South Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from April 2004

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from April 2004

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Real Property Fee Simple Determinable - Possibility of Reverter Where the appellant forestry commission appeals an order of the trial court, which held that a deed granted to the...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Murder - Unsecured Crime Scene - Admission of Evidence Where the appellant, who was convicted of murder, argues a bullet found at the unsecured crime scene nine days after the...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights First Amendment - Internet Speech - Va. Statute A Virginia statute that purports to regulate Internet content that is "harmful" to juveniles violates the First Amendment and...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Unpublished Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Shoulder Injury - Willful Intent to Injure a Student Where the claimant teacher sought benefits for an alleged shoulder he sustained during an altercation with a...

South Carolina Law Firms Announce Staffing Changes: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Greenville attorney C. Stuart Mauney has been elected to serve as a 13th Judicial Circuit delegate in the South Carolina Bar House of Delegates. Mauney is a shareholder with Gallivan, White &...

S.C. Appeals Court rules punitive damages not excessive in tort claim against trucking company.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Gregory Froom The Appeals Court has upheld an award of nearly $2.16 million in punitive damages to a man who was injured in a Spartanburg auto accident. The plaintiff was trapped inside his vehicle for more than an hour after...

Thomas Tisdale joins Nexsen Pruet's Charleston office.
April 5, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Thomas S. Tisdale Jr., a founding partner of Young, Clement, Rivers and Tisdale and one of South Carolina's most respected attorneys, has joined the Charleston office of Nexsen Pruet, LLC,...

S.C. Appeals Court rules reversionary clause is not effective in deed to woodlands.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Gregory Froom The state forestry commission retained title to a wooded 10-acre tract, despite language in the deed that called for the land to revert after a fire tower was removed, the Appeals Court ruled March 29. The reason:...

S.C. Workers' Comp Commission rules 'aggressive teasing' barred teacher from recovering comp.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Michael Dayton An Estill high school teacher who hurt his left shoulder and arm in a tussle with a student has been denied workers' compensation benefits. The teacher's "aggressive teasing" of the student over his earring...

S.C. Workers' Compensation Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Ankle Injury - Admitted Accident Where the claimant suffered an admittedly compensable injury at work that was originally an ankle sprain but subsequently resulted...

S.C. Courts had jurisdiction over New York publisher.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Gregory Froom A New York-based publisher could be haled into a South Carolina court to defend libel claims, even though none of the plaintiffs were residents of the state, the Appeals Court has ruled in an apparent first-impression...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Criminal Sexual Conduct - Force and Coercion Where the appellant, who presented himself as a person who could provide significant financial assistance to the victim's family and...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Failure to Deliver Transcript - Motion to Dismiss Where the appellant sued a court reporter for failing to deliver a transcript to him, alleging the court reporter obstructed his...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Second- Degree Burglary - Subject Matter Jurisdiction Where the petitioner claims the Circuit Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over four of his second-degree burglary...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Murder Conspiracy - Limitations - Capital Crime Although the lower court did not actually impose the death penalty in the capital cases in which the defendant was convicted for...

S.C. Appeals Court rules newspaper is entitled to deputies' disciplinary records under FOIA.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Gregory Froom Privacy considerations did not bar a Rock Hill newspaper from using the Freedom of Information Act to obtain records of complaints and disciplinary actions taken against sheriff's deputies, the Appeals Court ruled...

