South Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from September 2008

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from September 2008

Five tech tools I recommend for road warrior productivi.(Product/service evaluation)
September 1, 2008... Byline: Ed Poll, Special to SCLW If, like me, you are regularly on the road, the connectedness offered by today's wireless technology makes travel feasible because it keeps you in touch and in control of your business. Every road...

South Carolina Lawyers In The News: September 1, 2008.
September 1, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Briefly Cherie W. Blackburn has joined Nexsen Pruet as a partner in its Charleston office. She will practice with the employment and labor law group. Blackburn has more than 20 years of...

Commercial plaintiffs can skirt economic loss rule, South Carolina Supreme Court says.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom Even when nothing has been damaged but the product itself, a commercial plaintiff still can recover in tort against the manufacturer, so long as the defect posed a serious risk of physical injury, the Supreme Court...

$1 Million Deposit: Recalling humble roots, Charleston lawyer donates to food bank.(Paul Hulsey)
September 1, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith Charleston attorney Paul Hulsey can barely remember a time in his life when he hasn't had a job. It started in the third grade. The Kansas City, Mo., native earned $2 per week to help an elderly man in his...

Commentary: Battle Zone: A few thoughts from the opinions editor.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Bess Battle As a new feature in South Carolina Lawyers Weekly, I, the illustrious opinions editor, will comment on some of the more interesting cases digested each week. When the occasion arises, I will also highlight some of the...

South Carolina Supreme Court: No-bid contract not justified by project delays.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom Although residents were aggravated with a dragging Charleston County road-widening project that presented highway hazards, it wasn't an emergency that would allow the Department of Transportation to sign a no-bid...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: September 1, 2008.(South Carolina)
September 1, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Furniture Delivery - Damages - Third Party A woman, whose home was damaged when she contracted with a store to deliver her furniture, can maintain her action against the store...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: September 1, 2008.(South Carolina)
September 1, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Disciplinary Matter Air Conditioner Installation - Ex Parte Communication - Public Reprimand An attorney who engaged in ex parte communications regarding a suit against him for...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: September 1, 2008.
September 1, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Speedy Trial Act - Continuance - Ends Of Justice - Marijuana Plants A West Virginia couple charged with growing marijuana at their home has their convictions overturned by the...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: September 1, 2008.
September 1, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Medical Malpractice Newborn - Eye Injury - Silver Nitrate Stick - Umbilical Cord Removal A mother cannot recover damages from a pediatrician for allegedly scarring her newborn's eye with...

South Carolina Lawyers in the News: September 8, 2008.
September 8, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Sowell Gray Stepp & Laffitte attorneys Grady L. Beard, Marcy J. Lamar, and Daniel W. Hayes have co-authored the fifth edition of The Law of Workers' Compensation Insurance in South Carolina....

Green industry tills fertile ground for lawsuits.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Dick Dahl As LEED projects proliferate, lawyers foresee an era of green-construction lawsuits. Eight years ago, the U.S. Green Building Council launched a voluntary program called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design...

Arbitrator, not court, to decide construction contract's enforceability, rules S.C. appeals court.(South Carolina)
September 8, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom Even though a Lancaster church claimed that it never entered a valid contract with a construction company, it was still bound by an arbitration clause in the contested document, the appeals court ruled Aug. 27. ...

Commentary: Marking seven years in print and seeking input on the next seven.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom Seven years ago this week, the premier edition of South Carolina Lawyers Weekly landed on attorneys' desks across the state. The first issue was dated Sept. 10, 2001, rather inauspicious considering the tragic...

Commentary: Battle Zone -- Observations from the opinions editor.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Bess Battle This week was extremely light, with one published Supreme Court case and two published Court of Appeals cases. Since it appears that last Monday was Laborless Day in the courts, I labored over issues to comment on this...

