Hedgepath v. Stanley Home Products, Inc., No. 20085
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of South Carolina |
| Writing for the Court | BUSSEY; MOSS |
| Citation | 217 S.E.2d 782,265 S.C. 248 |
| Parties | C. H. HEDGEPATH, Respondent, v. STANLEY HOME PRODUCTS, INC., and Twin City Fire Insurance Company, Appellants. |
| Docket Number | No. 20085 |
| Decision Date | 20 August 1975 |
Page 782
v.
STANLEY HOME PRODUCTS, INC., and Twin City Fire Insurance
Company, Appellants.
Page 783
[265 S.C. 249] Charles N. Plowden, Jr., and Lawrence B. Orr, Richardson, Plowden & Grier, Columbia, for appellants.
Furman R. Gressette, St. Matthews, for respondent.
[265 S.C. 250] BUSSEY, Justice:
This is a workmen's compensation proceeding arising out of an accident in which one Bessie C. Hedgepath met her death in Orangeburg County on March 30, 1973. She allegedly was an employee of the appellant, Stanley Home Products, Inc., which concern denied that she was an employee asserting, inter alia, that she was an independent contractor.
From an award of death benefits by the Industrial Commission the asserted employer and its carrier appealed to the Court of Common Pleas for Richland County. At a hearing on such appeal before the Honorable Robert W. Hayes, Presiding Judge of the 5th Judicial Circuit, the respondent orally moved to dismiss the same asserting that the court had no jurisdiction to hear such appeal under the provisions of section 72--356 of the 1962 Code of Laws, which section in pertinent part reads as follows:
'Either party . . . may . . . appeal . . . to the court of common pleas of the county in which the alleged accident happened, or in which the employer resides or has his principal office . . .'
Admittedly the accident did not happen in Richland County and the appeal to the Common Pleas Court in Richland County was proper only if Stanley had its principal office there, within the contemplation and meaning of the code section. The lower court held that Stanley did not have its principal office in Richland County and accordingly dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The appeal here is from such order.
[265 S.C. 251] From the record it appears that Stanley is a corporation with its home office in Westfield, Massachusetts. It has several branch sales offices in South Carolina, one of which was located in the County of Richland. Bessie C. Hedgepath, a resident of Lone Star, in Calhoun County, had been connected with Stanley for some 20 years and locally she dealt with Stanley's branch office in Richland County, attending weekly sales meetings, etc. at that office. The record contains her wage and tax statements, forms W--2, for the years 1971 and 1972. These show Mrs. Hedgepath as an employee, and...
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Dove v. Gold Kist, Inc., No. 24034
...of Haynesworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, Greenville, for respondent. TOAL, Justice: Relying on Hedgepath v. Stanley Home Products, 265 S.C. 248, 217 S.E.2d 782 (1975), the circuit court dismissed Cecil Dove's ("Dove") appeal from the order of the Workers' Compensation Commissi......
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Williams v. South Carolina Dept. of Wildlife, No. 22712
...v. Allied Chemical Co. and Travelers Insurance Company, 285 S.C. 106, 328 S.E.2d 476 (1985) and Hedgepath v. Stanley Home Products, Inc., 265 S.C. 248, 217 S.E.2d 782 The Workers' Compensation Act provides that appeals of decisions of the Industrial Commission must be brought in the county ......
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Chitty v. Allied Chemical Co., No. 22266
...in nature and transferred the appeal to Lexington. We disagree. This precise question has been decided in Hedgepath v. Stanley Homes, 265 S.C. 248, 217 S.E.2d 782 (1975). There the employer Page 477 filed in Richland County an appeal from an award of benefits for the death of an employee ki......
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Dove v. Gold Kist, Inc., No. 24034
...Jr., of Haynesworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, Greenville, for respondent. TOAL, Justice: Relying on Hedgepath v. Stanley Home Products, 265 S.C. 248, 217 S.E.2d 782 (1975), the circuit court dismissed Cecil Dove's ("Dove") appeal from the order of the Workers' Compensation Commission for la......
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Williams v. South Carolina Dept. of Wildlife, No. 22712
...v. Allied Chemical Co. and Travelers Insurance Company, 285 S.C. 106, 328 S.E.2d 476 (1985) and Hedgepath v. Stanley Home Products, Inc., 265 S.C. 248, 217 S.E.2d 782 The Workers' Compensation Act provides that appeals of decisions of the Industrial Commission must be brought in the county ......
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Chitty v. Allied Chemical Co., No. 22266
...in nature and transferred the appeal to Lexington. We disagree. This precise question has been decided in Hedgepath v. Stanley Homes, 265 S.C. 248, 217 S.E.2d 782 (1975). There the employer Page 477 filed in Richland County an appeal from an award of benefits for the death of an employee ki......