Where a pipefitter diagnosed with mesothelioma testified he had no knowledge whether asbestos was used during the construction of a plant and the plant’s owners submitted copious evidence showing there was no asbestos at the plant, the owners prevailed on ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Mesothelioma claim lacks evidence of asbestos
Tort/Negligence – STCA – Workers’ Compensation – Non-Employer – County & Sheriff 
Since the plaintiff-firefighter is employed by the county while the defendant-sheriff and his deputies are employed by the state, plaintiff could sue the sheriff for bodily injuries sustained in a vehicle collision between plaintiff and a deputy sheriff. We reverse ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Interference with Contract – Landlord/Tenant – Commercial Lease – Fire Damage – Punitive Damages 
Even though fire damage to a commercial property exceeded the $1,000,000 in insurance that the lease required the defendant-owner to maintain, there was also evidence from which a jury could nevertheless decide that the owner had interfered in plaintiff’s sublease ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Failure-to-warn claims about medication preempted 
Allegations that a pharmaceutical company did not sufficiently warn about certain risks of taking an anti-stroke medication were preempted by federal law because it did not have unilateral authority to change the warning label. Background Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. developed ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Civil Practice – Summary Judgment – Affidavit – Personal Knowledge – Parked Truck – Motorcycle Accident 
After being struck by another vehicle, plaintiff’s decedent’s motorcycle collided with a truck parked nearby. Plaintiff could not stave off summary judgment for the defendant-truck owner by filing an affidavit in which he relied on a generic schematic of an ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Fraud – Payment of Wages Act – Sales Commissions – Civil Practice – Statute of Limitations – Discovery Rule 
Although a check itself is not a factual assertion, here it was defendants’ action of sending plaintiffs deficient commission checks, pursuant to an agreement that full commission would be paid, that constituted the misrepresentation. Defendants’ motion to dismiss is granted ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Malicious Prosecution – Arrest Warrant Affidavit – Clarified Allegations 
Although plaintiff complains about the allegations in the affidavit that supported his arrest warrant, probable cause continues to exist even if we make the clarifications to the affidavit as urged by plaintiff. Even if the affidavit (1) alleged a shorter ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Proximate Cause – Suicide – Enhanced Injuries – Air Bag – Certified Questions 
In answer to two questions certified by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the court says (1) South Carolina does not recognize a general rule that suicide is an intervening act that always breaks the chain of causation in a ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Citizen’s deportation suit barred by discretionary function exception 
There is no jurisdiction over a suit brought by a U.S. citizen who alleges he was improperly removed to El Salvador. In deciding whom to investigate, detain and remove, homeland security officers must make the kinds of classic judgment calls ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Abuse of Process – Civil Practice – Statute of Limitations – Underlying Medical Malpractice Action 
Plaintiffs contend defendants abused the judicial process when defendants sued plaintiffs for medical malpractice. However, claims for abuse of process have a three-year statute of limitations, this case was filed in October 2010, and the undisputed evidence shows plaintiffs either ...
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