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109 S.C. 301

96 S.E 138

Graham v. State

Supreme Court of South Carolina

Decided April 18, 1918

Supreme Court of South Carolina · decided 1918-04-18

Before Smiti-i, J., Richland, Summer term, 1917. Action by John M. Graham against the State of South Carolina. From an order overruling demurrer to the complaint, the State appeals. submit: The act permitting suit (2/ Stats., upó) creates no cause of action—■ imposes no liability as against the State, where none existed independently of it.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Affirmed · Decided 1918-04-18

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently November 1995

4 state decisions

20191819201930194019501960197019801990decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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¶1 Dissenting opinion by

Mr. Justice Fraser.

¶2 I cannot concur in the opinion of Mr. Justice Hydrick. This is an action for loss of profits. It seems to me that the act under which this action is brought provides for three things : (1) It removes the State’s immunity from suit; (2) it states the measure of the State’s liability, to wit, the liability of a private corporation; (3) the Attorney General shall defend, that is, he shall set up the available defenses.

¶3 It seems to me that the words “if any” negative the idea of an admission of liability. If a private corporation would not be liable, then by the terms of the act the State is not. To illustrate, a private corporation has bound itself to sell to another a certain amount of spirituous liquor. Before the elate of the delivery the State forbids the sale and delivery of spirituous liquor. The buyer could not recover his lost profits. The prohibition law is a complete defense. Whatever the legislature in its discretion may do for Mr. Graham is not before us. It seems to me the Attorney General is bound by the act to raise this question, and it should be sustained.

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