SC Court of Appeals upholds $1.5 million verdict in Wage Payment Act case
A nurse practitioner has won an appeal of a case involving more than $1.5 million in back pay for underpaid bonuses. Burnette Shutt & McDaniel attorney David E. Rothstein represented the nurse practitioner in both the circuit court case and the appeal.
In 2018, nurse practitioner David Hess sued his former employer, a pediatric clinic in Lancaster, SC, and the doctor who owned the clinic. Hess contended that the clinic owed him the money based on a 2010 written agreement that outlined his base pay and the criteria for bonuses. The clinic, however, tried to change the terms of the bonus in late 2015 retroactive to March 2015.
Hess sued under the South Carolina Payment of Wages Act, alleging breach of contract, breach of contract accompanied by a fraudulent act, tortious interference with a contract, fraud or constructive fraud, negligent misrepresentation, declaratory judgment, and equitable accounting.
The jury agreed with Hess, awarding him $548,290.42 in total damages and $475,000 in punitive damages. Hess opted to forego the jury’s verdict for punitive damages and to pursue remedies under the Wage Payment Act, including treble damages and attorney’s fees and costs.
In its appeal, the clinic claimed that the lawsuit was filed too late due to a three-year statute of limitations. The clinic also contended, among other things, that the circuit court erred in finding that the bonus was an enforceable contract and that the clinic and the doctor failed to minimize expenses so that Hess’ bonus wasn’t affected. The clinic and the doctor also challenged the award of treble damages.
The appeals court rejected those claims, finding that the statute of limitations did not begin to run until Hess knew or reasonably should have known that he had a claim, because the clinic had concealed the financial information about its profitability from Hess and had actively misled Hess about his bonus payments.
On Hess’s cross-appeal, the appeals court also ruled that the circuit court had abused its discretion in reducing Rothstein’s attorney’s fees.
Rothstein is a South Carolina Supreme Court certified specialist in employment law, who practices in Burnette Shutt & McDaniel’s recently opened Greenville office. He fights for employees in all levels of state and federal courts in South Carolina, and he’s licensed in North Carolina as well. In addition to wage and pay issues, he represents clients in harassment, discrimination, and retaliation cases. His clients include hourly workers, salaried executives and managers, and licensed professionals such as healthcare providers.
Disclaimer: Any information posted about cases is intended only to be representative of the firm’s practice. These examples are not intended to, and cannot be relied upon, to predict the results in any other case.