Fisher v. Shipyard Vill. Council of Co-Owners, Inc., Appellate Case No. 2014–002394.
| Decision Date | 27 January 2016 |
| Docket Number | Appellate Case No. 2014–002394.,No. 27603.,27603. |
| Citation | 415 S.C. 256,781 S.E.2d 903 |
| Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
| Parties | Richard A. FISHER, Platte B. Moring, Jr., Trustee of the Platte B. Moring, Jr. Living Trust dated March 13, 2001; Marianne Kochanski, and Jim H. Markley, III, Individually, and in a Representative Capacity on behalf of all Persons similarly situated Who Own Units in Buildings C and D of the Shipyard Village Horizontal Property Regime; Robert A. Wright, Mary Beth C. Wright, H. Allen Wright, Joyce Y. Wright and Carolyn L. Wright ; Carmen J. Savoca, Ann D. Savoca, William John Savoca and Donna S. Strom; James T. Hunter and Mary D. Hunter; Dwain C. Andrews; WWS, LLC, a South Carolina Limited Liability Company; Donald L. Henson and Sandra L. Henson; Allen M. Funk; Norman J. Rish and Mary T. Rish; Angela M. Markley; Walter C. Worsham and Carolyn W. Worsham; Enrico S. Piraino and Giusto Piraino; Otis T. Harrison and Rose C. Harrison; James E. Newman, Jr.; Brenda E. Fisher and Joseph R. Canning and Kathleen B. Canning; James D. Reynolds, Jr.; Fuller Family, LLC; Richard T. White and Rory L. White; Propst and Dawson, LLC; Litchfield Quarters, LLC, and Larry O. Snider and Paula D. Snider; William C. Hammond, Jr., Living Trust and the Shawn S. Hammond Living Trust; GAB IV, LLC, a Virginia Limited Liability Company; Robert C. McBride and Susan R. McBride, Trustees of the Robert C. McBride Family Trust u/d/t July 24, 2008, and Susan R. McBride and Robert C. McBride, Trustees of the Susan R. McBride Family Trust u/d/t July 24, 2008; Evelyn J. Valuska; Barbara W. Beymer; Montrose Associates, LLC; Harry L. Belk and Jan C. Belk; Dennis E. Barrett and Wilma J. Barrett; First Family Properties, Inc., Cynthia L. Jones, Sandra D. Huggins and Margaret S. Dover, Thomas Franklin Huggins, Frank S. Krouse and Barbara T. Krouse, Judith W. Mill, William Mill and Susan Mill, Gene R. Riley and Patricia C. Riley, Harold LeMaster and Patti LeMaster; Joseph P. Heaton and Frances H. Heaton; Robert N. Kelly; H.S. Keeter and Sandra C. Keeter; Brian R. Nisbet Trust Agreement dated November 16, 1998 and Mary M. Nisbet Trustee of the Mary M. Nisbet Trust Agreement dated November 16, 1998, Dorothy Jean Foster; Captains Quarters D–24 Association of Owners, Inc., Michael H. Sanders and Rebecca H. Sanders, Ruth Gray Wheliss, David B. Shivell and Nicki M. Shivell, Debra B. Leeke, Joseph Alan Capobianco and Lara Serro, Sharon Gibson Daniel, Gary C. Andes and Andrea W. Andes, Jay Hendler and Laura Hendler, Joy P. McConnell, Charles W. Fortner, Judith C. Woodson, Warren W. Riggs and Charles G. Martin, Riggs Ventures, LLC, and SGS Beach Partners, LLC; Morgan J. Mann and Angela M. Mann; Michael Cameron Foster, Sr. and Laura Lee Foster; Captains Quarters Unit D–31 Association of Multiple Ownerships, Inc., Evelyn Gail Earnest, Francis G. Thomson and Arleen S. Thomson, Robert W. Dalton, Red Oak Limited Partnership, William R. McKeown and Margaret A. McKeown, Norman K. Moon and Barbara W. Moon, David T. McGill and Carol G. McGill, Rick L. Bledsoe and Susan H. Bledsoe, Geoffrey A. Wienke and Pamela L. Wienke, A. Donald Ross III and Nancy Kay Ross, Dennis J. Straw and Roxanne B. Straw, and Resort Investments of Litchfield, LLC; Georgia M. Pruitt and Howard M. Pruitt, Jr.; Jean T. Blaylock; William C. Covington, Jr. and Donna C. Covington; Litchfield Captain's Quarters, LLC; James A. Schubert and Laraine C. Schubert; Daniel P. Duvall and Mary Lynn Duvall; Victor A. Medina and Melinda Leigh Medina; Judy P. Hamer; Boyce F. Miler and Carole L. Miller, Raymond A. Shingler and Louise O. Shingler, Paul Larry Barnette and Carol Jane Barnette, James R. Walker and Erika T. Walker, Kathy W. Underwood, Andrew J. Wingo, Jr. and Susan A. Wingo, Melanie S. Franklin, Lois E. Cooley, Trustee of the Lois E. Cooley Living Trust, B. Lee Smith and Margaret H. Smith, Jason A. Underwood, Camilla J. Wilson; Stewart South, LLC; Quarter South, LLC; Steven H. Frame and Kay B. Frame, Petitioners, v. SHIPYARD VILLAGE COUNCIL OF CO–OWNERS, INC., Respondent. Shipyard Village Council of Co–Owners, Inc., Third–Party Plaintiff, v. Cincinnati Insurance Company, Travelers Insurance Company, Companion Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Philadelphia Insurance Company, Zurich American Insurance Company, American Guarantee and Liability Ins. Co., St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and Illinois National Insurance Company, Third–Party Defendants. |
Howell V. Bellamy, Jr., and Howell V. Bellamy, III, both of Bellamy, Rutenberg, Copeland, Epps, Gravely & Bowers, PA, of Myrtle Beach, for petitioners.
