Court holds plaintiffs must prove three types of commonality Liability of a successor entity under South Carolina’s “mere continuation” rule continues to require commonality of ownership. However, the door may have been opened for successor liability in the absence of commonality of in the future. In Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company v. Eagle Window & Door,… Continue Reading
South Carolina Opinion: Insurer May Maintain Direct Legal Malpractice Action Against Counsel Hired to Represent Insured
The South Carolina Supreme Court issued its opinion today in Sentry Select Insurance Co. v. Maybank Law Firm, LLC, No. 2016-001351, Slip Opinion No. 27806 (click on the citation to be redirected to the full opinion). Justice John Cannon Few issued the opinion for the majority. General Summary The case involves an insurance carrier (“Insurer”)… Continue Reading
Methamphetamines vs. Narcotics – The Sequel
S.C. Supreme Court Reverses S.C. Court of Appeals; Holds Methamphetamine Is Not a Narcotic The plain and ordinary meaning of narcotic in an insurance policy does not include methamphetamine according to a June 12, 2013 opinion of the S.C. Supreme Court. Finding the use of the term “narcotic” created, at a minimum, an ambiguity, the… Continue Reading
House Bill H.3147 Tightens Standard for Mental Injury or Illness in Comp Claims
When the South Carolina Supreme Court issued its decision in Bentley v. Spartanburg County and S.C. Association of Counties SIF (Opinion No. 27140) in July 2012, there was little doubt the General Assembly would heed the Court’s call for reform of §42-1-160(B) and the requirement of “extraordinary and unusual” conditions to prove a compensable mental-mental injury… Continue Reading
S.C. Supreme Court Addresses Physical Brain Damage: Requires Damage That is Both Permanent and Severe
The meaning of “physical brain damage” in the workers’ compensation context has been fully addressed by the South Carolina Supreme Court. The two cases were handed down this week – Sparks v. Palmetto Hardwood, Inc., Opinion No. 27229 (S.C. Sup.Ct. filed March 6, 2013); Crisp v. SouthCo., Inc, Opinion 27230 (S.C. Sup. Ct. filed March… Continue Reading
Only Two Prefiled S.C. Bills Directly Address Workers’ Comp
Post by Founding Partner Stan Lacy Of the hundreds of prefiled bills for South Carolina’s upcoming two-year legislative session, only two directly address workers’ compensation. Compare this to 10 for the 2011-12 session, 11 for the 2009-2010 session, and 32 for the 2007-2008 session. If prefiled bills are any indication, it looks like this is going to be a… Continue Reading
Worth Watching in 2013: Bentley Decision leads to Workers’ Comp Reform Bill H. 3147
To borrow a line from the famed 19th century English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, “Ring out the old, ring in the new.” With the introduction of South Carolina House Bill 3147, some legislators plan on doing that very thing. Proposed H. 3147 was prefiled December 2012 and comes at no real surprise following the South Carolina Supreme Court’s recent… Continue Reading
Is Change Coming? Further Examination of the Bentley Decision and Potential Legislative Reform
A strong call from the Bench for legislative reform . . . Now what? When the South Carolina Supreme Court issued its July 11, 2012 opinion in Bentley v. Spartanburg Co. and S.C. Association of Counties SIF, Opinion No. 27140, it strictly construed S.C. Code Ann. §42-1-160(B) to hold that a law enforcement officer’s… Continue Reading
Negotiate Before You Mediate
In the 35 years I’ve been practicing law, mediation has dramatically changed the number of critical cases tried to a jury conclusion. In South Carolina, mediation has become almost a center point of trial practice. In my home town of Greenville, in the 1990s we would try over 100 civil cases a year in GreenvilleCounty alone.… Continue Reading
