Lemons and Gold Coast Resorts v. The McNair Law Firm

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

Scott Lemons and Gold Coast Resorts, LLC, Appellants,

v.

The McNair Law Firm, P.A., Respondent.

Appellate Case No. 2012-213156

Appeal From Horry County Larry B. Hyman, Jr., Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2014-UP-117 Heard October 3, 2013 – Filed March 19, 2014

AFFIRMED

Mark Weston Hardee, of The Hardee Law Firm, of Columbia, for Appellants.

Robert E. Stepp, Roland M. Franklin, Jr., and William Hammond Jordan, all of Sowell Gray Stepp & Laffitte, LLC, of Columbia, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM: In this legal malpractice action, Appellants seek review of the circuit court's order granting summary judgment to Respondent. We affirm pursuant to Rule 220(b), SCACR, and the following authorities: Crowley v.

Harvey & Battey, P.A., 327 S.C. 68, 70, 488 S.E.2d 334, 334-35 (1997) ("In South Carolina, an attorney may settle litigation on behalf of his client, and absent fraud or mistake, such a settlement is binding on the client." (emphasis added) (citations omitted)); Stiltner v. USAA Cas. Ins. Co., 395 S.C. 183, 191, 717 S.E.2d 74, 78 (Ct. App. 2011) ("One asserting ratification must establish the following three elements: (1) acceptance by the principal of the benefits of the agent's acts, (2) the principal's full knowledge of the facts, and (3) circumstances or an affirmative election demonstrating the principal's intent to accept the unauthorized arrangements."); Lincoln v. Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 300 S.C. 188, 191, 386 S.E.2d 801, 803 (Ct. App. 1989) ("Ratification . . . means the express or implied adoption and confirmation by one person of an act or contract performed or entered into in his behalf by another who at the time assumed to act as his agent." (citation omitted)); Restatement (Third) of Agency § 4.01(2) (2006) ("A person ratifies an act by (a) manifesting assent that the act shall affect the person's legal relations, or (b) conduct that justifies a reasonable assumption that the person so consents.").

AFFIRMED.

FEW, C.J., and SHORT and GEATHERS, JJ., concur.