The South Carolina Supreme Court will hear an appeal from a Republican activist who accused Gov. Nikki Haley of ethics violations.

The court ruled Monday in favor of John Rainey, who said a circuit court judge was wrong when he dismissed Rainey's lawsuit over the matter earlier this year, sending it to the House Ethics Committee.

Rainey says Haley illegally lobbied for an engineering firm and a hospital while a member of the House.

The House Ethics Committee cleared the Republican governor in June in hearings that Rainey called a shameful farce.

Haley has dismissed the allegations as part of a political vendetta and called Rainey a racist, sexist bigot during the ethics hearings.