S.C. Administrative Law Judge Division Case Summaries: September 8, 2008.(South Carolina)
September 8, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Employee Insurance Program - Long- Term Disability An employee did not qualify for long-term disability benefits under an employee insurance program since the medical...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 8, 2008.(South Carolina)
September 8, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Construction Management Agreement - Contract Validity Arbitration should be compelled where a contract's validity has been challenged since there is no issue that the...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: September 8, 2008.(South Carolina)
September 8, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Zoning Amendment - Landfill - Special Exception The addition of the word "landfill" to the listing in Newberry County Zoning Ordinance No. 12-24-01 Sect. 301 of uses permitted did not...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: September 8, 2008.
September 8, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Pregnancy Discrimination Act - Termination A pregnant employee has raised issues of material fact as to whether the employer's stated reason for her termination, her alleged...

Verdicts & Settlements September 8, 2008: Logging company hit with verdict in car/truck accident.
September 8, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff $2.6 million verdict Brief statement of claim: The plaintiff, after settling with the independent logging truck operator, Kennedy Trucking, pursued a separate action against the logging...

Verdicts & Settlements September 8, 2008: Motorist wins verdict for back injuries in Interstate 20 wreck.(Brief article)
September 8, 2008... Byline: S.C. Lawyers Weekly Staff Report $235,000 verdict Brief statement of claim: The plaintiff was involved in a violent rear-end collision while stopped in traffic on Interstate 20. He was hit by a company driver for Aiken...

Commentary: A new book examines the unusual case of the Charleston 5.(On the Global Waterfront)
September 15, 2008... Byline: Ruth W. Cupp In January 2000, a multi-continental shipping corporation, Nordana, told Charleston's longshoremen's union, "Go to hell. There are beggars down on the dock that will unload the containers for peanuts." The newly...

Commentary: Battle Zone: A few observations from the opinions editor.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Bess Battle This week was somewhat busier, with seven published Supreme Court opinions, but no published decisions from the Court of Appeals. There were some interesting cases this week that I will briefly highlight. First up...

Commentary: Funding the dream: USC scouring for cash to replace 'abomination' of a law building.(University of South Carolina)
September 15, 2008... Byline: Rick Brundrett While at the University of South Carolina School of Law, David A. Kusa was known as an enthusiastic and bright student with a promising future. He co-founded a local chapter of Just Democracy, an organization...

Annulment couldn't make bigamous marriage valid, rules S.C. Supreme Court.(South Carolina)
September 15, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom Once a bigamous marriage, always a bigamous marriage -- even if the first union is later annulled. So ruled the state Supreme Court in an apparent first-impression decision. The case dealt with a Berkeley County...

Reborn ACLU chapter figuring out what concerns S.C. residents.(American Civil Liberties Union)
September 15, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith In an effort to determine the most relevant and important legal issues impacting South Carolina communities, the American Civil Liberties Union has turned to technology for help. The organization has developed an...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: September 15, 2008.
September 15, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Certiorari Dismissal A writ of certiorari was improvidently granted in Smith v. Hastie (South Carolina Lawyers Weekly No. 010-140-08) (2 pages), the Supreme Court ruled. Smith v....

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: September 15, 2008.
September 15, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Immigration Special Visa -- 'Grandfathered Alien' -- Status Adjustment The 4th Circuit in Ogundipe v. Mukasey (South Carolina Lawyers Weekly No. 001-147-08) (18 pages) denies a Nigerian...

Commentary: It's time to give South Carolinians a law school building to be proud of.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom South Carolina has a number of monumental legal edifices that its citizens can take pride in. The State House's pleasing aesthetics make it one of the most impressive capitol buildings in the nation and second to...

Commentary: Battle Zone: Light week in the South Carolina courts.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Bess Battle This week was lighter than a hot air balloon over a jet engine, with just one published Supreme Court opinion and one published Court of Appeals opinion, plus some unpublished decisions and rulings from the Workers'...

South Carolina Lawyers in the News: September 22, 2008.
September 22, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Thomas M. Christina, a shareholder in the Greenville office of Ogletree, Deak-ins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, has been reappointed as a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's employee...

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Laurens bar seeking donations for Judge James W. Johnson Jr. portrait fund.
September 22, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Dear Fellow Member of the Bar: This summer we lost a distinguished member of the judiciary. Judge James W. Johnson Jr. was a resident judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit from 1992 until his...

