Supreme Court overturns $11M defamation verdicts
CHARLESTON (AP) — South Carolina’s high court has overturned $11 million in verdicts against a Charleston attorney accused of defaming a businessman by comparing him to television mobster Tony Soprano....
View ArticleConstitutional – First Amendment – Religious Freedom – Neutral Principles of...
Banks v. St. Matthew Baptist Church (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-122-13, 12 pp.) (Kaye G. Hearn, J.) (Jean Hoefer Toal, Ch.J., joined by John W. Kittredge, J., dissenting) Appealed from Charleston County...
View ArticleBig mistake prompts big judgment
Nightmare stories about crazy condo boards abound. But few could trump the tale James E. King told during a defamation trial earlier this month. He accused the Santee Resort Condominium Association of...
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Defamation case against Media General heads to trial
Louis Clay Tharp, a New York based author and blog writer, will get a chance to prove whether he was defamed by local news media after being accused of first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree...
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Fired bank worker wins $500K defamation judgment
A bank employee who was dismissed from her job after her branch manager falsely accused her of assault has won a $500,000 defamation verdict against the manager and the bank that formerly employed...
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Fired lawyer can proceed with defamation suit
A South Carolina attorney who claims a workplace rival defamed her and interfered with her employment contract can proceed with her lawsuit, a U.S. District Court judge found. In denying the...
View ArticleCivil Practice – Removal Jurisdiction – Fraudulent Joinder Argument –...
Montanaro v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-136-14, 9 pp.) (Patrick Michael Duffy, J.) 2:14-cv-01253; D.S.C. Holding: Even though plaintiffs’ defamation complaint...
View Article$1M verdict for man accused of raping handicapped patient
The top results of a Google search for “Ralph Williams of Orangeburg” notify the world that he was arrested for attempting to rape a mentally handicapped patient at an assisted living facility where he...
View ArticleTort/Negligence — Defamation – Hyperbole – Rivals – Fire Captains
Blanton v. City of Charleston (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-194-14, 10 pp.) (C. Weston Houck, J.) 2:13-cv-02804; D.S.C. Holding: When defendant Williams talked to a reporter after a fire, he only made one...
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No discovery rule extension to slander, libel
In a recent ruling, without precedence from the S.C. Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court relied on cases from other states in holding that the discovery rule does not extend to libel and slander...
View ArticleWest Columbia mayor sues officials for defamation
WEST COLUMBIA (AP) — The mayor West Columbia is suing six city council members and two city officials, accusing them of defamation of character. Multiple media outlets reported that Mayor Joe Owens...
View ArticleSecurity guard wins $550,000 defamation verdict
The Richland County School District offered Jeffery Kennedy $5,000 to settle his defamation claim against it, according to Kennedy’s attorney. A jury determined in October that it was worth a little...
View ArticleTort/Negligence — Defamation – Labor & Employment – Drug Test Results –...
Lisotto v. New Prime, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-092-15, 5 pp.) (Mary Lewis, J.) 3:14-cv-03920; D.S.C. Holding: Where plaintiff alleges that defendant has continued to report false and defamatory...
View ArticleTort/Negligence — Punitive Damages – New Trial Motion – Denial – Defamation –...
McAlhaney v. McElveen (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-065-15, 8 pp.) (John Few, C.J.) Appealed from Beaufort County Circuit Court (J. Ernest Kinard Jr., J.) S.C. App. Holding: The trial court did not abuse its...
View ArticleTort/Negligence – Defamation – ‘Crazy’ – Labor & Employment
Todd v. South State Bank (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-196-15, 7 pp.) (Richard Mark Gergel, J.) 2:15-cv-00708; D.S.C. Holding: When a human resources associate told people that plaintiff was fired because...
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Only one will survive … or they’ll settle
A legal kerfuffle that began in North Carolina between a pair of feuding reality TV personalities has spilled across the border into South Carolina. Joseph Teti, one-time star of “Dual Survival” on the...
View ArticleTort/Negligence – Defamation – Slander – Labor & Employment – Qualified...
Colleton v. Charleston Water System (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-066-16, 17 pp.) (Richard Mark Gergel, J.) 2:15-cv-02321; D.S.C. Holding: When the defendant-manager allegedly told a supervisor that...
View ArticleTort/Negligence – Defamation – Qualified Privilege – Labor & Employment –...
Harris v. Tietex International Ltd. (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-060-16, 8 pp.) (Paul Short Jr., J.) Appealed from Spartanburg County Circuit Court (J. Derham Cole, J.) S.C. App. Holding: Plaintiff bases...
View ArticleTort/Negligence – Defamation – FCRA – No Preemption
Bouchard v. Synchrony Bank (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-138-16, 6 pp.) (Patrick Michael Duffy, J.) 2:16-cv-01713; D.S.C. Holding: Where plaintiff alleges, “Defendants’ false reports and furnishings of...
View ArticleMission scrubbed: Removal of Google search results has high bar
Everything lives forever on the internet, the adage goes. While European courts have codified a “right to be forgotten” on the internet, under U.S. law it can be well-nigh impossible to get content...
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