South Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from May 2007

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from May 2007

South Carolina Lawyers in the News: May 7, 2007.
May 7, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Davis, McIntosh Promoted At BlueCross BlueShield Of S.C. Attorney Judith M. Davis has been promoted to executive vice president of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. She will remain the...

Justices adopt rule for deciding actionability of asbestos exposure.
May 7, 2007... Byline: Gregory Froom A North Carolina man who contracted mesothelioma was barred from bringing his asbestos-exposure suit here because he failed to show that he was regularly exposed to the substance while working in South Carolina, the...

Fatal work zone wreck results in $3M verdict against contractor.(Banks Construction Co.)
May 7, 2007... Byline: Gregory Froom A highway construction company has been hit with a $3 million verdict in a lawsuit over a fatal accident at a road-widening project on U.S. Route 17-A near Moncks Corner. The driver's estate claimed the wreck was...

Publisher's Note.
May 7, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers Weekly is pleased to announce appointments of two experienced journalists and promotion of a third as we bolster our Raleigh, N.C., staff and complete a transition in the editorial...

S.C. Appeals Court upholds verdict for memory loss from electroshock therapy.(South Carolina)
May 7, 2007... Byline: Gregory Froom The Appeals Court has upheld a $625,177 verdict for a Midlands woman who suffered memory loss after an intensive series of electroshock treatments to alleviate depression. In an unpublished decision issued April...

Bigger Firms Taking Plaintiff's Cases On Contingency.
May 7, 2007... Byline: Dick Dahl, Dolan Media Newswires James Wallace, partner in a 270-lawyer Washington, D.C. firm, never used to get calls from potential plaintiffs. But now he gets them almost every day. That's because in March 2006, Wallace's...

Latest State Allows In-House Counsel To Skip The Bar Exam.
May 7, 2007... Byline: Justin Rebello, Dolan Media Newswires The Utah Supreme Court recently adopted a measure that permits attorneys to provide corporate representation even if they have not taken the state bar exam. Instead, in-house lawyers can receive...

152 applicants pass February 2007 bar exam in South Carolina.
May 7, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Supreme Court of South Carolina announced on April 27 that 152 applicants have been certified as passing the February 2007 bar examination by the Board of Law Examiners. A swearing-in...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 7, 2007.
May 7, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Real Property Harassment - Shooting Range - Nuisance - Permanent Injunction Where the appellant was permanently enjoined from discharging firearms on his property or immediate...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: May 7, 2007.
May 7, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort Medical Malpractice - Electroconvulsive Therapy - Memory Loss Where the respondent patient sued the appellant doctor and others, alleging the physicians were liable for memory loss...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 7, 2007.
May 7, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Corporation - Commingled Documents - Statute Of Limitations Where the RWE Corp. requested that the ENSR Corp. return all of its documents in ENSR's possession after the...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 7, 2007.
May 7, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Schools - Disabled Student - IDEA - IEP - Naming School A defendant school board's individualized education program for a middle-school student who suffered from Aspergers...

Verdicts & Settlements May 7, 2007: Condo construction defects suit results in plaintiff's verdict.
May 7, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.85 Million Verdict Principal injuries (in order of severity): Construction defects. Special damages: n/a Tried or settled: Tried County where tried or settled: Beaufort County...

Verdicts & Settlements May 7, 2007: Wheelchair-bound employee settles ADA claim with store.
May 7, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff $69,000 Settlement This is an action under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to correct unlawful employment practices on the basis of disability and...

Verdicts & Settlements May 7, 2007: Estate of wreck victim wins verdict against construction company.
May 7, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff $2.55 Million Verdict This is a wrongful death claim in Berkeley County against SCDOT and Banks Construction involving non-completion of a lane-widening project on Highway 17-A where the new...

S.C. Appeals Court says missing link in blood vial's chain of custody not fatal to state's case.
May 14, 2007... Byline: Gregory Froom The state's inability to say who carried a vial of blood to a SLED toxicologist for testing did not break the chain of custody, the Appeals Court said in upholding a felony DUI conviction for a man involved in a...

