Kummer v. Malpeli

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA In The Court of Appeals Scott A. Kummer, Appellant, v. John C. Malpeli, III, Respondent. Appeal From York County Paul E. Short, Jr., Circuit Court Judge John Buford Grier, Master-in- Equity Unpublished Opinion No. 2003-UP-536 Submitted August 13, 2003 – Filed September 10, 2003 AFFIRMED Scott A. Kummer, of Clover, for Appellant. Demetri K. Koutrakos, of Columbia, for Respondent. PER CURIAM: Scott Kummer filed suit against his landlord, John Malpeli, claiming Malpeli violated terms of the lease agreement. Kummer appeals: (1) the circuit court’s order dismissing his complaint for failure to prosecute and (2) the master-in-equity’s order dismissing his complaint on the basis of res judicata. We affirm [1] pursuant to Rule 220(b)(2), SCACR and the following authorities: Town of Sullivan’s Island v. Felger, 318 S.C. 340, 344, 457 S.E.2d 626, 628 (Ct. App. 1995) (“Under the doctrine of res judicata, a final judgment on the merits in a prior action will preclude the parties and their privies from re-litigating any issues actually litigated or those that might have been litigated in the first action.”); see also Plum Creek Dev. Co. v. City of Conway, 334 S.C. 30, 34, 512 S.E.2d 106, 109 (1999) (“Res judicata bars subsequent actions by the same parties when the claims arise out of the same transaction or occurrence that was the subject of a prior action between those parties.”); Riedmand Corp. v. Greenville Steel Structures Inc., 308 S.C. 467, 469, 419 S.E.2d 217, 218 (1992) (“To establish res judicata, three elements must be shown: (1) identity of the parties; (2) identity of the subject matter; and (3) adjudication of the issue in the former suit.”). AFFIRMED. STILWELL, HOWARD, and KITTREDGE, JJ., concur. [1] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.