S.C. Dep't of Soc. Servs. v. Myers

• Decision Date: 13 May 2022
• Docket Number: 2022-UP-200,Appellate Case 2021-000041
• Parties: South Carolina Department of Social Services, Respondent, v. Kenneth Myers and Karen Myers, Defendants, Of whom Kenneth Myers is the Appellant. In the interest of a minor under the age of eighteen.
• Court: South Carolina Court of Appeals

South Carolina Department of Social Services, Respondent, v. Kenneth Myers and Karen Myers, Defendants,

Of whom Kenneth Myers is the Appellant. In the interest of a minor under the age of eighteen.

No. 2022-UP-200

Appellate Case No. 2021-000041

Court of Appeals of South Carolina

May 13, 2022

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.

Submitted May 12, 2022

Appeal From Orangeburg County Anne Gue Jones, Family Court Judge

Kimberly Yancey Brooks, of Kimberly Y. Brooks, Attorney at Law, of Greenville, for Appellant.

Patrick A. McWilliams, of South Carolina Department of Social Services, of Orangeburg; and Scarlet Bell Moore, of Greenville, both for Respondent.

James B. Jackson, Jr., of Orangeburg, for the Guardian ad Litem.

PER CURIAM

Kenneth Myers (Father) appeals the family court's findings from a merits removal order. On appeal, Father argues the family court erred in (1) finding he physically abused his minor child (Child) and (2) ordering no contact between Father and Child until recommended by a counselor. We affirm.

On appeal from the family court, this court reviews factual and legal issues de novo. Simmons v. Simmons, 392 S.C 412, 414, 709 S.E.2d 666, 667 (2011); see also Lewis v Lewis, 392 S.C. 381, 386, 709 S.E.2d 650, 652 (2011). Although this court reviews the family court's findings de novo, we are not required to ignore the fact that the family court, which saw and heard the witnesses, was in a better position to evaluate their credibility and assign comparative weight to their testimony. Lewis, 392 S.C. at 385, 709 S.E.2d at 651-52.

We hold a preponderance of the evidence supports the family court's finding that Father physically abused Child. See S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-20(6)(a)(i) (Supp 2021) ("'Child abuse or neglect' or 'harm' occurs when: (a) the parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the child's welfare: (i) inflicts or allows to be inflicted upon the child physical or mental injury or engages in acts or omissions which present a substantial risk of physical or mental injury to the child . . . ."). At the merits hearing, Father and Karen Myers (Mother) gave differing accounts of how Child sustained injuries to her face, arms, and back. Father testified Child fell and hit her face on the wall after he attempted to "re-direct her" from walking away but could not account for the scratch on Child's back and bruise on her arm. Mother testified she intervened between Child and Father while they were arguing and fell, taking Child with her and causing Child to hit her face on the wall. However, three days after the incident, Mother filed for a domestic violence order of protection from Father and included an affidavit swearing that Father struck Child during the incident and caused Child's injuries. Additionally, Mother admitted her relationship with Father had "become physical" in the past, and Father was convicted of domestic violence in 2005. Finally, Mother acknowledged Child told law...