South Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from April 2003

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from April 2003

Worker Entitled To Jury Trial On Handbook-Contract Case, Rules S.C. Appeals Court.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Gregory Froom A former loss-prevention specialist who was fired from a Spartanburg Wal-Mart could take his wrongful termination claim to the jury, the Appeals Court has ruled in an unpublished decision. The company's employee...

Civil Settlement Didn't Block Prosecution Of Pollution Suit, Rules S.C. Supreme Court.
April 7, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A Greenwood County developer could still face criminal pollution charges -- even though a Department of Health and Environmental Control official assured him that his civil settlement would "make...

South Carolina Legal Obituary: Fletcher Mann.
April 7, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Fletcher Cullen Mann Sr. died Feb. 28. He was 81 years old. Mann was born in Pittsboro, N.C. and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an A.B. degree in 1942. He...

Proposed Tort Reform Package Debated In S.C. House Subcommittee.
April 7, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A comprehensive tort reform bill that would impose caps on personal injury awards and punitive damages has drawn praise from proponents who say it's needed to stop spiraling insurance rates -- and...

Survey Shows Mortgage Delinquencies Down In Last Quarter Of 2002.
April 7, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The fourth quarter 2002 National Delinquency Survey released by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America shows that the share of homeowners who were delinquent with their mortgage payments...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 7, 2003.
April 7, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Pollution Control Act - Civil/Criminal Violations - Immunity Where the petitioner, who settled the civil matter concerning his water treatment plant with DHEC representatives,...

South Carolina Workers' Compensation Case Summaries: April 7, 2003.
April 7, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Hand Injuries - Psychological Injury Where the claimant, a machinist, suffered severe rashes on both of his hands as a result of chemical exposure to the machine...

South Carolina Lawyers In The News: April 7, 2003.
April 7, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Steven E. Williford has joined the firm Nexsen Pruet Jacobs Pollard & Robinson as special counsel. Williford will work on the firm's business litigation team in the Myrtle Beach office....

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: April 7, 2003.
April 7, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Bond Estreatment - Remission of Judgment - State's Costs Where the appellant attorney argues the trial court erred in failing to consider the cost to the state of the defendant's...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 7, 2003.
April 7, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Schools - IDEA - Autistic Student - Lovaas Therapy - Military School Where the parents of an autistic student sued an army base school in North Carolina, which offered their...

Parents Could Access Adoption Records Through Intermediary, Rules S.C. Supreme Court.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Gregory Froom A Spartanburg County couple who thought their adopted son's mental and physical problems might be hereditary could have an intermediary review his adoption file for information about his biological family, the Supreme...

Hampton County: Plaintiff-Friendly?
April 14, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The appeal in Farmer v. Monsanto Corporation (South Carolina Lawyers Weekly No. 010-051-03, 7 pages) originated in Hampton County (see related story, page 1), which has recently gained a national...

Law Professor's Affidavit Not Admissible In Shareholder Suit, Rules S.C. Supreme Court.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Gregory Froom Shareholders in a Hilton Head Island development company who sued the corporation's officers and directors couldn't rely on a law professor's affidavit to fend off a summary judgment motion, the Supreme Court ruled...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 14, 2003.
April 14, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Armed Robbery - Confession - Corroboration Rule Where the appellant argues that his motion for directed verdict should have been granted because the state's evidence failed to...

Matthew T. Richardson Receives 'The Compleat Lawyer Award' From University of S.C.
April 14, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Matthew T. Richardson, of the firm Wyche, Burgess, Freeman & Parham, P.A., was named one of three silver recipients of "The Compleat Lawyer Award" given annually by the University of South...

Out-Of-State Plaintiffs Couldn't Join Class Action In State Court, Rules S.C. Supreme Court.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Michael Dayton A class action lawsuit filed in Hampton County Circuit Court against several out-of-state corporations could not include nonresident plaintiffs whose claims lacked a connection to South Carolina, the Supreme Court...

Microsoft, Other Companies Ramp Up 'Smart' Cell Phones.
April 14, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Want to be able to easily connect to your desktop programs, no matter where you are or how far away from the law office? The folks at Microsoft are working to make that possible. After...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 14, 2003.
April 14, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Certiorari Where we granted certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' opinion in this case, we now dismiss the writ of certiorari as improvidently granted. Dismissed. ...

S.C. Lawyers in the News: April 14, 2003.
April 14, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Joel Bieber Firm has relocated its offices from Easley to downtown Greenville, near the courthouse. "We've expanded the size of our offices as we go about enlarging the practice and adding...

