South Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from December 2005

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from December 2005

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(U.S. v. Gilbert)(Colucci v. Afga Corporation Severance Pay Plan)(Miles v. Dell Inc. )
December 5, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Felon In Possession - Transitory 'Innocent Possession' A defendant who claims he found a collection of firearms in a backpack and blanket and that he was on his way to the police...

Suspension okayed even though driver never said no to breath test.(Williams v. S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton Even though an allegedly impaired driver asked for a clarification of his rights and did not expressly reject a breath test, he nevertheless refused it for purposes of a license suspension, the Court of Appeals has...

Wife gets trial in legal malpractice suit.(Smith v. Hastie)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Gregory Froom A Charleston County woman could go forward with her malpractice claim against the attorney who drew up a family limited partnership that cut off her property rights when she and her husband divorced, the Appeals Court...

Circuit Court could not review clincher agreement in comp settlement.(Spivey v. Carolina Crawler and Travelers Property and Casualty Co.)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Gregory Froom A Midlands construction worker who suffered brain damage in a heavy equipment accident could not ask the Circuit Court to set aside a comp settlement he agreed to while unrepresented, the Appeals Court has ruled. ...

Rogers Townsend & Thomas expands litigation section.(appointed Rebecca Patrick, Charles Gwynne, Sarah Lytle)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Rogers Townsend & Thomas, P.C., announced last month that the law firm has added three new attorneys to its litigation section. The new attorneys are: * Rebecca Patrick, a trial attorney who...

Helen Elizabeth Burris appointed to bench of U.S. Bankruptcy Court.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Greenville attorney Helen Elizabeth Burris was selected for the position of U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge last month. "Ms. Burris is exceptionally well qualified and will be an excellent...

10 new attorneys hire on at McNair Law Firm.(M. Ryan Gentry, W. Turner Boone, Cameron R. Heck joined)
December 5, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff McNair Law Firm, P.A., has announced the addition of 10 new attorneys in its South Carolina offices. Columbia * Sue-Ann Gerald Shannon, telecommunications law. Shannon is a 2004 cum...

Restoration costs allowed in claim over tree damage.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Gregory Froom The owners of a forested tract in Horry County could recover the cost of replacing trees destroyed in a blaze that was triggered by a highway crew's trash fire, the Supreme Court ruled Nov. 28. The plaintiffs were...

Helpful sites and products for lawyers.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson A recent survey by the American Bar Association confirms that lawyers are increasingly using wireless technology and becoming more mobile. Released in late September, the 2005 survey of 1,500 lawyers across...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.
December 5, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Certiorari Writ Improvidently Granted Where we granted a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' decision in this case, we dismiss the writ as improvidently granted after...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(South Carolina )
December 5, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Legal Malpractice - Family Limited Partnership Where the appellant wife, who entered into a family limited partnership with her husband that was created by the respondent...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(South Carolina )
December 5, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Driving Under the Influence - Breath Test - Consent Where the Circuit Court reversed the respondent's suspension of his driver's license, finding that the hearing officer based...

Inclusion goal for new president of Richland County Bar Assn.(Frank B.B. Knowlton joins Richland County Bar Association )
December 12, 2005... Byline: Gregory Froom Reversing a trend toward becoming a more corporate-dominated organization and expanding participation in local pro bono projects top the to-do list for incoming Richland County Bar Association President Frank B.B....

Five new attorneys join Columbia law office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.(Lucas V. "Duke" Haugh, Erik T. Norton, Jennifer H. Thiem,M. Todd Carroll and Sarah T. Eibling)
December 12, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough recently announced the addition of five new attorneys in its Columbia office. The new lawyers include: * M. Todd Carroll, who will practice...

Columbia attorney named new chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession.(Pamela J. Roberts joins American Bar Association's Commission on Women )
December 12, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Pamela J. Roberts, a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough in Columbia, has been named the 2005-2006 chair of the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession....

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.
December 12, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Jurisdiction - Personal Before Subject Matter - Defamation Action In this case arising from a state suit alleging breach of contract, defamation and conspiracy, the...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.(South Carolina )
December 12, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter Admitted Misconduct - Definite Suspension Where the respondent admitted misconduct in several real estate matters, we accept the agreement for discipline by...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.(South Carolina )
December 12, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Bond Estreatment - Failure to Appear Where the appellant bail bonding company claims the trial court erred in ordering forfeiture of the bond for the surety's failure to secure...

IRS provides relief for nonqualified plan reporting and withholding requirements.(Internal Revenue Service)
December 19, 2005... Byline: JOEL A. DANIEL and KAREN N. BRANDON As requested by the payroll community, the IRS in Notice 2005-94 has suspended the reporting and withholding requirements recently passed into law under the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004...