S.C. Appeals Court upholds defense verdict despite admitted negligence in collision.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Gregory Froom Even though a Lowcountry motorist admitted simple negligence in a rear-end collision, that did not mean that the driver of the other vehicle was entitled to recover damages from her, the Court of Appeals ruled April...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 19, 2004.
April 19, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Corporations Sale of Unregistered Securities - Exemption - Liability Where the appellant, who was found liable under Sect. 35-1-1490(1) for the illegal sale of unregistered securities,...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: April 19, 2004.
April 19, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal ABWIK - ABHAN - Lesser Included Offense - Prior Conviction Where the appellant, who was indicted for ABWIK and convicted of the lesser-included offense of ABHAN, argues his prior...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 19, 2004.
April 19, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter Mismanagement of Trust Account - Indefinite Suspension Where the respondent committed numerous acts of attorney misconduct, including commingling funds and...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 19, 2004.
April 19, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Medicare Reimbursement - Inpatient Acute Care - The Secretary of Health & Human Service's interpretation of an ambiguous regulation, which governs a special reimbursement...

Supreme Court rules 'yo-yo' sale violated trade practices act.
April 19, 2004... Byline: Gregory Froom A Beaufort auto dealer violated the S.C. Unfair Trade Practices Act by deceiving a couple about their credit approval and requiring them to sign contradictory paperwork when they bought a used pickup, the Supreme...

S.C. Supreme Court alters fee structure for admission, disciplinary filings.
April 19, 2004... Byline: Michael Dayton Lawyers will have to dig a little deeper to pay new filing fees announced April 7 by the state Supreme Court. "Like every state entity, resources are so dear, and as a result we've done a lot of revisions of fee...

S.C. Appeals Court rules store owner could establish easement by preexisting use.
April 19, 2004... Byline: Gregory Froom The owner of a Bamberg County antiques store could obtain an easement over a neighbor's driveway that led to the store's loading bay -- even though there were other ways to access the building, the Appeals Court has...

South Carolina's large law firms posts modest growth in 2003.
April 26, 2004... Byline: Michael Dayton South Carolina's largest law firms posted mixed results on attorney growth in 2003, with several posting double-digit gains but others simply holding their ground, according to a new Lawyers Weekly survey. ...

Supreme Court rules pharmacy not subject to strict liability for anti-depressant drug sale.
April 26, 2004... Byline: Gregory Froom An Aiken pharmacy could not be held strictly liable for dispensing an anti-depressant drug that allegedly contributed to a patient's violent outburst and suicide attempt, the Supreme Court ruled April 19. The...

Former head of pharmaceutical center wins employment contract dispute.
April 26, 2004... Byline: Gregory Froom The head of a university's pharmaceutical research center who was terminated when the program disbanded has been awarded $131,100 by a federal jury. The plaintiff argued that the termination breached his...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: April 26, 2004.
April 26, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Murder - Trial In Absentia Where the appellant did not show for the second day of his murder trial but returned before closing arguments on the last day of trial, the trial...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 26, 2004.
April 26, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Construction Site Damage - Insurer - Subrogation Right Where the petitioner contractor brought this action on behalf of its insurer, asserting the insurer's right to be...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 26, 2004.
April 26, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty COGSA - Limits Of Liability Where a mobile drilling rig being shipped from Baltimore to a port in Chile was severely damaged after it was offloaded at an intermediate port in...

Verdicts & Settlements April 26, 2004: Federal jury finds for plaintiff on employment contract claim.
April 26, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Breach of employment contract and violation of the South Carolina Wage Payment Act. Principal injuries (in order of severity): Wages and benefits. Special damages: $131,100 Tried or...

S.C. Appeals Court may hold corporation's dominant shareholder personally liable for $1.5M verdict.
April 26, 2004... Byline: Gregory Froom The dominant shareholder in a close corporation could be held personally liable for a $1.5 million verdict against the corporation's Lowcountry bar, the Appeals Court has ruled. The trial court was justified in...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 26, 2004.
April 26, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Enforcement Period For Execution on Judgments - Tolling Where the appellant brought a declaratory judgment action in July 2000 against the respondent, seeking to determine...

Verdicts & Settlements April 26, 2004: S.C. Court rules custodial parent can move out of state.
April 26, 2004... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Post-divorce, primary custodial parent moved out of state with minor child. Plaintiff alleged substantial change of circumstances and change of custody. Principal injuries (in order of...