No private action under reporting statute in sexual abuse lawsuit, S.C. Supreme Court says.(Doe v. Marion)
May 14, 2007... Byline: Gregory Froom A Mount Pleasant psychiatrist could not be held liable after her client, a pediatrician, allegedly molested a child, even though she kept quiet about his alleged predilection for pedophilia, the Supreme Court has...

Lawyer's Virtual Practice Leads To New Mortgage-Closing Software System.
May 14, 2007... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher, Dolan Media Newswires Brushing beach sand from a recent vacation in Mexico off his laptop computer, Massachusetts attorney Robert Cannon demonstrated the latest innovation in his "virtual" law practice. ...

Lawmakers Urge Subprime Lending Rules, Regulations.
May 14, 2007... Byline: Lawyers USA Staff, Dolan Media Newswires The recent high-profile spike in adjustable-rate subprime mortgage foreclosures continues to spur action on Capitol Hill, as House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., and...

South Carolina Rule Changes & Amendments: May 14, 2007.
May 14, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Amendments To The South Carolina Rules Of Civil Procedure ORDER By order dated Jan. 31, 2007, this court adopted amendments to the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure and these...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 14, 2007.
May 14, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Assault & Battery With Intent To Kill - Jury Charge - General Intent Where the trial court refused to charge the jury on the general intent required to convict for ABIK, this...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: May 14, 2007.
May 14, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Felony DUI - Chain Of Custody - Blood- Alcohol Test Results Where the appellant argues the trial court erred in refusing to suppress the blood-alcohol test results because the...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 14, 2007.
May 14, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter Volunteering False Information - Public Reprimand Where the respondent pled guilty in New Jersey to the disorderly persons offense of volunteering false...

South Carolina Lawyers in the News: May 14, 2007.
May 14, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Taylor Receives USC Law School's Compleat Lawyer Award West Columbia attorney J. Mark Taylor was presented the Compleat Lawyer Award by the University of South Carolina School of Law. ...

South Carolina's Richardson, Plowden, Carpenter & Robinson forms ADR Practice Group.(alternative dispute resolution)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The law firm of Richardson, Plowden, Carpenter & Robinson, P.A., has formed a practice group to focus on the growing field of alternative dispute resolution. The practice group consists of...

S.C. Appeals Court says vague, informal agreement didn't bar award of statutory attorney's fees.
May 14, 2007... Byline: Gregory Froom An Upstate salesman was entitled to $35,000 in attorney's fees -- despite the lack of a formal fee agreement with his lawyer -- after he won a $907 verdict for unpaid commissions, the Appeals Court has ruled in a...

Parental Alienation: The Latest Weapon In Nasty Divorces.
May 14, 2007... Byline: AMY JOHNSON CONNER, Dolan Media Newswires "Welcome to the swamp." That's what a judge once told a client of Anchorage, Alaska, divorce attorney Steve Pradell when accusations of parental alienation were leveled against the...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 14, 2007.
May 14, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights First Amendment - Classroom Displays - Religious Expression A high school Spanish teacher loses his lawsuit alleging that the defendant York County, Va., school board...

U.S. C.A. 4th Cir. Unpublished Case Summaries: May 14, 2007.
May 14, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Protected Speech - Qualified Immunity - Constructive Discharge Where a supervisor claims he was constructively discharged for exercising his First Amendment rights by...

South Carolina Lawyers in the News: May 21, 2007.
May 21, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Hubbard to receive American Inns of Court's professionalism award Columbia attorney William C. Hubbard has been selected to receive the American Inns of Court's 2007 Professionalism Award for...

Lawyers in S.C. and nationwide staying engaged well beyond 65.
May 21, 2007... Byline: Dick Dahl, Dolan Media Newswires Partners in most law firms understand that when they reach a certain age they will be expected to show themselves the door. Their names may remain on the firm's letterhead and they may keep...

Charlotte immigration court could add convenience for S.C. lawyers.
May 21, 2007... Byline: Guy Loranger The opening of an immigration court in Charlotte could make South Carolina attorneys more willing to take on asylum and deportation defense cases. The court will open later this year, according to the federal...

U.S. District Court says no CGL coverage for faulty paint job on roof of Sumter hotel.(commercial general liability)(L-J, Inc. v. Bituminous Fire & Marine)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Gregory Froom A Sumter hotelier could not tap a contractor's commercial general liability coverage to pay for fixing a faulty paint job, even though it claimed removing the blistered paint could damage the underlying metal roof,...

