgment in his action seeking a reversal of the South Carolina
Public Employee Benefit Authority's (PEBA's) determination that he could not join
the South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS) because he elected to join after the
fifth anniversary of his initial enrollment in the State Optional Retirement Program
(State ORP). On appeal, Eubanks argues the ALC erred in finding he was
ineligible to enroll in the SCRS because he had actively participated in the State
ORP for less than five years when he elected to join the SCRS. We hold the ALC
properly granted PEBA summary judgment because it was undisputed Eubanks
initially enrolled in the State ORP on August 3, 2009, and did not elect to join the
SCRS until January 8, 2020. Accordingly, we affirm pursuant to Rule 220(b),
SCACR, and the following authorities: Town of Summerville v. City of North
Charleston, 378 S.C. 107, 109, 662 S.E.2d 40, 41 (2008) ("When reviewing a grant
of summary judgment, an appellate court applies the same standard used by the
[ALC]."); id. at 109-10, 662 S.E.2d at 40 ("A grant of summary judgment is proper
when there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is
entitled to judgment as a matter of law."); Brown v. Bi-Lo, Inc., 354 S.C. 436, 439,
581 S.E.2d 836, 838 (2003) ("The cardinal rule of statutory construction is to
ascertain and give effect to the intent of the legislature."); State v. Morgan, 352
S.C. 359, 366-67, 574 S.E.2d 203, 206-07 (Ct. App. 2002) ("If a statute's language
is plain and unambiguous, and conveys a clear and definite meaning, there is no
need to employ rules of statutory interpretation and the court has no right to look
for or impose another meaning."); S.C. Code Ann. § 9-20-40(B) (2019) ("A State
ORP participant may irrevocably elect to join the [SCRS] during any open
enrollment period after the first annual anniversary but before the fifth annual
anniversary of the person's initial enrollment in the State ORP.").

AFFIRMED.1

WILLIAMS, C.J., MCDONALD, J., and LOCKEMY, A.J., concur.

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