Waters v. University of South Carolina, 0104
| Decision Date | 27 February 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 0104,0104 |
| Citation | 280 S.C. 572,313 S.E.2d 346 |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | , 16 Ed. Law Rep. 974 Michael A. WATERS, Appellant, v. The UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, Respondent. |
William F. Able, Columbia, for appellant.
Timothy G. Quinn, Columbia, for respondent.
This is an appeal from a directed verdict granted by a Circuit Judge to the respondent--the University of South Carolina. Appellant-Waters is appealing the grant of the directed verdict to the University on its alleged breach of contract. The University is not appealing the grant of a directed verdict to Waters on the incidental expenses. We affirm.
In December of 1972, Waters signed an athletic grant-in-aid contract with the University of South Carolina (USC) to play football. The grant-in-aid became effective in September of 1973 for a period of four years. It provided, among other things, that USC would furnish Waters with room, board, tuition, books, fees and incidental expenses of $15.00 per month, that continuance of the grant was contingent upon Waters remaining academically eligible and his abiding by the rules and regulations of USC and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and that the grant would be honored if Waters was injured while playing football.
Waters was injured on November 17, 1973, while playing football for USC. The injury prevented him from playing football in the future and also prevented him from finishing the 1973 fall semester and from attending the 1974 spring semester. Waters attended the first summer session of 1974, residing in regular on-campus housing. From the 1974 fall semester through the 1977 spring term, Waters resided in the "Roost" (the athletic dormitory).
In the fall of 1975, Waters' $15.00 per month incidental expenses were terminated. In August of 1977, Waters was told to seek alternate housing. USC compensated for the loss of housing by giving Waters $175.00 per month for room and board; the University continued to pay for tuition, books, etc.
Because Waters believed that regular on-campus housing was already overcrowded, he made no effort to secure on-campus housing. Waters resided in an off-campus apartment for two semesters (fall 1977 & spring 1978) and was forced to incure expenses in excess of the $175.00 per month the University gave to him. He then brought this suit alleging breach of the grant-in-aid contract and sought damages of $18,000, the difference between his room and board allowance and his actual expenses.
South Carolina Code Section 15-33-10 allows a trial judge to direct a verdict when the case before him presents...
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