The attorney’s fee provision in a promissory note covered the costs incurred in collecting the debt post-judgment, the South Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled. The court rejected the so-called “merger doctrine” in a case of first impression, which ...

Tagged with: Attorneys' Fees

Raynor v. Byers (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-001-18, 4 pp.) (Paula Thomas, J.) Appealed from Aiken County Circuit Court (Doyet Early III, J.) S.C. App. Holding: Where the parties’ promissory note said, “In the event of default in the payment of ...

Tagged with: Attorneys' Fees post-judgment collection

A South Carolina pet supply company that sent high-priced Boston-based intellectual property lawyers into a contempt fight with a competitor could get stuck with a big legal bill, despite emerging the victor in the underlying litigation. Nutramax Laboratories argued that ...

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A South Carolina federal judge’s decision to cut attorneys’ fees to 5 percent of the request in a civil rights case over access to social services was “clearly wrong,” according to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Chief Judge ...

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Rush v. Zurich American Insurance Co. (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-140-16, 7 pp.) (R. Bryan Harwell, J.) 4:15-cv-04367; D.S.C. Holding: Even though there is no private cause of action under the Improper Claims Practice Act, S.C. Code Ann. §§ 38-59-20 et ...

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It’s a well-known principle in U.S. civil law: Each party to a lawsuit is responsible for its own attorney’s fees, unless a statute or contract makes it clear that the other party may be held liable for those fees. The ...

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Andrews v. America’s Living Centers LLC (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-112-16, 18 pp.) (Gregory, J.) No. 15-1658, June 28, 2016; USDC at Asheville, N.C. (Reidinger, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: An award of attorney’s fees is permissible after a voluntary dismissal under ...

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A Columbia lawyer who found himself caught between beneficiaries with conflicting wishes after being appointed to represent a woman’s estate now has to return more than $40,000 in compensation he took for his work. Not only that, but Edward Sullivan ...

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Sullivan v. Brown (In re Estate of Kay) (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-055-16, 18 pp.) (H. Bruce Williams, J.) (John Few, Acting Judge, concurring in part & dissenting in part) Appealed from Laurens County (Donald Hocker, Probate Court Judge; Frank Addy ...

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A real estate agent who accepted an offer of judgment for five times less than what his opponent subsequently received to settle his counterclaims still qualifies as the prevailing party under the Civil Rights Act, according to a novel decision ...

Tagged with: Attorneys' Fees