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Result of alleged hazing ‘unintended,’ so insurer had duty to defend claim
Allstate Insurance Co. had a duty to defend a swimmer from the University of Virginia in a lawsuit claiming he and four of his teammates forced a first-year swimmer to drink milk and prune juice until...
View ArticleDespite extracurricular activity, stop not prolonged
Twenty minutes may seem like a long time for a traffic stop, but it’s not prolonged — at least in certain circumstances — according to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A divided panel held on...
View ArticleSC Largest Law Firms: New spaces, new faces
This year’s edition highlighting South Carolina’s largest law firms does something that hasn’t been done in a while — it features several law firms new to the rankings. But that doesn’t mean there has...
View ArticlePrejudgment interest may be recovered in UIM case
A plaintiff can potentially recover prejudgment interest in a breach of contract claim against an insurance carrier, even though interest is not mentioned in the underinsured motorist statute or...
View ArticleNot getting better: Killings raise doubts about prison improvement plan, suit...
A settlement agreement between an advocacy group for thousands of mentally ill inmates and the South Carolina Department of Corrections was hailed as a historic step toward overhauling the state’s...
View ArticleMaimed dancer wins again at high court
An exotic dancer who was caught in the crossfire during a shootout at the Boom Boom Room in Columbia has notched another victory at the South Carolina Supreme Court in her protracted effort to receive...
View ArticleBroad contract gave UPS store power to accept service
The broad language of a contract to rent a UPS box has allowed the owner of a liquor company to be served with a lawsuit, despite the complaint being served to the wrong box. A Charleston federal judge...
View ArticleDifferent test, similar result
Both of South Carolina’s law schools posted lower pass rates for February’s bar exam than they did last year, and graduates of out-of-state institutions stole the show in the Palmetto State’s first...
View ArticleInmates are protected from grievance retaliation
Inmates in South Carolina prisons have no constitutional right to the grievance policy that the corrections department provides, but they do have the right — should they file a grievance — not to be...
View Article‘Compassion fatigue’: For lawyers, the well of empathy can run dry – with...
German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and, more recently, pop singer Kelly Clarkson have observed that which “does not kill us, makes us stronger.” But more recent discoveries about mental health show...
View ArticleDefendants not part of suit not part of fault-finding
The South Carolina Supreme Court has used two cases on the the state’s Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors to underscore a basic legal principle: If someone is not a defendant in a lawsuit, they...
View ArticleA tax map mix-up: Family proves adverse possession
A tax map snafu in Beaufort County allowed a family to challenge tax sales of 10 acres at the center of a knotty land dispute, despite the fact that the statute of limitations on their claim had...
View ArticleFather of ‘cost disease’ theory dies at 95
The field of economics lost a giant May 4 when preeminent economist William Baumol passed away at the age of 95. His most famous insight, dubbed “Baumol’s cost disease,” helps explain a wide range of...
View ArticleImmunity for father who killed teen affirmed
A father who allegedly shot an innocent bystander while attempting to protect his daughter from a group of girls that followed her home was responding to an attack and therefore immune from prosecution...
View ArticleForeclosure jury demand trumps rule on referrals
The South Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that a Richland County clerk of court overstepped his authority when he approved a request to send a foreclosure case to a master, despite the defendant’s...
View ArticleThe coming wave of tracker attacks
Nearly 11 years have passed since South Carolina enacted “Jessie’s Law” — named after a Florida girl who died at the hands of a registered sex offender — and began strapping electronic tracking devices...
View ArticleRJR nets big ruling in employees’ ERISA suit
Like the noxious vapors left behind by a passing smoker, the litigation between R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and 3,500 of its current and former employees has lingered longer than anyone would have liked. But...
View ArticleJudge-controlled docket proposed for Charleston
Charleston is poised to become the second county in South Carolina where judges, rather than prosecutors, control the criminal court docket. The county’s chief administrative judge, Markley Dennis, has...
View ArticleSubstance over form
Where a former employee timely told the Department of Social Services through his attorney that he planned to contest his termination, rather than use a specific form required by the agency, his...
View ArticleJuveniles can be registered as sex offenders for life
Sentencing a juvenile to register as a sex offender and to wearing an electronic monitoring device for the rest of his life is not unconstitutional, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled earlier this...
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