South Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from February 2008

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from February 2008

South Carolina Lawyers in the News: February 4, 2008.
February 4, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Briefly Attorney E. Courtney Gruber has joined Young Clement Rivers as an associate in the firm's Charleston office. Gruber received her juris doctor from the University of South Carolina in...

Bar group in S.C. debates Rule 608 exemptions for attorneys outside private practice.(South Carolina)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom Rule 608 indigent appointments again served as the tinder that ignited debate when the State Bar's House of Delegates met Jan. 24 during the Bar convention in Charleston. But this time the issue wasn't funding at...

Meeting of the Minds: Conference to examine both sides of brain injury law.
February 4, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith Scientists and medical experts agree the mind is a mystery. The challenge for lawyers handling traumatic brain injury cases from either the plaintiff or defense side is how to make sense of that mystery. To help...

S.C. Chief Justice Toal: Fairness drove court to drop bar exam section and allowing more to pass.(South Carolina Jean Hoefer Toal)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom Following several written statements from the court regarding controversy over the July 2007 bar exam, the chief justice used her annual address to the Bar to personally deliver an "unfiltered" explanation. ...

S.C. Bar president updates delegates on midterm progress.(South Carolina Lanneau Lambert Jr.)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom A proposed constitutional amendment that would remove attorney regulation and oversight of bar admissions from the high court's domain drew criticism from Bar President Lanneau Wm. "Lanny" Lambert Jr. during the...

Littlejohn Literary Society founded during S.C. Bar convention.(South Carolina)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Ruth W. Cupp The Littlejohn Literary Society -- a group aimed at cultivating the writing careers of lawyers who pen works of fiction and non-fiction -- was organized Jan. 25 during the State Bar convention. The organization is...

S.C. Women Lawyers Assn. to host encore joint meeting with N.C. counterpart.(South Carolina Women Lawyers Association; North Carolina Bar Association's Women in the Profession Committee)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Ruth W. Cupp, Special to Lawyers Weekly The 2007 joint CLE sponsored by women attorney groups in South Carolina and North Carolina was so successful that another is planned for this year, the president of the S.C. Women Lawyers...

S.C. Bar lauds Ellis, Lawhorne & Sims' pro bono efforts for Home Works.(South Carolina; Home Works of America, Inc.)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom, Editor Shareholder F. Earl Ellis Jr. accepted the State Bar's 2007 Pro Bono Award on behalf of the law firm of Ellis, Lawhorne & Sims during the Bar convention Jan. 24 in Charleston. The firm was recognized...

S.C. Circuit Court Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.(South Carolina)(Case overview)
February 4, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Murder - Jury Charge - Voluntary Manslaughter - Unlawful Arrest The appellant was entitled to a jury charge on voluntary manslaughter since a jury question was presented as to...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.(South Carolina)
February 4, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Real Property Foreclosure - Deficiency Judgment - Personal Liability An investment group and its general partners were personally liable, both jointly and severally, to an insurance...

S.C. Family Court Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.(South Carolina)
February 4, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort Malicious Prosecution - Probable Cause - SCTCA A malicious prosecution claim should not have been dismissed as to a deputy based upon the same exception for malice available to the...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.(South Carolina)
February 4, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter Public Defender - Failure To Respond - Definite Suspension A part-time public defender who was held in default for failing to respond to formal charges is...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.
February 4, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty COGSA - Cargo Damage - Aircraft Loaders In this controversy arising from the transport of seven Halversen aircraft loaders (K-loaders) by plaintiff Maersk Line Ltd. from...

Commentary: Bills penned by physician-legislator would treat lawyer regulation the same as barbers'.(Kristopher R. Crawford)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Ruth W. Cupp Two bills now before the legislature call for the General Assembly to oversee Bar admission and attorney discipline and they really grabbed my attention. The author of these two pieces of legislation is Kristopher...

Commentary: When is a customer list a trade secret?
February 11, 2008... Byline: David E. Dubberly A customer list is not a "trade secret" protected by the South Carolina Trade Secrets Act when the names on the list are readily available to the public through other proper sources, according to the South...

South Carolina Lawyers in the News: February 11, 2008.
February 11, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Andrew N. Cole has been named a shareholder in the firm of Collins & Lacy. A graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, Cole focuses on construction law, defense litigation,...

S.C. Court of Appeals says willful intent barred comp recovery after claimant killed himself.(South Carolina)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom An Upstate woman could not collect workers' comp death benefits for her son's suicide even though doctors said his psychological problems were aggravated by his workplace injury, the Court of Appeals has ruled. ...

S.C. Court of Appeals says strip club liable for manager's assault on dancer's husband.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom The appeals court has upheld a $116,000 verdict for a Summerville man who was assaulted by a strip club manager in 1996. In a Jan. 24 unpublished decision, the Court of Appeals said the corporate owner of...

Fourth Circuit splits over painkiller addict's risk of relapse in disability benefits case.(United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Fred Horlbeck A nurse anesthetist addicted to a hospital narcotic more powerful than heroin could not receive long-term disability benefits after undergoing rehab, even though his risk of relapse meant he couldn't return to his...

