South Carolina H 5160: Willis Sanders, service

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 5160 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 11, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5160

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS 
TO ENACT THE "ELIMINATE CRIMINAL PROFITEERING ACT" BY ADDING CHAPTER 83 TO 
TITLE 15 SO AS TO PREVENT PERSONS ENGAGED IN WRONGFUL CONDUCT FROM BRINGING 
ACTIONS OR OTHERWISE COLLECTING DAMAGE AWARDS FOR EVENTS OR OCCURRENCES 
RESULTING FROM THE WRONGFUL CONDUCT, AMONG OTHER THINGS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Title 15 of the S.C. Code is 
amended by adding:

CHAPTER 83

Eliminate 
Criminal Profiteering Act

 Section 
15-83-10. As used in this chapter:

 (1) "Negligent security" means any 
claim against an owner or occupier, or against a security contractor, that 
sounds in tort or nuisance, arises from an alleged failure to make or keep the 
premises and approaches safe, and seeks to recover any damages.

 (2) "Owner or occupier" means any 
person that owns, leases, subleases, occupies, operates, maintains, or manages 
real property of any kind, or any director, officer, employee, or agent of such 
person.

 (3) "Person" means a natural person, 
entity, or government.

 (4) "Prior occurrences of substantially 
similar wrongful conduct" means prior occurrences of wrongful conduct which are 
sufficiently similar in nature and character, degree of dangerousness, and 
circumstances to the wrongful conduct from which a claim of negligent security 
arises to lead a reasonable person in the position of the owner or occupier to 
apprehend that such wrongful conduct is reasonably likely to occur again upon 
the premises and to understand that a specific and known physical condition of 
the premises has created a risk of such wrongful conduct on the premises that 
is substantially greater than the general risk of such wrongful conduct in the 
vicinity of the premises.

 (5) "Security contractor" means any 
person that contracts with an owner or occupier to provide protective or 
security services upon any premises, or any director, officer, employee, or 
agent of such person.

 (6) "Third person" means any person 
other than an owner, occupier, or security contractor, or a person under the 
direction, control, or supervision of an owner, occupier, or security 
contractor.

 (7) "Wrongful conduct" means:

 (a) any violation of federal, state, or 
local law, including any ordinance of any political subdivision of the State, 
that is punishable as a felony or misdemeanor, regardless of whether such 
violation results in an arrest, citation, accusation, indictment, or 
conviction; or

 (b) any other conduct that amounts to 
an intentional, or wilful and wanton, tort or other action.

 Section 
15-83-20. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person who 
participates or engages in wrongful conduct, or attempts to do the same, may 
not bring an action for negligence or otherwise collect any damages for 
negligent conduct relating to any acts, occurrences, or other events resulting 
in whole or in part from, or otherwise relating to, the wrongful conduct. This 
section applies to a person's heirs, estate, assigns, successors in interest, 
and other legal representatives. The defendant shall have the burden of proving 
by a preponderance of the evidence that a person participated in, or engaged 
in, illegal or wrongful conduct or attempted to do the same.

 Section 
15-83-30. (A) For purposes of this 
section, "unauthorized alien" means a person who is unlawfully present in the 
United States according to the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 
U.S.C. Section 1101, et seq.

 (B) General damages and past and future 
wages shall not be awarded in an action for negligence or other basis arising 
from an automobile collision to a person who was an unauthorized alien at the 
time of the collision. This section applies to a person's heirs, estate, 
assigns, successors in interest, and other legal representatives. A plaintiff 
in an action for negligence arising from an automobile collision that intends to 
seek general damages or past and future wages must provide, with their initial 
disclosure statement, or as soon thereafter as is practicable, documents 
showing that at the time of the collision the injured claimant or person was a 
citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States or, if not a citizen 
or lawful permanent resident, the injured person was not an unauthorized alien. 
It shall be the plaintiff's burden to prove the requirement of this subsection 
by a preponderance of the evidence, and failure to do so shall constitute 
insufficient evidence as a matter of law to support any award of general 
damages or past and future wages.

 (C) This section shall not apply to a 
claim made