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CROCKER v. BARR9/9/1991
Heard June 12, 1991; Decided Sept. 9, 1991.
Rehearing Denied Oct. 18, 1991.
This personal injury action arises on a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' reversal of a jury verdict for the plaintiff. We reverse.
FACTS
The plaintiff, Crocker, was a member of the Calhoun Falls Pentecostal Holiness Church, an unincorporated association. On December 5, 1985, Crocker, at the minister's request, voluntarily entered the church's attic to fix the sound system. While in the attic, Crocker noticed an extra wire not connected to the sound system which he decided to remove. Difficulty with the wire forced Crocker to leave the floored portion of the attic, and to proceed by stepping out onto the exposed ceiling joists. Using the rafters for support, Crocker crossed the ceiling joists to gain access to the wire. Unfortunately, during some previous construction on the church, one of the rafters had been cut and left unsecured. Crocker stepped on the joist attached to the unstable rafter and, as a result of the ensuing movement, fell approximately ten (10) feet through the ceiling to the concrete floor below. Crocker's injuries from the fall were responsible for approximately $36,850.00 in medical bills and almost ten months of lost wages from work.
This case has a tortured procedural history. Crocker's initial suit against the church was dismissed by the lower court for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The rationale for the dismissal was the doctrine of imputed negligence (where a member of a voluntary unincorporated church association cannot maintain an action in tort against the association for injuries sustained through the negligence of his fellow members). Crocker v. Barr, 295 S.C. 195,
Crocker then filed the action resulting in this appeal against the various pastors and church board members, serving at the time of the church's construction or at the time of his fall. It should also be noted from the record that prior to trial the parties agreed to "not record, execute or otherwise attempt to collect any judgment . . . obtain against any one or more of the . . . defendants. . . ." At trial, the case was submitted to the jury on instructions of invitee liability, and the jury awarded Crocker $300,000 in damages. The Court of Appeals reversed the jury verdict, 397 S.E.2d 665, and we granted a writ of certiorari to review the decision.
LAW/ANALYSIS
The questions presented in this case are novel and of first impression in South Carolina. Although other states have addressed this issue, with the exception of the Court of Appeals opinion in Crocker I, case authorities in South Carolina are non-existent.
The threshold issue which must be addressed is, whether a member of an unincorporated association may maintain an action in tort against the other members of the association, and if so, under what theory of liability?
The cases allowing actions to be maintained by members of an association have run the gamut from labor unions to condominium associations, and have generally relied on the various statutes which allow for legal action against an unincorporated association. Marshall v. International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, 57 Cal.2d 781, 22 Cal.Rptr. 211, 371 P.2d 987 (1962); Fray v. Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, 9 Wis.2d 631, 101 N.W.2d 782 (1960); Murphy v. Yacht Cove Homeowners Association, 289 S.C. 367, 345 S.E.2d 709 (1986); See also S.C. Code Ann. ยง 15-5-160 (1976) (allowing unincorporated associations to be sued).
Joseph v. Calvary Baptist Church, 500 N.E.2d 250 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986), presents a
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