Brother Intern. Corp. v. Southeastern Sales Co., 17550

• Decision Date: 06 July 1959
• Docket Number: No. 17550,17550
• Parties: BROTHER INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SOUTHEASTERN SALES COMPANY and George Golson, Defendants-Respondents.
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court

Page 444

109 S.E.2d 444

234 S.C. 573

BROTHER INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SOUTHEASTERN SALES COMPANY and George Golson, Defendants-Respondents.

No. 17550.

Supreme Court of South Carolina.

July 6, 1959.

Clarke W. McCants, Jr., J. Wesley Drawdy, Columbia, for appellant.

Isadore S. Bernstein, Columbia, for respondents.

TAYLOR, Justice.

This appeal will be disposed of by determining whether the trial Court erred in overruling plaintiff's demurrer to defendants' counterclaim on the ground that the Court was without jurisdiction to entertain said counterclaim in that it was in excess of the jurisdictional amount fixed by statute.

The action from which this appeal stems was brought in the County Court for Richland County to recover the sum of $2,989.05 as damages for goods sold and delivered to the corporate defendant and for judgment against the individual defendant on the ground of an alleged guaranty of the corporate indebtedness. The defendant, Southeastern Sales Co., duly answered, denying the material allegations of the complaint, and interposed a counterclaim seeking judgment of $55,000 damages by reason of an alleged breach of contract accompanied by malicious and fraudulent acts. The defendant, George Golson, by way of answer denied the material allegations of the complaint and as a further defense alleged that the liability had been discharged by way of novation. The defendant, Southeastern Sales Co., at the time of filing its answer and counterclaim, also filed notice of motion to have the case transferred from the Richland County Court to the Court of Common Pleas for Richland County upon the ground that damage claimed by way of counterclaim exceeded the jurisdiction of the Richland County Court. Plaintiff filed reply thereto and its demurrer on the ground that the Richland County Court was without jurisdiction to entertain such counterclaim. After Hearing thereon, the Court, in effect, overruled the demurrer by issuing its Order transferring the case to the Court of Common Pleas for Richland County for determination of the issues raised by the pleadings; and plaintiff appeals.

A pertinent portion of Section 15-764, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1952, which relates to the jurisdiction of the Richland County Court, appears as follows:

'Said county court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the court of common pleas in all civil cases and special proceedings, both at law and in equity, when the amount demanded in the complaint does not exceed ten thousand dollars or when the value of the property involved does not exceed ten thousand dollars * * *'

The Complaint sought damages in the sumof $2,989.05, an amount within the jurisdictional limit of the Court. The counterclaim for $55,000 was beyond the jurisdictional limit of the Court. The general rule is...