Amicus curiae brief filed on behalf of the South Carolina Hospital Association

On August 9, 2010, the South Carolina Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case of Blair Mathis v. Brown & Brown of South Carolina, in which Nexsen Pruet's Nikole Mergo filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the South Carolina Hospital Association.

The Court agreed with the position of the amici that while prospective or post-termination earnings may be awarded as damages for breach of contract, they do not constitute "wages" pursuant to the South Carolina Payment of Wages Act. The State Supreme Court ruled that the trial court erred in finding the Payment of Wages Act applied to future wages in a contract of employment for a definite term.

This was a great result for employers, including all South Carolina hospitals.  The SCHA was asked to weigh in on this matter by a member hospital faced with a similar situation involving an employed physician and the risk that the trial court's ruling would render hospitals liable under the Act for prospective physician contract wages, including the potential for treble damages for failure to pay the same.  The ruling is important given the recent trend in the hospital industry of increasing the number of employed physicians.

Read the court's opinion here.