South Carolina Supreme Court
Recent News About South Carolina Supreme Court
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Secrecy shrouds asbestos money in South Carolina, but insurer makes play for records
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - A South Carolina personal-injury lawyer with a court-ordered commission to keep a third of whatever he recovers has placed tens of millions of dollars in Delaware partnerships that he controls, out of sight of the public and even the judge who allowed them to be established. -
'Slammed the door in my face': Key cog in South Carolina's asbestos court not at U.K. showdown
A London judge hearing a U.K. company’s challenge to receivership orders handed down by his judicial counterpart in South Carolina called the procedure “a bit sort of odd,” given the U.K. company has never done business in South Carolina and has no assets there. -
Foreign mining company caught in South Carolina's asbestos machine must go to trial in February
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - The judge in charge of South Carolina’s swelling asbestos docket agreed to delay a trial against Anglo American and its De Beers diamond unit over whether they participated in a decades-long scheme to hide assets from U.S. plaintiffs but rejected Anglo American’s central argument, which is that the U.K. mining giants shouldn’t be in her courtroom at in the first place. -
Zombies are on the loose in a Carolina courtroom. Can anyone stop them?
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - An all-powerful judge raises the dead. A lawyer herds them into court. Their prey: Insurance companies. It sounds like the worst horror movie ever made, but it would actually be a documentary. -
South Carolina SC: Public tuition funds paid to private schools violates Constitution
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - A split South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled a state law that provides scholarships to students with money from the state's general fund is unconstitutional. -
After $63M loss, Johnson & Johnson preps for another trial in unfriendly South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - Johnson & Johnson is scheduled to begin trial next month in a South Carolina court where it lost a $63 million verdict last month and the presiding judge has a reputation for pro-plaintiff rulings and stiff sanctions against companies that dare to oppose her. -
Jury of one: Asbestos judge fattens verdicts when she wants
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - A South Carolina judge criticized as overly generous to plaintiffs in asbestos cases is making defendants pay whatever she feels, despite what juries and federal courts say, and was just given approval to do so by the state Supreme Court. -
Winner of $63M talc verdict worked in asbestos-filled building but jurors never knew
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - A man who won a $63 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson over what he claims was asbestos-contaminated talcum powder worked in a building later condemned for being “full of asbestos” and told his doctor about his suspected exposure to the deadly fibers. -
'No punt' football coach wins $200K in lawsuit over email criticizing his paperwork
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - A high school football coach who was demoted after adopting a disastrous “no punt” strategy can keep $200,000 a jury awarded him in a lawsuit over an email criticizing his paperwork skills, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled. -
South Carolina companies facing injury lawsuits can be liable for hiring wrong contractor
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - Answering for the first time the question of whether a company can be liable for hiring the wrong independent contractor, the South Carolina Supreme Court said “yes.” -
Nonprofit earns right to challenge South Carolina AG's $75M transfer to private lawyers
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - A nonprofit organization can challenge South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s transfer of $75 million in contingency fees to outside lawyers, the state’s highest court ruled, saying it was “an issue of public importance” because the AG may make several other such transfers including fees associated with a $300 million settlement of opioid claims. -
Restaurant company's theory fails as it seeks insurance money for COVID loss of business
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) – The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled against restaurants seeking to recover the financial drain of the COVID-19 pandemic from their insurers. -
After girl is pricked by needle in parking lot, Target fights to avoid seven-figure judgment
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) – Target will still be liable for injuries a little girl suffered when she picked up a hypodermic needle in one of its parking lots but a $4.5 million punitive damages award will likely be reduced. -
South Carolina Supreme Court rejects key argument for asbestos defendants, affirms $16M verdict
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) – An asbestos defendant hoping to invoke the Workers’ Compensation process in South Carolina has failed and will instead be on the hook for a $16 million verdict. -
Why is South Carolina a 'hotspot' for asbestos lawsuits?
The number of asbestos cases filed nationally is down 9%, so why are they skyrocketing in South Carolina? -
The South Carolina Supreme Court has unleashed a 'now-unrestrained menace,' justice warns
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - A teacher who claims school administrators engaged in a civil conspiracy to have her fired for reporting a student to the police will have another shot at proving her case after the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned its own precedent. -
Ford could be held liable for accident victim's suicide
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - Ford might be found liable for the wrongful death of a man who committed suicide after being injured by an automotive airbag, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in a decision advising a federal appeals court on a disputed question of state law. -
Settlements cancel showdown in South Carolina over 'unfair' trial practice
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - Plaintiffs dismissed a pair of talc lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson before the question of whether they should be combined in a single trial was presented to the South Carolina Supreme Court, postponing a decision on a practice defendants say unfairly prejudices them with jurors. -
Case of woman who died in wreck after sister allegedly robbed Wal-Mart continues in South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) – The South Carolina Supreme Court affirmed a circuit court’s decision over the battle to use evidence of alleged negligent hiring of security personnel in a lawsuit over the death of the sister of an alleged shoplifter at a Walmart. -
South Carolina Supreme Court affirms agricultural use of river water
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) – The South Carolina Supreme Court on July 19 ruled against those who challenged the Surface Water Withdrawal Act.