S.C. Legal Obituary: Charles Terry III.
April 14, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Charles Love Terry III died March 12 at age 54. Terry was born on Aug. 9, 1948 in Columbia. He graduated from The Citadel and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. ...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: April 14, 2003.
April 14, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Voluntary Manslaughter - Erroneous Jury Charge Where the appellant argues the trial court erred in combining a general charge on criminal intent, including a definition of...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 14, 2003.
April 14, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Constitutional - Md. Liquor Pricing Regulations Where a large liquor retailer in Maryland is suing the state comptroller, complaining that certain Maryland regulations...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 21, 2003.
April 21, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Land Development - Partnership - Parole Evidence Rule/Merger Clause Where the appellant Moore, a member of the limited partnership, sued John Smith, alleging various causes of...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: April 21, 2003.
April 21, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Home Construction - Authority to Depose Inspector - Settlement Where the appellant builder argues the home buyers had no authority to depose the inspector because the case had...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 21, 2003.
April 21, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Trafficking in Marijuana Where the majority of the Court of Appeals held that the trial judge erred by admitting certain "bad act evidence" under the common scheme or plan...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 21, 2003.
April 21, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Black Lung Benefits - Request For Admissions Where a coal miner's former employer admitted to several of the requests for admission submitted by the miner, but the...

S.C. Lawyers in the News: April 21, 2003.
April 21, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The McCravy Law Firm has moved into a larger, renovated office building in Greenwood. John McCravy and partners Jon Newlon and Jason Sturkie held a prayer dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony at...

Scheduled Member Injury Barred Claim For Permanent Disability, Rules S.C. Supreme Court.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Michael Dayton Even though an employee was left totally disabled after breaking his left femur, he could not collect permanent disability benefits, the state Supreme Court ruled April 14. The employee's broken femur was a...

Ford Facing Fraud Trial Over Alleged Perjury, Discovery Abuse.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Gregory Froom & Mike Dayton Where attorneys for Ford Motor Company allegedly withheld discovery documents and encouraged their expert witness to lie on the stand, a personal injury plaintiff could press a fraud claim against the...

S.C. Supreme Court Upholds Joint Custody For 'Exceptional Circumstances'.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Gregory Froom The Supreme Court has upheld a Greenville County couple's joint custody of their daughter, even though the courts typically disfavor such an arrangement. In the unanimous April 14 decision, the justices said that...

S.C. Senate Bill Would Hold Alcohol Retailers Liable For Drunk Driving Crashes.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Gregory Froom A "dram shop" bill has been introduced that would impose liability on stores, bars or restaurants that negligently sold alcohol to an intoxicated person or an underage drinker. Under Senate Bill 520, introduced by...

University of South Carolina School of Law Honors Nexsen Pruet Attorneys.
April 21, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Wilburn Brewer and Angus H. Macaulay, both attorneys with Nexsen Pruet Jacobs & Pollard, LLC, have won prestigious Compleat Lawyer Alumni Awards from the University of South Carolina School of...

S.C. Court Of Appeals: Manufacturer Not Required To Warn About Trailer Hazards.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Gregory Froom A Richland County woman whose grandson was killed when a truck towing a trailer rear-ended their car couldn't recover on a products liability claim against the trailer's manufacturer, the Court of Appeals has ruled in...

S.C. Court Of Appeals Strikes Punitive Award In LLC Dispute.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Michael Dayton The Court of Appeals has vacated a punitive damages award against two members of a Myrtle Beach limited liability company who allegedly engaged in self-dealing, failed to make full accountings and used company money...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 28, 2003.
April 28, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Assault and Battery - Taped Conversation - Chain of Custody Where the appellant argues the state failed to properly authenticate a taped conversation that occurred between him...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: April 28, 2003.
April 28, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Mobile Home Purchase - Claim and Delivery - Directed Verdict Where the appellant purchased a mobile home and refused to make loan payments, asserting problems with the home were...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 28, 2003.
April 28, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Black Lung Benefits - Claim Settlement A black lung claimant's settlement of his decades-old claim properly was invalidated by the Benefits Review Board, as the Black Lung...

South Carolina Lawyers In The News: April 28, 2003.
April 28, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Columbia attorney Edward W. Mullins Jr. recently was recognized as one of 27 outstanding law firm leaders in a recent edition of Of Counsel magazine. Mullins practices with the firm Nelson Mullins...

Comp Claim Not Barred By Laches Despite 7-Year Delay, Rules S.C. Appeals Court.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Gregory Froom The workers' comp claim of an Orangeburg clothing plant employee was not time-barred, even though she filed her claim, then waited seven years to request a hearing, the Appeals Court has ruled in an unpublished...

S.C. Legal Obituary: Gus Pearlman.
April 28, 2003... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Gus H. Pearlman, a 35-year Probate Court judge known for his positive demeanor, has died. He was 90. Pearlman died April 10. A cause of death was not given. Pearlman, a Charleston native...

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality Of Sect. 1367(d).
April 28, 2003... Byline: Gregory Froom The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of a federal law that tolls the statute of limitations on supplemental state-law claims against municipalities while a federal case is pending. The April 22...