South Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from July 2005

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from July 2005

Court decides uncle's home was gift to nephew, not subject to trust.
July 11, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton Where a widowed uncle made payments on a Charleston home but titled the property in his nephew's name and said he intended to leave it to him, a master-in-equity properly determined the home belonged to the nephew,...

Employee could get workers' comp for wreck during lunchtime errand.(Workers' compensation)
July 11, 2005... Byline: Gregory Froom An Anderson County office worker who was involved in an auto accident after making a detour to her home during a noontime mail run was entitled to comp benefits, the Appeals Court has ruled in an unpublished decision....

Worker's own testimony enough to send unpaid wage case to jury.
July 11, 2005... Byline: Gregory Froom A Marion mill worker's claim for unpaid overtime wages could go forward, even though her case was based primarily on her own testimony about the allegedly uncompensated work, the Appeals Court ruled July 5. To...

South Carolina Lawyers In the News: July 11, 2005.(appointments)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Michael A. Graham has joined the firm of Rogers Townsend & Thomas in Columbia. Graham's practice involves construction law, products liability litigation, as well as risk management and...

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd attorney appointed to Governor Sanford's Commission on Women.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Margaret C. Pope, a public finance attorney in the Columbia office of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., has been appointed by Gov. Mark Sanford to serve on the Governor's Commission on Women. ...

SC law firm of Nelson Mullins recognized as one of the best by Chambers & Partners.(South Carolina )
July 11, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Nelson Mullins' products liability practice is the fourth-best in the nation, according to legal publishers Chambers & Partners. The firm's corporate/mergers and acquisitions, and general...

McNair Law Firm ranked by Standard & Poor's public finance rating directory.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Bond Buyer's Municipal Marketplace, the Standard & Poor's public finance rating directory, has ranked McNair Law Firm, P.A. 26th out of the top 100 bond counsel firms in the United States for...

Commentary: Law firm blogs - hip or hype?
July 11, 2005... Byline: Dale Tincher Blogs, or blawgs, are being hailed by some as the key to Web success in 2005. According to two surveys conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in November 2004, 8 million Americans reported that they had...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: July 11, 20025.
July 11, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Preference Payments - Car Dealerships - Floor Plan - Ch. 7 In this adversary proceeding by the Chapter 7 trustee involving three debtor car dealerships owned by one man, the...

S.C. Supreme Court Decisions: July 11, 2005.
July 11, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Writ of Certiorari Where we granted a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' decision in this case, we now dismiss certiorari as improvidently granted. Dismissed...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 11, 2005.
July 11, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Reasonableness of Attorney's Fees Where the appellant appeals the trial court's order assessing attorney's fees in the amount of $39,194.08 in favor of the respondent...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: July 11, 2005.
July 11, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Real Property Gift - Resulting Trust Where the estate claims the trial court erred in finding the decedent uncle intended a gift of the property to the respondent, rather than creating a...

Toy importer settles products liability claim in U.S. District Court over ninja star injury.(Wilson v. Manley Toys Ltd. and Dollar Tree Distributors)
July 18, 2005... Byline: Gregory Froom A toy company has settled a products liability claim brought by a Midlands boy who was partially blinded after being struck in the eye by a hard plastic ninja star. The plaintiff, who was 7 or 8 years old when the...

S.C. Supreme Court rules 10-year limit barred collection of judgement despite independent claim.(Carr v. Guerard )
July 18, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton A judgment creditor who tried to collect his money by a novel route, filing a fraudulent-transfer action, was nevertheless time-barred because his judgment was more than 10 years old, the Supreme Court has ruled. ...

S.C. Lawyers In The News: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Upstate attorney Roy McBee Smith was recently spotlighted in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Smith, 76, served as the Spartanburg County attorney for 41 years before stepping aside earlier this...

