Articles

On March 7, 1998, Christine McCune¹ joined her husband and several friends for a paintball game at Myrtle Beach Indoor Shooting Range, Inc. Prior to the match, she received a face mask provided by the range for protection. During the game, McCune’s loose, ill-fitting mask came off after being caught in the branch of a tree. After her mask was raised off her face by the tree branch, McCune was struck in the eye by a paintball pellet that rendered her legally blind. McCune brought several causes of action against the Range based on the failure of the mask to be properly fitted and to properly protect her during play. McCune lost her case at every level of litigation due to a single piece of paper she signed just prior...

More than three years after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington has held that an employee suffering from what has been termed “long-COVID” is entitled to receive long-term disability (LTD)  under a group LTD policy. Abrams v. Unum Life Insurance Company of america, No. C21-0980 TSZ, 2022 WL 17960616 (W.D. Wash. Dec. 27, 2022). This appears to be one of the first reported decisions addressing disability based on this new condition – and, of import to this group – the case involves an LTD claim filed by a shareholder in a law firm. Background In April 2020, a trial and appellate partner at a law firm began to...

Gallivan White Boyd (GWB) is pleased to announce its inclusion as a ranked law firm in the 2022 edition of Chambers USA. Chambers USA ranks the top lawyers and law firms across the United States, including up to 79 individual practice areas in all 50 states and Washington, DC. To determine its rankings, Chambers and Partners analyzes information gained via submissions and interviews that center around technical ability, client service, team depth, commercial vision and business understanding, diligence, and value for money.GWB is ranked in South Carolina for Litigation: General Commercial.  One commenter told Chambers and Partners that GWB “is top-notch; they’re really strong and very diverse in the things...

Gallivan White Boyd is honored to announce that Partner, Gray T. Culbreath received the Order of the Palmetto on May 11, 2022. Governor Henry McMaster awarded Culbreath for his outstanding service to the South Carolina State Museum. Gray T. Culbreath has served the Museum Commission under four governors and three executive directors in his 22 years of service. Nineteen of those years, he served as Commission Chair, and his leadership was invaluable in guiding the museum through various projects. Culbreath is the Partner in Charge of the Columbia office and sits on GWB’s Executive Committee. Gray's law practice includes defending product manufacturers in product liability suits brought both individually and...

Gallivan White Boyd is pleased to announce that Jordan Crapps has been elected a partner in the firm. Jordan works in the firm’s Columbia, South Carolina office. Jordan has been with GWB since August 2016, and prior to that time, he worked in the public sector investigating and prosecuting securities related matters. He focuses his practice on the representation of clients in the business and commercial litigation, corporate and commercial transactions, and appellate practice areas. Jordan has handled a wide range of corporate and commercial matters, including those related to shareholder disputes, business torts, professional negligence, contract disputes, and governmental investigations. Jordan is a team...

The road to an inconsistent, fact-intensive, national framework for railroad regulation is paved with good intentions—or at least such has been the case in application of the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (“ICCTA”) to condemnations of railroad property by state and local actors. Despite the best intentions of Congress, this particular intersection of transportation law, property law, and issues of federalism has often left the overlapping interests of rail carriers and the nation’s economy in conflict with local actors. This article provides a brief overview of the ICCTA, examines the prevailing regulatory analysis in this purportedly deregulated environment, and concludes with a discussion of...

"Danger invites rescue. The cry of distress is the summons to relief. The law does not ignore these reactions of the mind in tracing conduct to its consequences." ¹ Taking their name from a biblical parable, "Good Samaritan" statutes offer legal protection intended to encourage bystanders to help victims in distress by minimizing their fear of being sued or prosecuted for their errors or mistakes in rendering aid or treatment. ² South Carolina's Good Samaritan statute reads as follows: [a]ny person, who in good faith gratuitously renders emergency care at the scene of an accident or emergency to the victim thereof, shall not be liable for any civil damages for any personal injury as a result of any act or...

Civil Discovery of Wearable Technology Data in Personal Injury Cases On September 13, 2018, in Santa Clara County, California, a 67-year-old woman was discovered dead in her home, slouched in a dining room chair with lacerations on her head and neck, clutching a large knife. Two weeks later, her stepfather was arrested for her murder based in part on evidence obtained from a silent observer—her Fitbit. The fitness tracker she was wearing at the time recorded a spike in her heart rate followed by a slow decline in her heart rate until it completely stopped, all during a time when her stepfather—the last person to see her alive—admitted he was at her home.¹ The advent of wearable technology, expected to...

“The King is dead. Long live the King!” Over the past several years, I have seen, heard and participated in numerous discussions about the rise of online mediation. I have always believed that face to face mediation between litigants is the undisputed King of ADR. Yet I often mused whether I should be looking for a DeLorean with a flux capacitor for a trip back to the future of mediation. Little did I know that a global pandemic would force not just me, but the entire legal profession into the online world of virtual litigation and mediation. As a mediator, one of my favorite rhetorical questions is, “How’s that working out for you?” I now ask myself that question about virtual mediation and would like to...

DRI for Life Does the COVID-19 pandemic have you bouncing off the walls at home? Compliance with a “stay-at- home” order. Social distancing. Inability to visit with family or friends. Restaurants closed. Yes, you do need a haircut! For me, cancellation of March Madness and postponement of The Masters golf tournament. The death, the hurt, the unemployment. We are all grieving in our own way—grieving the loss of normalcy, grieving the economic loss, grieving the loss of connection. How do we handle this discomfort, this grief? As a volunteer for the South Carolina Bar Lawyers Helping Lawyers program, and as a mental health advocate, I have read countless articles on lawyers and mental health. As a result, I...