South Carolina law firms contribute time and money to charities.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith, Reporter Never underestimate what a group of legal professionals can do with hammers, paint brushes and a little bit of determination. That's what Columbia attorney Cliff Moore and the members of Ellis, Lawhorne &...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 11, 2008.(South Carolina)
February 11, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort Assault - Respondeat Superior - Strip Club Manager A strip club can be held liable for a manager's assault on a dancer's husband since the club's manager was acting in connection...

S.C. Family Court Case Summaries: February 11, 2008.(South Carolina)
February 11, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Psychiatric Problems - Suicide - Death Benefits - Willful Intent The mother of a deceased employee is not entitled to death benefits since the evidence fails to...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: February 11, 2008.
February 11, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Licenses & Permits Charter School Application - Conditions For Approval The Circuit Court improperly held the respondent academy had a charter school contract since the court ignored the...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: February 11, 2008.
February 11, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Prior Discharge - Foreclosure Avoidance Debtors seeking to avoid foreclosure on their home may receive a discharge on a Chapter 13 petition filed after the 2-year period that...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: February 11, 2008.
February 11, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Termination - Military Duty - USERRA An employee terminated while he was on military duty can maintain his USERRA reemployment claim since there is a genuine issue of material...

South Carolina Lawyers In The News: February 18, 2008.
February 18, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Charles L. Appleby IV and Lee Floyd have joined Collins and Lacy as associates. Appleby, a University of South Carolina School of Law graduate, will practice in the areas of complex...

Charleston tax attorney helps finalize conservation easements for Lowcountry Open Land Trust.(T. Heyward Carter Jr.)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith, Reporter T. Heyward Carter Jr. spent nearly seven days a week in his law office at the end of 2007. The Charleston tax attorney used those extra hours to finalize conservation easements between landowners and the...

U.S. District Court finds FMLA not violated when saleswoman was reassigned to cheaper products.(Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom A department store did not violate the Family Medical Leave Act when it reassigned a Charleston saleswoman to sell to a cheaper line of clothing when she returned to work, the U.S. District Court ruled Feb. 5. ...

U.S. District Court says N.C. hospital's S.C. contacts didn't establish jurisdiction.(North and South Carolinas)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom A lawsuit brought by the estate of a South Carolina man who allegedly was transfused with the wrong blood-type at a Duke University hospital has been transferred out of U.S. District Court in Spartanburg. ...

Findings in emergency domestic abuse hearings not final, South Carolina Supreme Court rules.
February 18, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom A Mount Pleasant man's rights were not violated when the judge at an emergency protective order hearing offered the man's wife -- but not him -- a continuance to hire a lawyer, the Supreme Court ruled Feb. 11. ...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: February 18, 2008.(South Carolina)(Brief article)
February 18, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Hip Injuries - Total Disability - Railroad Worker A claimant injured while removing railroad spikes was entitled to benefits since his hip injuries were work-related...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: February 18, 2008.(South Carolina)
February 18, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter Admitted Misconduct - Business Transaction - Retainer Fee - Conflict Of Interest - Disbarment An attorney who committed nine instances of misconduct,...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: February 18, 2008.
February 18, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative EEOC Jurisdiction - Federal Employees A District Court did not err in dismissing a federal suit filed by Long Term Care Partners, who contracted with the Office of...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: February 18, 2008.
February 18, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment FMLA Leave - Job Reassignment - Demotion - Clothing Lines A department store saleswoman who claims she was demoted after returning from FMLA leave because she was assigned to...

South Carolina Lawyers in the News: February 25, 2008.
February 25, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Ellis Lawhorne attorney John T. Lay Jr. has been selected as president-elect of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association. Lay will serve a one-year term as president beginning in...

Columbia's Collins & Lacy founders receive new appointments.(Joel W. Collins Jr. joins the Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates while Stanford E. Lacy settles in South Carolina Workers' Compensation Educational Association)(Brief article)
February 25, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Joel W. Collins Jr. has been elected president of the Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Collins, a founding partner of Collins & Lacy in Columbia, took office in...

Mortgage crisis inspires bills on foreclosure, home lending in South Carolina.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom Since reconvening on Gervais Street early last month, lawmakers have introduced a series of bills that cover such diverse topics as protecting homeowners from crooked interior decorators to a proposal that would allow...

South Carolina's all-female firms give rise to fresh, family-friendly workplace culture.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith If it's not broken, break it. That became the philosophy of attorney Elizabeth Leone after she founded the all-female firm of Leone Bender & Seate in 2006. Starting a firm solely comprised of women was not the...

South Carolina Court of Appeals: Jury must decide if truck negligently pulled out from stop sign.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom The appeals court has reversed a $785,000 verdict for a woman who was injured at a Beaufort County intersection when a gas company truck pulled out in front of the car she was riding in. In an unpublished decision...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: February 25, 2008.
February 25, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Breach - Meeting Of The Minds - Alleged Oral Contract - Real Estate A company seeking specific performance of an alleged oral contract to convey real estate cannot maintain its...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: February 25, 2008.
February 25, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Student Loan Discharge - Undue Hardship - Good- Faith Effort A Bankruptcy Court erred in discharging a couple's student loans because they did not demonstrate a good-faith...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: February 25, 2008.
February 25, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort Negligence - Automobile Accident - Joinder State Farm was improperly joined in a personal injury lawsuit since the claims against it do not arise from the same transaction or...