South Carolina Civil Litigation Legal Questions

Anybody can sue anybody for anything, but what you're really asking is does she have a case.  Was there a settlement agreement which included a release, or some sort of agreement that the party would not seek further compensation?  If your insurer paid money to the other party, it almost certainly would have obtained such a release.  If not, the SC satute of limitations on such a claim is 3 years from the accident.... Read More

You can't "press charges" without the police and prosecutor.  If you want criminal charges prosecuted, you will have to convince them to do so.  However, you can bring a civil suit for damages against the woman for asasult (a civil claim for assault does not require that you were actually hit, only that you were put in fear of it).  Although you do not claim to have suffered any monetary damages, you may be ble to recover punitive damages, assuming that the woman has the money to pay them.... Read More

The answer to "can I sue" is always yes, but that doesn't mean that you would win.  From what you've written, your contract seems valid, but it appears that there is a dispute about how much you paid and how much he still owes.  He may claim that you advanced less than what you claim; he may claim that the $10,000 he gave you was accpeted by you in full settlement of all claims; he may claim that he  paid you more than $10,000.  There is no way to predict who the court will beliwve..  Also, I'm not sure how you're going to justify taking all that stuff from the home which, according to the facts you've recited, were his under the contract and he was supposed to repay you for it.  At the least, I think the value of what you took would be deducted from what he still owes you. ... Read More

First you need to find out if Wells Fargo has insurance covering such claims (almost certainly) and if that includes providing a defense for you.  If so, Wells Fargo's insurance will provide you with a lawyer (depending on the nature of the suit and if your position conflicts with Wells Fargo's, it may be the same lawyer who represents Wells Fargo).  If not you need to handle it yourself either by getting your own lawyer or by representing yourself.  The way you answer a complaint, assuming that you have no basis to make a motion to dismiss it as a matter of law (e.g. the complaint alleges a claim that is barred by the statute of limitations, etc.), is to file a document called an answer in which you admit, deny, or deny having enough knowledge to know whether an allegation is true, each allegation of the complaint, and then allege any affirmative defense you may have (affirmative defenses are those which would bar the claim even if everything the plaintiff alleged was true).  If you can't hire an attorney, the clerk of the Court may be able to help you.... Read More

Of course you can "ask for it back", but whether you can have a court compel her to return it depends on what the deal was originally.  If the Court finds that you are telling the truth, and you were only lending the furniture to your sister for a period of time which time has passes, you cna get the furnityre back.  If the court finds (as your sister may claim) that it was an unconditional gift, you can't revoke it.... Read More

I'm not sure I understand your question, because I'm not sure why you would think you may not have grounds for a civil suit.  From what you've recited in your question, you would sue the contractor for the damages you've sustained due to his/her/its breach of contract.  Of course, since your contract was oral, you may have a difficult time proving your case, and it may come down to your word against the contractor's, but if you can prove what you've written above to the Court's satisfaction, you should have a good claim.... Read More

It can't.  It seems likely that the creditor claims to have served you with a summons, and obtained a default judgment against you when you didn't appear.  If you weren't served, you should immediated move to vacate the judgment and also obtain a restraining order against any further collection efforts until your motion to vacate is decided.... Read More

It's not clear from your question exactly what your situation is, and there are times when an insured has different interests from his/her insurer and should retain separate counsel.  However, see if this situation is like yours. If you were insured for any part of your claims, the insurance company that paid for it is entitled to be repaid from the proceeds of your suit.  This is known as "subrogation."  Thus, for example, lets say you are injured and sue for damages.  Part of the damages you seek is for medical expenses, part of which were paid by your health insurer.  So that if you receive a judgment for $35,000 including $10,000 of medical expenses, $5,000 of which was paid by your health insurer, the insurer is entitled to be reimbursed for its $5,000 of expenses (just like you, it would not have suffered this damage except for the other party's negligent driving) out of the amount you recover.  Similalrly, if you sue for damages which include $1,000 you had to pay for a replacement rental car, and part of that $1,000 was covered by your insurance, the insurance company is entitled to recover the part that it paid for which you recovered. If you want to settle the case, you would be wise to make sure that anybody with subrogation rights signs off on the settlement and agrees with you on what portion of the recovery it will take before you conclude the settlement.... Read More

If you're suing your ex on a contract he made in SC, which was to be performed in SC (i.e. making payments to an SC resident),  you can sue him in SC.  If for some reason you had to sue him in NC you could not, unless your contract provided for it, recover your travel costs or lost wages.  Absent a contractual provision or a statute providing for payment by the loser, each side is required to pay its own costs of litigation.... Read More