Buyer of property at county tax sale could not avoid IRS lien, rules S.C. Supreme Court.(Internal Revenue Service)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom As inescapable as death and taxes, an IRS lien on a North Charleston parcel survived a county tax sale and must be paid by the purchaser, the Supreme Court ruled Sept. 15. The land's original owner didn't pay his...

Fatal SUV collision with bike yields $1.025M verdict in South Carolina court.(sport-utility vehicle)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom Sometimes entrenched first impressions of how an accident happened prove false after rigorous research and careful consideration of the physical evidence. That was the situation in a lawsuit over a 2003 SUV/bike...

FirmSpace: Nexsen Pruet law firm explores potential uses for social-networking Web site.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith When Columbia mayor Bob Coble created his Facebook page last year, he didn't know that he would make almost 1,700 friends. But when he did, he realized that the online social-networking site had easily connected him...

S.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 22, 2008.
September 22, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Landlord & Tenant Division Of Compensation Award - Condemnation - Valuation A tenant is not entitled to a portion of the condemnation award based upon contractual rent abatement since any...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: September 22, 2008.
September 22, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Domestic Relations Divorce - Adultery - Condonation - Witness Credibility The Family Court properly held a husband condoned his wife's adultery since the Court of Appeals erred in...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: September 22, 2008.
September 22, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Underinsured Motorist Coverage - Household Resident - Son- In-Law A son-in-law injured in a car titled in his father's name cannot receive UIM benefits under a policy he was...

South Carolina Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: September 22, 2008.
September 22, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Direct Employee - Fixed- Bid Contract - Head Injury No direct employer/employee relationship existed between the claimant and a construction company since the...

Commentary: A few comments about this week's S.C. court cases.(South Carolina)
September 29, 2008... Byline: Bess Battle This week was lighter than an astronaut bouncing off the moon, with one published Supreme Court opinion and no published decisions from the Court of Appeals. Fortunately in these desperate times, there was an...

South Carolina Lawyers In The News: September 29, 2008.
September 29, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith Briefly William Floyd III, an employment and labor attorney in Nexsen Pruet's Columbia office, will serve on the 2008-2009 board of directors of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. Floyd has 20 years of...

Tenant's lack of privacy expectation in common area stymies suit against landlord in federal court.
September 29, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom A federal judge has nixed a Pendleton woman's claim that her landlord violated her privacy when it installed monitoring equipment in the common area of her apartment complex. The plaintiff sued Pendleton Garden...

Recruiters find more married law professors accepting positions only if spouses are also hired.
September 29, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith "I do" is taking on a double meaning for married law professors and their employers these days. Not only are the couples vowing to spend their personal lives under the same roof, but also their workdays. An...

Lawyers should be sanctioned in big firm lawsuit, rules S.C. Supreme Court.(Eric S. Bland and Ronald L. Richter Jr.)
September 29, 2008... Byline: Gregory Froom, Editor Two lawyers should be held in contempt for breaching a settlement agreement in a legal malpractice suit against law firm giant Nexsen Pruet, the Supreme Court ruled Sept. 22 in a split decision. At the...

Judicial selection forum focuses on boosting diversity on the S.C. bench.(Conference news)
September 29, 2008... Byline: Ruth W. Cupp A forum discussing how the judicial selection process can better ensure quality, independence and diversity on the bench honored Constitution Day on Sept. 17. Issues regarding judicial independence and making the...

S.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: September 29, 2008.
September 29, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Drug Charges - Admission Of Prior Guilty Pleas Evidence of the defendant's prior guilty pleas was inadmissible since it was irrelevant under Rule 609 and would improperly...

S.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: September 29, 2008.
September 29, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Court Order Violation - Nondisclosure - Confidentiality Agreement Two attorneys clearly breached a protective order and settlement agreement by retaining another firm's policy...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: September 29, 2008.
September 29, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Student Loan Debt - 'Undue Hardship' Although the debtor is in her late 60s with some health problems, she can't discharge her $161,000 in student loans as an "undue...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: September 29, 2008.
September 29, 2008... Byline: South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Landlord & Tenant Apartment Complex - Surveillance System - Invasion Of Privacy A tenant cannot maintain her claim for invasion of privacy against a landlord who installed a surveillance...