Tort/Negligence – Real Property Sale – Termite Infestation – Statute of Limitations – Discovery
Plaintiffs discovered a small amount of termite damage in one part of their house in 2012, so they were on notice of the problem more than three years before they filed suit in 2018 – after they discovered much more extensive termite damage in another part of their house. We affirm the circuit court’s grant […]
Sheriff Department to pay $500K for Tort violations
In early January, attorneys went to trial in Columbia District Court on a case with Section 1983 Claims for excessive force and unlawful seizure against Officer Cameron James Duecker and claims under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act for gross negligence, assault, battery, false imprisonment, and negligent supervision against the Richland County Sheriff’s Office. They won […]
Defense verdicts for agencies accused of neglect
A state agency and a county board serving people with disabilities and special needs have won a defense verdict in a federal lawsuit alleging that they failed to provide adequate services to an intellectually disabled man who claimed that he was abused while in state custody, the government’s attorney reports. Johnny Timpson and his […]
Tort/Negligence – Defamation – Labor & Employment – Letters to Patients
Toussaint v. Palmetto Health (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-136-17, 5 pp.) (Mary Geiger Lewis, J.) 3:15-cv-02778; D.S.C. Holding: An untrue innuendo or inference drawn from a true statement may give rise to liability if the inference is reasonable. From a letter that defendant sent to plaintiff’s patients – which accurately told the patients that plaintiff was […]
The ‘outrageous torts’ exception
A tool that allows consumers to keep claims against a company from being forced into arbitration faces an uncertain future, following a recent ruling out of the South Carolina Supreme Court. The outrageous torts exception — which enables parties to an agreement to avoid arbitration if they can show their claims arose out of an […]
Tort/Negligence – Man’s Toxic Tort Suit Not Time-Barred
Stahle v. CTS Corp. (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-043-16, 44 pp.) (Floyd, J.) No. 15-1001, March 2, 2016; USDC at Asheville, N.C. (Cogburn, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A North Carolina man who alleges he developed leukemia from exposure to toxic solvents dumped by defendant CTS Corporation into a local stream near plaintiff’s home from 1959-1968 is […]
Contract – Primer Paint – Ohio Law – Warranty – Tort/Negligence – Negligent Misrepresentation
Charleston Marine Containers Inc. v. Sherwin-Williams Co. (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-048-16, 25 pp.) (David Norton, J.) 2:14-cv-00377; D.S.C. Holding: The parties’ supply agreement, which is governed by Ohio law, bars the plaintiff-purchaser’s claim that the terms of its purchase orders amended the supply agreement to include plaintiff’s “standard terms and conditions” as modified by certai[...]
Banks & Banking – Contract – Tort/Negligence – Overdraft Fees – Federal Preemption – ‘Available’ or ‘Actual’ Balance
In re TD Bank, N.A. Debit Card Overdraft Fee Litigation (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-006-16, 86 pp.) (Bruce Howe Hendricks, J.) 6:15-mn-02613; D.S.C. Holding: Since federal regulations and the discretion afforded to banks under the National Bank Act permit banks to post debits in order from the highest amount to the lowest amount, plaintiffs’ state-law claims […]
Jury convinced of ‘phantom driver’ awards $1.4 million
Salvatore Jackson, a young man in his mid-40s, died in 2011 when he lost control of his motorcycle while cruising down S.C. Highway 49 near Lake Wylie. His widow was awarded more than $1.4 million for his wrongful death, even though the only defendants are an insurance company and a phantom John Doe. While no […]
Tort – FAA Inspection – Flight Instructor – Helicopter’s Airworthiness Certificate – ‘Discretionary’
Holbrook v. U.S. A helicopter flight instructor cannot sue the Federal Aviation Administration for alleged harm to his flight instruction business resulting from the FAA’s suspension of an airworthiness certification of the helicopter leased by the instructor; the 4th Circuit affirms the district court’s finding that the FAA inspector’s original certification of the aircraft fell un[...]
Tort – Dismissal for Iraqi Detainee Tort Claims
Al-Shimari v. CACI Int’l Inc. Claims filed by four Iraqi citizens seized by the U.S. military in the Iraq war zone, against a government contractor who allegedly conspired to torture claimants during interrogations, are pre-empted by federal law and displaced, and the case is remanded for dismissal by the District Court.
Tort – Iraqi Detainee Claims Against Contractor Dismissed
Al-Quraishi v. L-3 Services Inc. In this tort suit with claims filed by 72 Iraqi detainees, seized in Iraq by U.S. military personnel and allegedly tortured by defendant government contractor, the 4th Circuit says it has jurisdiction over this interlocutory appeal, but it reverses the District Court order denying the government contractor’s motion to dismiss and remands with instructio[...]
Business Law
- Economy forces attorneys to get down to business
- Business Court judges trawl for customers
- Va. company's Web site did not subject business to personal jurisdiction in S.C., appeals panel rules
- Former running back from S.C. wins courtroom victory in contract dispute
- Contract – Government Contract – Qui Tam – False Claims Act
- Tort – Business Tort – Va. Computer Crimes Act – Trade Secrets
- Consumer Protection – FCRA – Auto Loan – Bank Accounting Errors
- Licenses & Permits – Beer & Wine Permit – Restrictive Covenant – Suitable Location
- Licenses & Permits – Veterinarian – Vaccine Maintenance
- State regulators look at car dealer accused of lying to customers
- Textile firm, railroad settle Graniteville train wreck lawsuit
- Subprime mortgage meltdown hits securities law
Commentary
- High court justices cross the line of propriety
- High court’s term was rough on big business
- The flip side of generative AI in law and how to address it
- The fight for equal educational opportunity continues
- Letter From The Editor – Working from Home
- NLRB joins FTC in taking aim at non-competes
- Supreme Court leaves key internet protection untouched
- US Supreme Court bites back at parody’s use of the First Amendment
- My goal: Provide the information that you need now
- Case study: North Carolina courts provide guidance on scope, limitations of attorney-client privilege
- A Different Ode to Pro Bono Work
- N.C. Bar Association embraces homophobia