South Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from May 2008

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from May 2008

S.C. Court of Appeals: Bait-and-switch claim against dealer fell within scope of arbitration clause.(South Carolina)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom An Iva man must arbitrate his claim that an Anderson dealer pulled a bait-and-switch -- delivering a different truck from the one he test-drove and negotiated to buy, the appeals court has ruled. That was true,...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(South Carolina)
May 5, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Automobile Purchase - Validity Of Agreement - Unfair Trade Practice - Bait & Switch A purchaser who sued a car dealer for allegedly giving him a different truck from the one...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(South Carolina)
May 5, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Synthetic Stucco - Class Action - 'Opt- In' Procedure An "opt-in" procedure in a class action violates the Rules of Civil Procedure since it effectively converts the class...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.
May 5, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Black Lung Benefits - Subsequent Claim - Limitations The 4th Circuit vacates an award of black lung benefits because the Administrative Law Judge did not apply the 3-year...

South Carolina Lawyers In The News: May 5, 2008.
May 5, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Sallie S. Holder has returned to the Greenville office of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart as an associate, limiting her practice to labor and employment law. Holder concentrates her...

S.C. Supreme Court says plaintiffs cannot be required to opt in to class-action suits.(South Carolina)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom Plaintiffs could not be required to opt in to a Charleston County class-action suit in order to participate in the litigation over allegedly faulty stucco, the Supreme Court has ruled in a first-impression decision....

S.C. Supreme Court says no exception from going-and-coming rule despite hauling of tool to job site.(South Carolina)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom, Editor A Midlands window installer could not collect comp benefits for an auto accident, even though it happened while he was towing a piece of equipment to a job site, the Supreme Court ruled April 28. The...

Keen on green: Firms in the Carolinas are adopting environmentally friendly practices.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith It's easier to be green than one might think. That's what some attorneys in the Carolinas are learning as the nationwide call for the adoption of environmentally friendly business practices reaches their office...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(South Carolina)
May 12, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Burglary - Authentication - Fingerprint Identification System The trial court properly admitted a rolled 10-print card as maintained in the automated fingerprint identification...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(South Carolina)(Case overview)
May 12, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Breach Of Employment Contract - Damages - Medical Doctor - Pretext A doctor's jury verdict of $200,000 in actual damages and $300,000 in punitive damages is upheld since the...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(South Carolina)
May 12, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter Drug Use - Lying To Judge - Contempt - Definite Suspension An attorney who committed numerous acts of misconduct, including lying to a Circuit Court judge...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit)
May 12, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Dischargeability Of Debt - Fiduciary 'Defalcation' - Equipment Dealer - Ch. 7 The debtor, a president of an equipment dealership, cannot discharge an unsecured judgment of...

U.S. C.A. 4th Cir. Unpublished Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit)(Case overview)
May 12, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Negligence Hotel Fire - Duty Of Care - Franchise Agreement - Franchisor Liability - Sprinklers South Carolina law does not create liability on the part of a hotel franchisor, that didn't...

South Carolina Lawyers in the News: May 12, 2008.(American Board of Trial Advocates )
May 12, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports The Charleston chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates recently elected new officers. Thomas J. Willis will serve as president, Susan C. Rosen will serve as president-elect, M....

Fifth Circuit says Greenville Comfort Inn fire victims can't recover for negligence.
May 12, 2008... Byline: GREGORY FROOM, Editor Victims of a fatal 2004 fire at a Greenville Comfort Inn could not recover from the national hotel chain on claims that it was negligent for not requiring sprinklers, the Fourth Circuit has ruled in an...

South Carolina court upholds verdict for physician forced out of clinic named for his wife.(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom The appeals court has upheld a half-million-dollar verdict for an Aiken County doctor who was fired from the clinic he co-founded with his wife in the 1970s. The plaintiff claimed that the clinic's board forced...

S.C. Court of Appeals says man might be able to tap coverage on company car while driving his own.(South Carolina)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom A BMW employee might be entitled to UIM benefits under his employer's policy, even though he wasn't driving his covered company car when he wrecked, the Court of Appeals has ruled. According to the May 2 decision,...

Skeleton motion to reconsider didn't stay time for dad to appeal support order.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom A Lexington County father could not stay the time to appeal an order directing him to pay part of his son's college expenses despite his filing of a "skeleton" motion for reconsideration, the appeals court held in a...

Greenville's William W. Wilkins reflects on diverse judicial career.
May 19, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith ABA recognizes Fourth Circuit judge for longtime service on the bench It's summer in 1960s Greenville, and a young law student spends hours in the courthouse every day checking titles for his father, a real estate...

UM payment denied to man hurt in wreck with Richland County truck.(uninsured motorist benefits)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom A man who was injured in a collision with a dump truck owned by Richland County could not recover uninsured motorist benefits -- even though his damages exceeded the Tort Claims Act's $300,000 cap, the Supreme Court...

