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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA CHARLESTON DIVISION O'CALLAGHAN CABLE SERVICES, INC., and JAMES O'CALLAGHAN, individually, Plaintiffs, vs. COASTAL CABLE CONSTRUCTION INC., SOUTH GEORGIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS INC., and CHARLES GRINER, individually, Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 2:11-cv-00375-DCN

ORDER

This matter is before the court on cross motions for summary judgment. Plaintiffs O'Callaghan Cable Services, Inc. and James O'Callaghan filed a complaint in federal court on February 15, 2011 against defendants Coastal Cable Construction Inc. (Coastal Cable), South Georgia Telecommunications Inc., and Charles Griner. In their complaint, plaintiffs bring claims for breach of contract, defamation per se/slander, breach of contract accompanied by a fraudulent act, wrongful interference with a contractual relationship, and unfair trade practices. Plaintiff moved for summary judgment on their defamation per se/slander claim and defendants moved for summary judgment on all five of plaintiffs' claims. The court held a hearing on the motions for summary judgment on October 5, 2012. At the hearing, the court orally denied plaintiffs' motion in its entirety and denied defendants' motion with respect to all claims except for the unfair trade practices claim. The court took this remaining issue under consideration. After further review, and for the 1
    

reasons stated below, the court grants summary judgment in favor of defendants on plaintiffs' claim for unfair trade practices. Summary judgment shall be granted "if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). "[S]ummary judgment will not lie if the dispute about a material fact is `genuine,' that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48 (1986). "By its very terms, this standard provides that the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact." Id. "[A]t the summary judgment stage the judge's function is not himself to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Id. at 249. The court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw all justifiable inferences in its favor. Id. at 255. Plaintiffs bring a claim under the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act (SCUTPA), alleging that defendants committed deceptive and fraudulent acts by performing work that was clearly unacceptable in the industry and attempting to blackmail plaintiffs. Compl.

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