Carlyle Richardson Cromer and R. Wayne Byrd, both of Turner Padget Graham & Laney, PA, of Myrtle Beach, for respondents.
Acting Justice TOAL.
The underlying dispute in this case involves the repair of faulty windows and sliding glass doors in a condominium development, Shipyard Village Horizontal Property Regime (Shipyard Village), in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. Fifty co-owners of units in Buildings C & D of the development (Petitioners) appeal the court of appeals' decision reversing the trial court's finding that the business judgment rule does not apply to the conduct of the Board of Directors (the Board) of the Shipyard Village Council of Co–Owners, Inc. (the Council), and the trial court's decision granting Petitioners partial summary judgment on the issue of breach of the Board's duty to investigate. See Fisher v. Shipyard Village Council of Co–Owners, Inc., 409 S.C. 164, 760 S.E.2d 121 (Ct.App.2014). We affirm the court of appeals' decision as modified.
FACTS/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Shipyard Village was established in 1982 pursuant to the recording of its Master Deed. Bylaws were promulgated to govern the Board's administration of the Council. Phase I of Shipyard Village was completed in 1982, and consists of Buildings A and B, each of which contains forty units. Phase II was completed in 1998, and consists of Buildings C and D, each of which contains thirty units.
Evidence in the record indicates that water leaks around the windows and sliding glass doors in various units in Buildings A and B date back to 1983. Moreover—although there is conflicting evidence as to the cause—the evidence indicates that the Board knew about the leaks for years, and that the co-owners of units with leaks failed to maintain and repair their units as required by the Master Deed and Bylaws.
Section 3.6(c) of the Master Deed provides that a unit's balcony doors, including the doors' "frames, casings, hinges, handles, and other fixtures" are part of each unit. Under Section 3.7(a) of the Master Deed, the roofs and stucco exteriors of the units are common elements.
Sections 6.1 and 6.2 of the Bylaws provide that the property manager of Shipyard Village or the Board is responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of the "common elements," and co-owners are responsible for the maintenance and repair of their own units. However, section 6.3 of the Bylaws provides:
[I]f a co-owner fails to perform the maintenance required of him by [the Bylaws], and such failure creates or permits a condition which is hazardous to life, health, or property, or which unreasonably interferes with the rights of another [c]o-owner, or which substantially detracts from the value or appearance of the Regime Property, the Board [ ] shall, after giving such [c]o-owner reasonable notice and opportunity to perform such maintenance, cause such maintenance to be performed and charge all reasonable expense of so doing to such [c]o-owner by an Individual Assessment.
Section 6.4 of the Bylaws further states:
The expenses of all maintenance, repair, and replacement provided by the Manager or the Board ... shall be Common Expenses, except that when such expenses are not fully reimbursed by insurance proceeds and when they are necessitated by (1) the failure of a [c]o-owner to perform the maintenance required by these Bylaws or by any lawful Regulation or (2) the willful act, neglect, or abuse of a [c]o-owner, they shall be charged to such [c]o-owner as an Individual Assessment.
Similar to the Bylaws, Section 5.6 of the Master Deed provides that maintenance, repair, and replacement of the common elements are the Board's responsibility, and that the expenses incurred for such purposes shall be assessed as common expenses except in the case of the negligence of a co-owner.
At a board meeting on June 15, 1999, the Board discussed the responsibility for waterproofing the units' balcony thresholds (the area underneath the sliding glass doors) and window frames pursuant to the Master Deed. The Board moved to notify all co-owners that they were responsible for waterproofing their balcony thresholds and window frames, and subsequently mailed such notice to the co-owners on August 11, 1999.
A management report dated August 23, 2002, referenced the "many calls" the Board was receiving about leaking windows in Buildings A and B. The report noted that "[t]his is the owners['] responsibility and [is] very difficult for some to try to deal with getting the work done," and further stated that "[w]e are in the process of inspecting the windows and formulating a plan/price."
At some point in 2002, the Board hired McGee Consulting Association (MCA) to investigate and perform testing on the windows of Buildings A and B. The minutes from the September 27, 2002, special meeting of the Board indicate that MCA conducted water testing on some of the windows. The water testing confirmed positive water intrusion, which had caused some of the wood framing to deteriorate. In response to this information, the Council's attorney informed the Board that "there were safety issues with respect to the durability of the windows," and recommended the Board pursue legal action against the responsible parties.1
In response to co-owners' complaints, the Board repeatedly informed co-owners that under the Master Deed, the leaks in windows and sliding doors...
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