South Carolina Lawyers In The News: May 19, 2008.(South Carolina Economic Developers' Association, Jebaily Law Firm, and South Carolina Bar Law Related Education Division)
May 19, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The South Carolina Economic Developers' Association has elected Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough partner George Wolfe to its board of directors for a two-year term beginning July 1. Wolfe...

South Carolina Bar installs new officers, board members and House chair.
May 19, 2008... Byline: From Staff Reports In addition to new Bar President Flo Lester Vinson, several other officers were sworn-in during the May 8 House of Delegates meeting at Francis Marion University in Florence. The new officers include: *...

Bar group asks high court to ditch current Rule 608, replace it with funded mandate.(Bar House of Delegates)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom Rule 608 indigent court appointments once again dominated deliberations during the Bar House of Delegates meeting held earlier this month in Florence. This time the body made a more drastic move than in the past....

Flo Lester Vinson takes over as president of S.C. State Bar.(South Carolina State Bar)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom Though she's just the third woman to lead the organization, more than gender puts the new Bar president outside the mainstream of past leaders. Flo Lester Vinson practices in the four-lawyer Folkens Law Firm in a...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 19, 2008.(South Carolina)
May 19, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Pull- Tab Machines - Breach - Handwritten Addition - Intent The special referee properly interpreted the contract according to the intention of the parties at the time the...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 19, 2008.(South Carolina )
May 19, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter Settlement Check - Unauthorized Signature - Definite Suspension An attorney who committed misconduct by signing a the client's husband's name to a settlement...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 19, 2008.
May 19, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Free Speech - Landfill Settlement - Standing A woman whose husband died in an explosion at a landfill near Ivy, Va., does not have standing to sue the landfill operators for...

Commentary: No conflicts for man of the cloth who is also an attorney-at-law.(Rudolph C. Barnes Jr.)
May 26, 2008... Byline: Ruth W. Cupp The real estate market has declined so much that some real estate attorneys are closing their offices all day or half-day on Fridays. I asked one real estate lawyer if his office had changed much because of the...

Fashion Facelift: Lawyers toss ties and doff dresses as some law firms go casual.
May 26, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith Translated from French, the term pret-a-porter means "ready to wear." But it creates some grumblings among American attorneys: Ready to wear what, exactly? Power suits and dresses are classics that never die,...

S.C. Dept. of Transportation pays $225K to settle claim over fatal wreck on icy Edgefield Co. road.(South Carolina)
May 26, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom The estate of a woman who was killed when her car skidded off a slick Edgefield County road and flipped into a stream has settled its claim against the state highway department for $225,000. The suit alleged that...

S.C. Court of Appeals says state owed no duty to motorists in railroad crossing crash.(South Carolina)
May 26, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom The plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state Department of Transportation over a fatal train/car collision at a Goose Creek crossing could not recover damages, even though the agency was aware of problems with the...

Verdicts & Settlements May 26, 2008: Mattel wins counterclaim against S.C. toymaker.(South Carolina; Super Duper)
May 26, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports $400,000 verdict Brief statement of claim: Super Duper filed a suit against Mattel in South Carolina, seeking a declaration that certain of its trademarks did not infringe or dilute...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 26, 2008.(South Carolina )
May 26, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Possession Of Stolen Vehicle - Hearsay Testimony - Detective - Cumulative A detective's testimony referencing a statement by another individual regarding damage to the vehicle...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: May 26, 2008.(South Carolina )(Case overview)
May 26, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Licenses & Permits Veterinarian - Vaccine Maintenance The ALC improperly reversed the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners' decision that a veterinarian violated S.C. Code Sect....

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 26, 2008.(South Carolina )
May 26, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Criminal Sexual Conduct - Admissibility Of Prior Convictions The petitioner's prior convictions for CDV and CSC were improperly admitted; however, his convictions for kidnapping...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 26, 2008.
May 26, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer Protection FCRA - Auto Loan - Bank Accounting Errors A bank that admitted it made "accounting errors" in repeatedly telling a borrower he had a zero balance on an auto loan, and...

Verdicts & Settlements May 26, 2008: Trucking company settles claims over fatal I-85 wreck.
May 26, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff On Nov. 21, 2006, at approximately 10:30 p.m., the plaintiff's son and wife were traveling southbound on Interstate 85 near the South Carolina/Georgia state line. A tractor pulling double trailers...

Verdicts & Settlements May 26, 2008: SCDOT settles with estate over fatal wreck at culvert without guardrails.(South Carolina Department of Transportation)
May 26, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports $225,000 settlement Brief statement of claim: The plaintiff's decedent was returning from choir practice with her niece on Feb. 26, 2004, when she encountered a stretch of McCreight...

Verdicts & Settlements May 26, 2008: County settles defective design, construction suit over government complex.(Brief article)
May 26, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports $8,223,385 mediated settlement Brief statement of claim: Allegations of design, materials and construction deficiencies resulting in damage to government complex consisting of four...