Before you can garnish wages you have to get a judgment.  Anybody can claim that somebody owes them money, but they have no legal power to enforce that claim until a Court agrees.  That means that you must sue her for her breaches of the contract.  Unfortunately, unless you included an acceleration clause in the agreement (a clause which provides that if she defaults on any payment, the remaining amount becomes immediately due and payable), you will either have to sue her separately every time she misses a payment, or wait until she has missed the rest before suing her for the entire balance.  I wouldn't wait too long, as she may claim that you agreed to waive timely payment, and cite your failure to sue her as evidence of that agreement.... Read More

You have a case if you can get proof (probably in the form of an expert opinion) that the fire was caused by some negligent act by the repair shop.  I assume that your insurance covered  your loss except for your deductible (which means that your insurance company will likely assert a claim against the repair shop for the money it paid out - this is likely to be worked out between the two insurance companies, yours and the repair shop's, with no litigation).  The total amount that you can recover would be the deductible plus the amount you paid for repairs, plus some incidentals (e.g. cost of rental car for a while if you needed one.)  Not sure if this will be worth it to you, since, even if you can get an attorney to handle the matter on a contingency, or you decide to represent yourself, you will probably need to pay an expert.... Read More

You can be sued, because anyone can sue, but that doesn't mean that the other side will win.  I see no real claim for fraud, and probably not libel (libel is written defamation; slander is oral defamation) because I don't see a misstatement of fact (I'm assuming that the facts you state are true).  I view your statement that the company is corrupt as being opinion, but a court might disagree and regard it as a statement of fact, which would be actionable if false.  However, such a statement may be a breach of the terms of your employment, both because it contains a negative message about your employer and because it reveals information your employer would view as confidential, and will certainly get you fired.  Moreover, would you want to hire someone who posted this message about his prior employer? ... Read More

     While it is extremely difficult to give a definitive answer with so little detail, if the appliance that the doctor used failed, and the doctor placed it correctly, and there were no other factors causing it to fail, then it seems the manufacturer might be liable, and it would be a product liability case.  If the doctor put it in wrong, or if he did something that caused it to fail, or if he used a product that was widely known to be faulty, it may be a medical malpractice situation.  But as you can tell, there are a large number of factors that have to be considered before you can decide who, if anyone, might be at fault.  You should consult an attorney quickly, as the statute of limitations is a factor to consider as well.  ... Read More

If you do not oppose the claim against you, a judgment will be entered against you.  If you do not pay the judgment, the judgment creditor can do all of the things you mentioned to collect on the judgment.  Although you would seem to have a claim against your husband, I assume from what you've written that he has no money with which to pay it.  If you have no defense to the lawsuit, you may have to consider filing for bankruptcy to discharge this debt and allow you to start fresh, but this should be a last resort. However, it is not clear to me that you have any liability.  You say you signed a document saying that "HE" would pay it back.  If that is all the document said, that your husband would pay back his debt, it would not impose any liability on you.  However, there might be some liability if you are deemed to have allowed your husband to write a bad check on your joint account.... Read More

If there is a warrant for your arrest, it is most likely a misdemeanor warrant, and the police will not extradite you from Florida, so the warrant will just sit unless you come to South Carolina and get pulled over or turn yourself in.  If she refuses to drop the case, the warrant will just sit there in limbo.  You really have no recourse to get the warrant disposed of other than surrendering and be arrested.  A lawyer in the jurisdiction where the warrant originates may be able to facilitate something for you, but even that is a long shot.  In some cases, a court may dispose of a warrant if it is really old, like ten years and you haven't been in any trouble since it was issued.  However, the only real way to make sure it is taken care of soon is to turn yourself in.  ... Read More

Legal grounds for what?  What do you want to accomplish? If your niece borrowed photos and now is refusing to return them, she may have breached your agreement and committed the tort of conversion.  You can sue her to compel her to return the photos and, if she can no longer return them for whatever reason, for damages for their loss (although I don't know what value, other than sentimental, they may have had).  Also, she may also have committed a criminal act, although I doubt the police will want to be bothered with this family dispute. If she is telling people that you have Alzheimers while knowing that you do not, that could be considered defamatory.  You could sue her for libel and/or slander (depending on whether the defamation was oral or written).  You may be able to obtain an injunction against her repeating her lie.  You probably have not suffered any actual monetary damages from the defamation, but there are some knowingly false statements which are considered defamation per se, where the defamed person can recover money without needing to prove any actual monetary damages, and a false statement that one has Alzheimer's may qualify.... Read More

Hello, You may have a claim under the South Carolina Workers Compensation laws for your injury at work.  You are also entitled to weekly benefits if you are unable to work.  Contact me at 803-350-9230 for a free consultant.  I will be happy to assist, if possible. Regards,Robert F. Goings Goings Law Firm, LLC 803-350-9230... Read More

As a general matter, the judicial system does not involve itself in second-guessing academic determinations. In other words, in nearly all cases such as yours, the judicial system will defer to the academic determination of your grade. There is a great deal of jurisprudence on this point. Since you have already exercised your internal right of appeal within the school, the courts are overwhelmingly likely to dismiss any claim based on these facts.... Read More