Attorney Hamilton E. Russell joins Nelson Mullins Law Firm In Greenville.
July 18, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Hamilton E. "Bo" Russell III has joined the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Greenville. Russell's practice will focus on corporate and securities law...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Trustee Standing - Debtor Coconspirators - Ch. 7 A bankruptcy trustee, as assignee of certain creditors, has standing to sue on behalf of the bankruptcy estate to recover...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Judgment - Personal Assets - Notice Where the respondent sued the appellant Charlie Saad Dalton Carpets after the carpet she purchased was never properly installed, and the...

S.C. Supreme Court rules bank liable for lawyer's negligence in settlement process.(Koutsogiannis v. BB&T f/k/a United Carolina Bank)
July 18, 2005... Byline: Gregory Froom An Upstate bank could be held vicariously liable for the alleged gross negligence of its attorney in his attempts to settle a collections dispute, the Supreme Court ruled July 11. The unanimous decision upheld a...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Banks and Banking Jury Charge - Independent Contractor - Attorney Misconduct Where the appellant bank, which was sued by the respondent for being grossly negligent in its attorney's...

Verdicts & Settlements (July 18, 2005): $375,000 personal injury awarded from toy importer.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff $375,000 Mediated Settlement Personal injury, products liability. Principal injuries (in order of severity): Trauma to right eye rendering plaintiff legally blind in that eye. ...

4th Circuit rejects woman's Sect.1983 harassment claim against sheriff.(Sexual harassment)
July 25, 2005... Byline: Gregory Froom A former Berkeley County court security officer could not recover on her Sect. 1983 sexual harassment claim against the county sheriff, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in an unpublished decision....

S.C. Appeals Court rules insurance rescission case had fact question despite incomplete answers.(South Carolina)
July 25, 2005... Byline: Gregory Froom A Sumter man who tried to collect life insurance benefits after his wife died could get a trial on the insurer's claim that the policy should be rescinded because the couple failed to disclose the wife's coronary...

S.C. Supreme Court ruling places new limits on nonlawyers serving as estate administrators.(South Carolina )
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton A nonlawyer serving as the personal representative of her sibling's estate strayed into the unauthorized practice of law when she filed a notice of appeal and drafted a brief on the estate's behalf, the Supreme Court...

South Carolina Bar announces 2005-2006 committee chairs.(appointments)
July 25, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The South Carolina Bar recently announced its committee chairpersons for the 2005-2006 term. The new chairpersons include: * William Booth III of the Booth Law Firm, LLC in West Columbia,...

Charleston construction lawyer sets up new legal practice.(Patrick J. McDonald )(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Charleston attorney Patrick J. McDonald has announced the formation of a new law firm, Patrick J. McDonald, Attorney At Law. The firm, also known as Construction Law Services of S.C., will...

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd attorney to participate in Leadership South Carolina.(award)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Charleston lawyer Jeremy L. Cook, an associate with the law firm of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., has been chosen for Leadership South Carolina's Class of 2006. Cook is a public finance and...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights High School Wrestling Coach - Team Abuse - Qualified Immunity A North Carolina high-school wrestling coach is not entitled to qualified immunity in a civil rights suit filed...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Non- Attorneys - Representation of Estate Where the respondent moves to dismiss this appeal on the ground that the notice of appeal was served and filed by the appellant,...

New president of Assn. of Trial Lawyers of America hopes to boost trial lawyers' image.(Kenneth M. Suggs)
July 25, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Kenneth M. Suggs knows trial lawyers have an image problem. A wave of public relations campaigns funded by insurance companies and pro-business groups have made many jurors believe that...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act Where the appellant contends the trial court erred in failing to vacate and withdraw the amended transcript of judgment, asserting...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Driving Under Suspension - Habitual Offender - Driving Record Where the appellant was convicted for driving under suspension, 4th, and habitual traffic offender, the trial judge...

S.C. Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Leg and Knee Injuries - Temporary Total Disability Where the claimant alleges she suffered injuries to her left leg and knee after she struck her knee on a pallet,...