South Carolina

South Carolina courts have recognized intrusion, private facts, and false light claims but have not considered misappropriation.

Private facts: The sexual assault of a county jail inmate by another inmate was a matter of public significance. Doe v. Berkeley Publishers, 496 S.E.2d 636 (S.C. 1998), cert. denied, 119 S.Ct. 406 (1998).

The publication of photographs of six men arrested for beating a school teacher was protected as a matter of public interest. Frith v. Associated Press, 176 F. Supp. 671 (E.D.S.C. 1959).

False light: A magazine published a photograph of a group of people at a casino captioned, "High Rollers at the Monte Carlo club have dropped as much as $20,000 in a single night. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that the Casino grosses $20 million a year, and that one-third is skimmed off for American Mafia families. " The court said a man in the photo had grounds for a false light claim because the caption may have implied he was a high stakes gambler or member of the Mafia. Holmes v. Curtis Publishing Co., 303 F. Supp. 522 (D.S.C. 1969).