South Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from July 2008

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from July 2008

Death Row Records in N.C.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith A prisoner's last hours on death row are hard to envision unless you've been there. Capital defense attorney John Blume has not only been there -- he's sung there. It was Jan. 22, 1999, at the Broad River...

S.C. S.C. rules passenger may get UM benefits as guest despite vehicle driver's unauthorized use.(uninsured motorist)
July 14, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom A Midlands teenager who was injured in a car crash while riding with a friend could recover as a guest under the owner's policy even though the driver didn't have permission to use the car, the Supreme Court has...

S.C. Supreme Court rules lienholder entitled to coverage for car's unrepaired damage.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom The lienholder on a Sumter County woman's car could recover under her policy after she was involved in an accident and then pocketed the check from the at-fault driver's insurer without fixing the damage, the Supreme...

S.C. Court of Appeals rules incomplete disclosure statement not enough to support homebuyer's claim.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom A coastal homebuyer could not rely on an incomplete disclosure statement to bring fraud and negligent misrepresentation claims against the seller and agents after he discovered structural water damage, the appeals...

S.C. Circuit Court Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter False Representation - Definite Suspension An attorney who admitted various acts of misconduct including failing to keep his client reasonably informed about...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Robbery - Statement Admission - Rule 801(d)(1)(B) An accomplice's written statement regarding the details of the crime were properly admitted into evidence since the statement...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Negligence - Ship- Dredge Pipeline Allision - Comparative Fault The 4th Circuit upholds a District Court's decision ordering a ship owner to pay the Norfolk Dredging Company...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter Agreement For Discipline By Consent - Public Reprimand An attorney who opened a client's package without the knowledge or consent of the addressee is publicly...

Commentary: Outsourcing legal jobs from S.C. appears to flow more like dribble than gusher.(South Carolina)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Ruth W. Cupp Monday morning, National Public Radio announced that many new law school grads will spend much of their early careers trudging through a swamp of electronic data. E-mail and these electronic communications have...

8th Judicial Circuit James William Johnson Jr. dies at 56.(Obituary)
July 21, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Judge James William Johnson Jr., resident circuit judge for the 8th Judicial Circuit, died July 13. He was 56. Johnson's law career began in 1976 as an attorney in the South Carolina Attorney...

S.C. Illegal Immigration Reform Act: Papers, please...(South Carolina)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith A new South Carolina immigration law that will require employers to verify the legal status of new hires is confusing, could cripple the state's economy and lead to more racial profiling, according to some attorneys in...

S.C. Supreme Court nixes laches defense in back child support cases.(South Carolina)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom A father could not assert laches as a defense to his ex-wife's demands for back child support and medical expenses, the Supreme Court has ruled in an apparent first-impression decision. The ruling applies logic...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.(South Carolina)
July 21, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Hotel Renovations - Mechanic's Lien - Prevented By Owner's Acts An architectural firm was properly awarded fees on its mechanic's lien since the record provides evidence that it...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.(South Carolina)
July 21, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter NSF Reports - Account Reconciliation - Definite Suspension An attorney who admitted misconduct for failing to properly maintain his trust account is suspended...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.
July 21, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Jurisdiction - Burford Abstention The 4th Circuit upholds a North Carolina federal District Court's abstention in this lawsuit filed by a car dealer who claimed he spent...

Verdicts & Settlements July 21, 2008 Aiken County landowner wins $1.4M verdict in condemnation case.
July 21, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff $1,447,691 verdict Type of claim: Condemnation Principal injuries (in order of severity): Just compensation for acquisition and damages to the remainder Special damages: n/a ...

Verdicts & Settlements July 21, 2008: High school coach wins lawsuit against trucking companies.
July 21, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff $5.5 million verdict Brief statement of claim: This was a motor vehicle accident case in which the plaintiff suffered serious and disabling injuries. On Oct. 27, 2004, the plaintiff was...

Verdicts & Settlements July 21, 2008: Woman injured in wreck Tort Claims Act suit.(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff $240,055 settlement Type of claim: Vehicle (car and ambulance) collision at an intersection controlled by a traffic signal. Principal injuries (in order of severity): Fractured pelvis, 11...

S.C. Lawyers in the News: July 28, 2008.(South Carolina)
July 28, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Jennifer Ross MacLeod has joined Ellis, Lawhorne & Sims as an associate in the trusts and estates practice group. She will focus on estate planning. MacLeod earned her undergraduate...

Affects of technology and economics to law firms: Columbia to Calcutta.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger The use of offshore legal process outsourcing companies by law firms and their corporate clients might be the cost-cutting move of the future. However, some attorneys from the Carolinas are wondering if the price...

U.S. District Court rules travel agency could be liable for office dog bite.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom A workplace dog that bit the face of a child who tried to feed it might have exposed a Hilton Head Island travel agency to premises liability and a statutory negligence claim. In a July 21 order, a federal judge...

S.C. Lawyers Weekly names Mathis new publisher.(Tonya Mathis)
July 28, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Veteran publishing executive Tonya Mathis has been named publisher of South Carolina Lawyers Weekly and its two sister publications, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly and Carolina Paralegal News. ...

Legal Process outsourcings prove to be an attractive option for attorneys in India.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger Sanjay Bhatia works in a modern downtown office, researching American case law and statutes, drafting creative legal documents and supervising junior associates. And every night, he returns home to a comfortable,...

Business boom drives large Upstate law firm in Greenville to merger on Aug. 1.(Leatherwood Walker Todd & Mann and Smith Moore)
July 28, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith Greenville-based Leatherwood Walker Todd & Mann, one of the state's largest firms, and Smith Moore have announced that they will merge on Aug. 1 to become Smith Moore Leatherwood. The union will create a firm with...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 28, 2008.(South Carolina)
July 28, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Resisting Arrest - Seizure - Fleeing The Scene A man convicted of resisting arrest for fleeing on foot from police officers should have been granted a directed verdict since no...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: July 28, 2008.(South Carolina)
July 28, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Corporations Disadvantaged Business Enterprise - Application - Stock Interest SCDOT properly denied a corporation's application for certification as a disadvantaged business enterprise...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 28, 2008.(South Carolina)
July 28, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Tobacco Escrow Fund Act - Deposit - Personal Jurisdiction The Circuit Court has personal jurisdiction over an Indonesian tobacco-trading company since there are sufficient...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: July 28, 2008.
July 28, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Habeas Corpus - Accused Terrorist - Military Detention On rehearing, en banc, the Fourth Circuit holds in Al-Marri v. Pucciarelli (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-132-08) (216 pages) that...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: July 28, 2008.
July 28, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Motion To Compel - Agreement - Federal Arbitration Act Despite claims of fraud in the inducement, there is no basis on which to avoid enforcement of the plain language of an...