Catchings v. South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, Opinion No. 2008-UP-299 (S.C. App. 6/9/2008), Opinion No. 2008-UP-299.
| Decision Date | 09 June 2008 |
| Docket Number | Opinion No. 2008-UP-299. |
| Parties | William S. Catchings, Jr., Respondent, v. South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, Appellant. |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
Page 1
v.
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, Appellant.
Appeal From Richland County, J. Ernest Kinard, Jr., Circuit Court Judge.
AFFIRMED.
General Counsel Frank L. Valenta, Jr. and Deputy Chief Counsel Philip S. Porter, of Blythewood, for Appellant.
Daniell S. Landers, of Lexington, for Respondent.
PER CURIAM:
This is a judicial review of an administrative action. The circuit judge, after hearing the matter without a jury, issued an order rescinding the suspension of the driver's license of Respondent William S. Catchings, Jr., directing the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles to refund to Catchings a $200.00 license reinstatement fee, and assessing attorney's fees of $5,065.00 against the Department. Following the denial of its post-trial motions, the Department filed this appeal. We affirm.1
On February 24, 2005, Catchings's wife requested the family's insurance company to drop coverage on a 1987 Ford Bronco. The insurance policy itself, however, remained in effect, and the Catchings continued to pay the premiums on their other vehicles.
On March 24, 2005, the Department, having been notified of the lapse in insurance coverage on the Bronco, sent Catchings an FR4 Notice. In the body of the notice, the Department advised Catchings that it had received notice of cancellation of insurance on the vehicle and that he should provide proof of liability insurance coverage or surrender the tag and registration on the vehicle. The notice further stated, "Failure to comply with this notice before the suspension date will result in the suspension of your vehicle registration and/or driver's license." (Emphases added.) In the top right hand corner of the letter appeared the notation "Date of Suspension:04/21/2005" and references to two sections of the South Carolina Code.
Catchings surrendered his registration and tag at a Department branch office on April 21, 2005. The Department customer service representative who waited on him accepted these items without incident, and Catchings was not told that he owed the Department any money or that his license had been or would be suspended.
On July 29, 2005, while driving on I-20 in Augusta, Georgia, Catchings was stopped for speeding. When the apprehending officer ran a license and registration check, Catchings was handcuffed in front of his wife, arrested, and taken to jail for driving on a suspended license. Catchings had to sit in jail until his wife located a bail bondsman in the middle of the night to bond him out. The arrest was the first notice Catchings received of any unresolved issues regarding his driver's license.
The week after he was arrested and jailed, Catchings received a letter from the Department dated August 1, 2005, advising that his "registration and/or driving privilege in this state will not be suspended" but also that he had to pay a penalty of $200.00. Also, on August 8, 2005, Catchings's wife checked the Department website to determine the status of Catchings's license and found it was listed as "suspended" as of that date. Although Catchings retained counsel to attempt to resolve the matter, he eventually paid the penalty because his job involved driving a company van.
A few days later, Catchings received another letter from the Department. Although this letter was dated August 9, 2005, it was essentially a duplicate of the letter dated August 1, 2005. In addition, although Catchings never requested reinstatement of the registration on the...
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