South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

Falling into the category of “well that’s news to us” – we found out last week thanks to state Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, that technically speaking, medical marijuana has been legal in South Carolina for some time now (Try since ...

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A recent decision by the state Court of Appeals serves to remind mortgage companies that in order to hold a spouse liable for a mortgage, they must ensure the spouse signs the note and mortgage. In general, most states require both spouses to sign mortgages if both names appear on a deed.

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A recent South Carolina District Court decision on a motion to compel discovery held that reports prepared in the ordinary course of business of adjusting insurance claims are not protected as “work product” and must be produced. Federal law governs the work product doctrine. The doctrine protects from discovery any “documents and tangible things that are prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial.”

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Make fun if you want, but some of us here really dig distinguished thespian Mark Harmon, star of the excellent CBS drama “NCIS.” We can spot a Harmon link to just about anything. So imagine our delight when a recent ...

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The U.S. District Court for South Carolina has ruled that the public’s right to access information outweighs a defendant’s right to enforce a confidentiality agreement that would have redacted the settlement amount in a wrongful death case. Plaintiff Michelle Martin of Greer brought the action against defendant American Honda Motor Company, Inc. after her husband Gerald Martin died in 2011 while operating a power buffer at work.

After deliberating for less than an hour, a Horry County jury returned a verdict in favor of Wal-Mart and two employees in a wrongful death claim brought by a plaintiff on behalf of her daughters’ estate.

Tagged with: Verdicts and Settlements wrongful death

So we aren’t exactly math whizzes here at Sidebar, but we really like the fuzzy math skills a plaintiff in a recent insurance case displayed.  Unfortunately for him, the judge saw straight through it. Since 1989, Piedmont resident Dennis Barker ...

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The South Carolina Court of Appeals recently refused to sever an arbitration clause from a contract between homebuilder D.R. Horton and a homebuyer because the contract itself was deemed unconscionable.

Proving that a person with even a sliver of a disability to fight for (and plenty of “The Price is Right” to watch) is nothing if not persistent, Loida Colonna’s workers’ comp case lasted eight years. But after numerous South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission hearings, a circuit court, and appellate court ruling, the disability gravy train recently came to an abrupt halt.

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The South Carolina Court of Appeals has a message for all employers out there drafting their company’s retirement policies: Don’t mess with the promises you make to your employees.

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