Lawrence is taking a well deserved day off this week … so we thought we would bring you another 21 minute, 44 second video which demonstrates the clear need for JUDICIAL REFORM here in South Carolina.

Judicial Reform is the talk of political circles now … and folks will be pushing it hard in 2024 from both the Right & the Left. (October 4th, 2023 – FITSNews – HERE)

FITSNews (10/04/2023): HERE

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Where It Started

Where “judicial reform” started for us was in 2014 when the SC Department of Revenue (SCDOR) under then Director Rick Reames (HERE) and then Governor Nikki Haley “TARGETED” us personally and Palmetto Kids FIRST Scholarship Program, Inc. for a South Carolina tax “audit”.

We all know how Lois Lerner (HERE) and the Internal Revenue Service under the Obama administration targeted TEA Party Groups back in 2013 (HERE) … well guess what … it happened right here in South Carolina too, just in reverse … and it was conservative Republicans targeting other conservative Republicans.

Imagine, opening your mailbox one day in 2014 and you have three “NOTICE OF AUDIT” letters from the SCDOR against yourself, your wife (we are married but filed our taxes separately at the time) … and a children’s non-profit helping special needs kids. I’m a tax attorney / CPA and been waiting my whole life to be audited … but is was still disturbing given the obvious political targeting we were already suffering from powerful people we did not even know.

We did not understand it at the time … all we wanted to do was raise money and give scholarships to K-12 kids with “special needs” in our spare time … and live our “retirement” life at the Isle of Palms … but it was all “political” and all over MONEY & special interest … and this evil is why we are involved in this movement to this day.

School Choice is not fixed here in South Carolina yet and we are sticking at it until it is done … no matter what it takes … and no matter “who” needs to be EXPOSED!!! The kids deserve it, and South Carolinians deserve better as well. The corruption that is dragging down South Carolina and our children must be STOPPED!!!

FollowTheMONEY!!!

[NOTE: Spoiler alert, the ultimate outcome of the “audits” after a year and a half and tens of thousands of dollars in legal expenses … (#1) I personally did not have a tax return filing requirement in South Carolina at the time, (#2) my wife Olga was completely cleared as all she had was two W-2s and a standard deduction … and (#3) nothing was ultimately found wrong with the non-profit Palmetto Kids FIRST as the SCDOR published a huge “faux” report full of errors and then mysteriously dropped the audit without finalizing the matter or correcting their obvious errors. It was a complete political targeting by SC State Government and certain politicians.]

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LEGISLATORS CALLING JUDGES: We had faith in the system back then, but to be safe we did hire one of the biggest law firms in South Carolina … and specifically the head tax partner to handle our case. He was a referral from another prominent family / attorney here in SC.

After the first meeting the attorney had with Director Reames and other top officials at the SCDOR … the attorney told us this:

(#1) You are definitely being “targeted” and there is something much bigger / higher-up going on here. YES, the lawyer seemed scared as you don’t want to cross the SCDOR as they will ruin your career and take it out on your other clients. And in follow-up he told us …

(#2) It is not uncommon for a legislator to call a Judge and tell him/her how they want the case to turn out.

Are you kidding me?!?!?

As a USC Law School graduate / attorney myself I was FLOORED as such communications are a HUGE breach of judicial & lawyer ethics … but what was most troubling was the attorney did not seem to have a problem with it. It was “just the way it is” here in South Carolina.

NO, it is not acceptable as “just the way it is” … and JUDICIAL REFORM, specifically lawyer legislators picking judges in South Carolina, became a hot button issue for us personally.

But, enough of that background, let’s get back to the Davis v. Leupp case appeal and video …

Rule 12(b)(8)

(Duplicative cases not allowed … unless “political”?)

OK, so know that there is a reason for everything … and there is a very important “Rule of Civil Procedure” (HERE) in court cases that says you can’t file a case in one jurisdiction and go file the same case in another court, and another court, and another court. If someone does that it is easy to have the case dismissed under SC Rules of Civil Procedure, 12(b)(8).

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Defenses – Rule 12(b)(8): “another action is pending between the same parties for the same claim.”

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But the cases have to be identical. Same parties and same claims / facts.

Operative word … “SAME”!!! It is right there in the Rule.

But my Greenville case against Nate Leupp, my predecessor as Chairman of the Greenville County Republican Party, was dismissed under Rule 12(b)(8) even though it involved DIFFERENT parties … and different FACTS. Some facts and events in the Greenville case happened AFTER (as Court of Appeals Judge Blake Hewitt noted in the video) the events in the Richland case. It’s crazy town to say the two cases are the same!!!

So … how can a Greenville case with different parties and different claims, for events that happened AFTER a Richland case, be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(8) as duplicative?

Welcome to a “Banana Republic”!!! (HERE)

Banana Republic (defined): A country (or state like SC) with an economy of state capitalism (like selling out the SC Citizens & Taxpayers to Volkswagen for $1.4 Billion in 2023), whereby the country is operated as a private commercial enterprise for the exclusive profit of the ruling class (like our “legislators” and their monied special interest).

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Innocent Mistake?

(and purposeful delay & distraction)

Realize, this original case was filed on November 12th, 2019.

It is now October 6th, 2023 … almost FOUR YEARS later … and this case was dismissed under Rule 12(b)(8) so nothing has been done for FOUR YEARS … except for HUNDREDS & HUNDREDS of manhours spent fighting this one clear issue!!!

Do we think the trial court Judge in Greenville made a simple mistake? Rule 12(b)(8) is only TWELVE WORDS … it is about as simple and basic of a Law School 101 class as you can get.

Or, do we think some “lawyer legislators” may have made a call to the Judge and told him how they wanted the case to turn out? Like the Columbia big firm partner told us its “just the way it is” here in South Carolina.

Watch this appeal video … and YOU decide.

YouTube: HERE

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TIMESTAMPS:

Start – 9:51: Appellant Davis’ Case

9:52 – 18:49: Respondent Leupp’s Attorney

18:50 – End (21:42): Appellant Davis’ Reply / Closing Argument

LEGAL FILINGS:

Record on Appeal (all the case filings): HERE

Appellant Davis’ Final Brief: HERE

Respondent Leupp’s Final Brief: HERE

Appellant Davis’ Final Reply: HERE

Dum spiro spero

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …