Herron v. Century BMW, 395 S.C. 461

Summary

The Supreme Court of South Carolina reconsidered its prior decision after remand from the United States Supreme Court in light of AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion. The court held that Century BMW had not preserved its federal preemption argument in the South Carolina proceedings, making the issue procedurally barred. The court reinstated its original opinion denying the motion to compel arbitration.

Holdings

1. Century BMW did not preserve its argument that the Federal Arbitration Act preempted the South Carolina Dealers Act because it failed to raise that specific preemption theory to the trial court or the South Carolina Supreme Court before filing its petition for rehearing.
2. Because the federal preemption issue was procedurally barred under South Carolina law, reconsideration in light of AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion was unwarranted, and the court reinstated its original opinion.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Century BMW preserved its argument that the Federal Arbitration Act preempted South Carolina law invalidating a prohibition on class arbitration.
2. Whether the South Carolina Supreme Court should reconsider its original decision in light of AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion despite the absence of a preserved preemption argument in the state-court proceedings.

Disposition

other