Columbia pilot's workers' comp claim not barred.(Cooke v. Palmetto Health Alliance d/b/a Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital)
December 19, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A Columbia pilot was not the employee of Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital for workers' comp purposes even though he used the hospital's helicopter to fly patients to the emergency room, the...

New S. Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Assn. president aims to increase organization's relevance.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Gregory Froom Relevance: that's the focus for the newly installed president of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association, G. Mark Phillips of Charleston. "My first priority is to make the organization even more...

ID theft suit not subject to arbitration agreement.(Simpson v. World Finance Corp. of S.C. and World Acceptance Corp.)(Aiken v. World Finance Corp. of S.C. and World Acceptance Corp.)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Gregory Froom Arbitration clauses in loan documents did not bar two Upstate residents from bringing tort actions against a finance company whose employees stole their identities to embezzle funds, the Appeals Court has ruled. ...

Womble Carlyle announces new Greenville attorneys.(Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC announced late last month that two new lawyers Sterling Laney and Matthew Trent have joined the firm's Greenville office. Laney is joining the firm's...

Anthony Hayes honored by Richland County Bar Association.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Anthony Hayes of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough was honored with the 2005 Civic Star Award, by the Richland County Bar Association. The award was presented on Dec. 8 at the association's...

Roe Cassidy Coates & Price, P.A. announces new shareholder, associate.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney D. Randle "Randy" Moody II has been named as a shareholder in the law firm of Roe Cassidy Coates & Price, P.A. Moody received his Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(Wendt v. Leonard)(Emery v. Roanoke City School Board)(McKinney v. Richland County Sheriff's Dep't )
December 19, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Attorney's Fees - Sect. 1988 - Jurisdiction Although a South Carolina District Court held that under the Tax Injunction Act, 28 U.S.C. Sect. 1341, it had no jurisdiction to...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(In the Matter of Alexander)(In the Matter of Poff)
December 19, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter Admitted Misconduct - Agreement for Discipline by Consent Where the respondent admitted misconduct in various matters, we accept the agreement for discipline...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(Aiken v. World Finance Corp. of S.C.)(Simpson v. World Finance Corp. of S.C.)(Southern Glass & Plastics Co. v. Duke)
December 19, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Consumer Loans - Embezzlement - Tort Claims Where the respondent, who entered into a series of consumer loan transactions that contained an arbitration provision with the...

D.C. Circuit Court rules lawyers not required to send privacy notices to clients.
December 26, 2005... Byline: Reni Gertner Lawyers who handle financial information are not required to send privacy notices to their clients, the D.C. Circuit has ruled in affirming a U.S. District Court. This is the first circuit to rule on the issue,...

Four new lawyers join Nexsen Pruet's S.C. offices.(Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier, LLC)(Brief Article)
December 26, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Amy E. Allen, George Bullwinkel, Amy Harrison Clayton, and Jennifer Joan Hillard have joined the law firm of Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier, LLC as associates. Allen will practice in...

S.C. Lawyer in the News: December 26, 2005.(Daniel R. D'Alberto joins Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP )(Brief Article)
December 26, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Daniel R. D'Alberto has joined the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in the firm's Columbia office. D'Alberto will practice in the areas of pharmaceutical and medical...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 26, 2005.
December 26, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Priority Claims - IRS Lien - Ch. 7 Where a judgment debtor obtained her judgment before the IRS recorded a tax lien, but recorded the judgment in West Virginia after the tax...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 26, 2005.(South Carolina )
December 26, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter Criminal Domestic Violence - Admitted Misconduct Where the respondent admitted misconduct after being charged with criminal domestic violence of a high and...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 26, 2005.(South Carolina )
December 26, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Legal Malpractice - Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Where the appellant argues that his inability to maintain his cause of action for legal malpractice should not bar him from...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: December 26, 2005.(South Carolina )
December 26, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict Of Interest Temporary Injunction - Employment - Arbitration Where the appellant employer, who was sued by the respondent employee for breach of the parties' written employment...

Rogers Townsend & Thomas expands default services section.(appointed lawyers, Michael Morris and Thomas Harrington )(Brief Article)
December 26, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Michael Morris and Thomas Harrington have joined the law firm of Rogers Townsend & Thomas, P.C. Morris has joined the law firm's default services section and Harrington will practice in...

Charleston law firm hires two new associates.
December 26, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The law firm of Richardson, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman, LLC has hired Aaron Dias and Walter Wood as associate attorneys. The new associates brings the total number of lawyers at the firm...