Our Blog
Our blog, Column and Beam, features articles from our attorneys regarding design and construction matters.
What is Hearsay Anyway?
If you have watched any movie or TV series about attorneys, you have heard the faux actor lawyers object to something as being hearsay. But what does that mean? First, hearsay is an out of court statement. A statement may be something that someone said, but it could...
Works Made for Hire – Who Owns the Copyright?
As we mentioned in last week’s post, the owner of a copyright in a drawing is its author. There is an exception when the work is “made for hire”. A work made for hire typically occurs when an employee of a design firm prepares a drawing in the scope and course of...
Copyright of Architectural Works
A building design (including not only the drawings but also the constructed building) is protected by copyright under the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act. The Act protects: “[T]he design of a building as embodied in any tangible medium expression,...
Scope Creep – Three Things You Should Do When Asked to Do Something Outside of Your Intended Scope of Work
During the RFP process, the lead design professional often sells itself and its consultants as a cohesive team. The lead designer is frequently a good client and someone you work with often. Everyone wants to be a team player, right? Sometimes by helping one of...
How Should You Pick a South Carolina Attorney?
Perhaps you do not have any close friends who are lawyers that you can ask for a referral and you (luckily) have not ever needed the services of an attorney. Then, something comes up and you need legal advice. How should you go about finding and selecting an...
South Carolina Contractors Must Be Properly Licensed To Collect
South Carolina Contractors and Residential Home Builders must be properly licensed or they cannot either bring a lawsuit or file a mechanic’s lien to collect money owed on a construction project. The license requirements for contractors is found at S.C. Code Ann....
It’s for You! What to do if You’ve Been Served.
Imagine that you are working in your office and some unknown person comes in and hands you an envelope and tells you that it is a Summons and Complaint against your company. With your heart pounding, you look at all of the horrible allegations in the lawsuit. The...
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,...