Our Blog
Our blog, Column and Beam, features articles from our attorneys regarding design and construction matters.
South Carolina’s Implied Warranty of Fitness of Drawings
Most people are familiar with the concept of an express warranty where a party warrants that a product or component will perform as warranted. For example, roofing system manufacturers often warrant that a roof system will perform for a certain period, like 20 years,...
How to Handle a Document Subpoena
Imagine that you are sitting in your office and you receive an envelope with a law firm logo and return address and a certified mail sticker. After you calm down and open the envelope, you notice that there is a caption on the subpoena for a lawsuit and,...
South Carolina Mechanic’s Liens – How Much Can Be Recovered?
Keep in mind that under the South Carolina mechanic’s lien statute, a prior recorded mortgage has priority over a later-filed mechanic’s lien. Thus, if there is very little equity in the property because of a loan secured by the mortgage, a mechanic’s lien will have...
A South Carolina Mechanic’s Lien Has Been Filed, So Now What?
As we discussed in a previous post, if a South Carolina mechanic’s lien is timely and properly filed, a lawsuit to foreclose on that mechanic’s lien must be filed within 6 months after the claimant ceases to furnish labor or material for the project. The defendants...
Who Can File a South Carolina Mechanic’s Lien?
The South Carolina Mechanic’s lien statute creates a lien in favor of anyone “to whom a debt is due for labor performed or furnished or for materials furnished and actually used in the erection, alteration, or repair of a building or structure upon real estate or the...
Perfecting a South Carolina Mechanic’s Lien – the Devil is in the Details
Just this past December, we tried a residential construction case for a homeowner involving a claim by the builder to foreclose his mechanic’s lien. The builder had failed to include his contractor license number on his lien when it was filed. As a result, the court...
Mechanic’s Liens – The Deadlines You Need to Know
Chaucer’s proverb “better late than never” does not apply to mechanic’s liens in South Carolina. The deadlines and requirements contained in the statutes are very strict and failure to comply with any provision will result in dismissal of your lien and an award of...
What’s in a Name? Sometimes a Lot.
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” -William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet While names might not have mattered to starred-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, they should matter to you. Suppose, for example, that you...
Defective Work is Not Covered by CGL Insurance
In a July 23, 2014 opinion, the South Carolina Court of Appeals held that the “your work” exclusion in a CGL policy issued to a subcontractor will not provide coverage for defective work, including the removal and reconstruction of the work of other contractors caused...
Watch Your Language!
Attorneys love paper. When a dispute occurs on a construction project and attorneys become involved, they laboriously go through all of the emails, project notes and documents. What might have been an innocent project site report or email, can suddenly become a...