Sloan v. Sload

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 Creighton W. Sloan, Respondent, v. Samuel H. Sloan, Appellant. Appeal From Aiken County Doyet A. Early, III, Circuit Court Judge Unpublished Opinion No. 2011-UP-283 Submitted June 1, 2011 – Filed June 10, 2011 AFFIRMED Samuel H. Sloan, pro se, of Bronx, New York, for Appellant. Catherine H. Kennedy, of Columbia, for Respondent. PER CURIAM: Samuel H. Sloan (Appellant) appeals the circuit court's order denying his motion to reconsider the June 25, 2007 order dismissing his appeal. Appellant argues the circuit court erred in dismissing his appeal of the 2006 probate court order closing the estate because (1) his appeal was timely and (2) Creighton W. Sloan (Respondent) should have been barred from contesting the original probate case and appearing as the personal representative of their mother, Helen Sloan (Mother). We affirm[1] pursuant to Rule 220(b)(1), SCACR, and the following authorities: 1. As to whether the circuit court erred in dismissing Appellant's appeal because it was untimely: See S.C. Code Ann. § 62-1-308(a) (2009) (emphasis added) ("[A]ppeals from the probate court must be to the circuit court and are governed by the following rules: (a) A person interested in a final order, sentence, or decree of a probate court and considering himself injured by it may appeal to the circuit court in the same county. The notice of intention to appeal to the circuit court must be filed in the office of the circuit court and in the office of the probate court and a copy served on all parties within ten days after receipt of written notice of the appealed from order, sentence, or decree of the probate court."); In re Estate of Cretzmeyer, 365 S.C. 12, 13-14, 615 S.E.2d 116, 116-17 (2005) (holding an appellant failed to timely file a notice of appeal under section 62-1-308(a) because the statute "was clear that the notice of appeal 'must be filed' in the circuit court within the ten-day period") (quoting S.C. Code Ann. § 62-1-308(a) (2009)); Id. at 14, 615 S.E.2d at 116 ("We decline Appellant's invitation to construe the statute in a manner inconsistent with its unambiguous terms."). 2. As to whether the circuit court erred in dismissing Appellant's appeal because Respondent should have been barred from contesting the original probate case and appearing as the personal representative of Mother's estate: Whiteside v. Cherokee Cnty. Sch. Dist. No. One, 311 S.C. 335, 340, 428 S.E.2d 886, 889 (1993) (finding the appellate court need not address a remaining issue when the resolution of a prior issue is dispositive). AFFIRMED. FEW, C.J., PIEPER and LOCKEMY, JJ., concur. [1] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.