Snell v. Columbia Gun Exchange, Inc.

• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: PER CURIAM
• Citation: Snell v. Columbia Gun Exchange, Inc., 278 S.E.2d 333, 276 S.C. 301 (S.C. 1981)
• Decision Date: 13 May 1981
• Docket Number: No. 21451,21451
• Parties: Walter LaVerne SNELL, Appellant, v. COLUMBIA GUN EXCHANGE, INC., Respondent.

Page 333

278 S.E.2d 333

276 S.C. 301

Walter LaVerne SNELL, Appellant, v. COLUMBIA GUN EXCHANGE, INC., Respondent.

No. 21451.

Supreme Court of South Carolina.

May 13, 1981.

J. Leeds Barroll, IV, of Rogers, Fullwood, Duncan & Barroll, Lexington, for appellant.

John Choate, of Nelson, Mullins, Grier & Scarborough, Columbia, for respondent.

PER CURIAM:

This is an appeal from summary judgment granted to respondent. We affirm.

Appellant brought action for personal injuries sustained on August 11, 1972, when a pistol which he had earlier purchased from the respondent accidentally discharged. The action was commenced by service of Summons and Complaint upon the respondent on December 20, 1978, six years and four months after the accidental shooting. Upon motion of the respondent, the court below granted summary judgment upon the ground that action was barred by Sections 15-3-530(5) and 15-3-535, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976. The former section establishes a six year limitation for actions arising from injury to the person and the latter section more specifically requires action to be commenced "within six years after the person knew or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known that he had a cause of action."

Section 15-3-535 is of recent date and has not heretofore been construed by this Court. The exercise of reasonable diligence means simply that an injured party must act with some promptness where the facts and circumstances of an injury would put a person of common knowledge and experience on notice that some right of his has been invaded or that some claim against another party might exist....