South Carolina Bar Ethics Advisory Opinions: May 21, 2007.
May 21, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff South Carolina Bar Ethics Advisory Opinion 07-01 Upon the request of a member of the South Carolina Bar, the Ethics Advisory Committee has rendered this opinion on the ethical propriety of...

South Carolina ethics committee advises against attorney's triple role in closing.
May 21, 2007... Byline: Gregory Froom Serving as mortgage broker, buyer's agent and closing attorney in one transaction would expose a lawyer to pronounced ethical hazards, according to a recent opinion from the Bar's Ethics Advisory Committee. The...

Consultants help plaintiffs manage funds with annuities.
May 21, 2007... Byline: Jane Pribek, Dolan Media Newswires When Charles J. "Chuck" Derenne's daughter had to introduce her father at career day in kindergarten, he was a little nervous that she'd confuse the group. After all, when you're a settlement...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 21, 2007.(South Carolina)
May 21, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Parent & Child Paternity - Child Support - Subject- Matter Jurisdiction - Home State Where the appellant mother sought to determine paternity and adjudicate custody and child support in...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 21, 2007.
May 21, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Murder - Admission Of Photographs Where the appellant argues the trial court committed error at sentencing in admitting seven photographs of the victim, contending they served...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 21, 2007.
May 21, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer Protection Debt Collection - FDCPA - Immunity A District Court erred in holding that a law firm had "common law litigation immunity" from a debtor's claims under the Fair Debt...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: May 21, 2007.
May 21, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Defective Paint Job - Commercial General Liability Policy - Coverage Where the plaintiff insurance company seeks a determination that damages allegedly suffered by a limited...

S.C. Supreme Court says workers injured outside S.C. entitled to comp benefits here.
May 28, 2007... Byline: Gregory Froom Two workers' comp claimants in separate cases were entitled to benefits in South Carolina even though their jobs took them to other states where they were injured, the Supreme Court ruled May 21. The key ruling in...

U.S. Supreme Court turns patent law upside down.(KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc.)
May 28, 2007... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson, Dolan Media Newswires For the last three years, federal legislators have introduced Congressional bills seeking to reform the U.S. patent system, only to see them die in committee. But now the U.S. Supreme...

National Employment Lawyers Association study shows hurdles in EEOC filing process.(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)(Brief article)
May 28, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Employees and their attorneys face a number of obstacles in filing employment discrimination charges and dealing with investigations by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to...

Charleston School of Law's graduation marks 'last of the firsts'.
May 28, 2007... Byline: Gregory Froom When one of the Charleston School of Law's founding fathers watched 186 graduates stride across the stage to receive their J.D. degrees earlier this month, he was filled with a swelling sense of pride -- and...

South Carolina Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 28, 2007.
May 28, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Armed Robbery - Force Or Intimidation - Asportation Where the appellant argues that armed robbery could not be proven because asportation of the property occurred before the...

South Carolina Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 28, 2007.
May 28, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Jurisdiction - Hiring & Employment Location Where the claimant, who was hired as a truck driver in South Carolina during a telephone conversation with the employer's...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 28, 2007.
May 28, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Jurisdiction - Breach Of Contract - Tortious Interference Although the Chapter 11 debtor, a limited partnership that financed its purchase of two Staunton, Va. office buildings...

U.S. C.A. 4th Cir. Unpublished Case Summaries: May 28, 2007.
May 28, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Contaminated Medication Production - Pharmacy - Exclusions Where an insurance company appeals a decision that a policy it issued to a pharmacist covered claims against the...

South Carolina Lawyers in the News: May 28, 2007.
May 28, 2007... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Immigration attorney joins Carlock, Copeland, Semler & Stair, LLP Attorney Amanda Newell recently joined the growing immigration law practice at Carlock, Copeland, Semler & Stair. ...

Pharmacist's insurance applied to claims over drugs sent to N.C.
May 28, 2007... Byline: Gregory Froom Patients who allegedly caught meningitis from contaminated painkiller injections could tap insurance coverage from the Spartanburg pharmacist who sold the medicine to clinics in North Carolina, according to an...