In a significant but not entirely novel ruling, the South Carolina Supreme Court recently held that South Carolina law does not require the pro rata apportionment of punitive damages between damages sustained for bodily...more
Probably every practitioner has faced the situation. The goal is to remove the case to the United States District Court. There is complete diversity, but the amount in controversy is ambiguous; plaintiff seeks actual and...more
In a slander action before the United States District Court on diversity jurisdiction, the jury returned a verdict awarding Plaintiff compensatory and punitive damages. The Defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law...more
Little more than a month ago, we looked at the United States District Court’s application of a recent Fourth Circuit opinion that relied, in turn, on a United States Supreme Court opinion addressing venue challenges in light...more
The United States District Court recently provided a pleading primer on a number of causes of action. Hall v. Storm Team Construction, Inc, et al. 2018 WL 2461991 (June 1, 2018). Plaintiff was hired as a project manager by...more
Last week, the South Carolina Supreme Court handed down a monumental opinion; one which, in the words of appellant’s counsel, changes 200 years of common law....more
Several months ago, we addressed the United States District Court’s helpful analysis of selected portions of South Carolina’s statute of repose. That case is back before the court, and there is additional clarification as to...more
A district court may revise “any order or other decision…that adjudicates fewer than all the claims or the rights and liabilities of fewer than all the parties…at any time before the entry of a judgment adjudicating all the...more
“Be careful what you ask for in your declaratory judgment action” could have been an appropriate subtitle....more
Drafting an agreement that includes a forum selection clause? Preparing to litigate an agreement that includes a forum selection clause and wondering how to argue?
The United States District Court, relying on a recent...more
The Fourth Circuit recently certified this question to the South Carolina Supreme Court in Theodore G. Hartsock, Jr., as Personal Representative of the Estate of Sarah Mills Hartsock v. Goodyear Dunlop Tires North America,...more
It is a basic rule of law - one cannot insure, for his own benefit, the property of another.
Recovery under an insurance policy requires proof of an insurable interest in the subject property at the time the policy is...more
Previously, in order to have an enforceable arbitration agreement in South Carolina, the arbitration language had to appear on the pages of the contract in bold, UPPER CASE and underlined print. Now, arbitration agreements...more
The title to this article could have been Mediation – Where the Confidentially Ends and Set-Off Begins, Revisited. However, the wonderful and talented people who edit my edits told me that title is too long. Nonetheless, that...more
To establish federal jurisdiction in a declaratory judgment action, two conditions must be satisfied. First, is the constitutional inquiry - the case must be a ‘case or controversy’ pursuant to Article III of the US...more
Rule 203(b)(1), South Carolina Appellate Court Rules (SCACR), requires notice of appeal be served within thirty days after receiving written notice of entry of an order or judgment. While the notice of appeal must be served...more
Diversity jurisdiction exists when there is complete diversity of citizenship between the parties and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. Generally, the amount in controversy articulated in Plaintiff’s complaint is...more
In Colony Insurance Company v. Hucks Pool Company, Inc., et al. (February 15, 2018), based only upon a demand letter to Hucks from a claimant, Colony filed a declaratory judgment action that sought a determination whether it...more
A complicated and interesting factual history, along with a number of actions, including an earlier one for declaratory judgment, resulted in a thoughtful and reasoned opinion of the United States District Court for South...more
The Court Interprets “Due Date” Under a Premium Service Agreement -
The tools of statutory construction are powerful. In interpreting statutory language, words are generally given their common and ordinary meaning. The...more
S.C Code §15-3-640, provides, in pertinent part:
No actions to recover damages based upon or arising out of the defective or unsafe condition of an improvement to real property may be brought more than eight years after...more
What do the Moody Blues and an insurance policy have in common? It boils down to this:
Say what you mean and mean what you say.
The District Court of South Carolina recently reminded us of the importance of the terms of...more
In two recent opinions, the SC Court of Appeals reminded readers that parties are free to contract as they see fit, as long as the contract provisions at issue are not contrary to public policy or a statutory prohibition. It...more
Most breach of contract claims in S.C. are governed by a three-year statute of limitations. S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(1). A specific exception, however, is found in S.C. Code Ann §15-3-520(a) that provides for a twenty-year...more
In August 2011, Jeffrey Vanderhall was riding his bicycle when he was hit by a car and seriously injured. It is now six years, three courts and two bad faith attempts later...
To describe the procedural history of this...more