This article is not a complete summary of the Act, but it covers some of the sections that have had the greatest impact upon my practice.
Changes in the Statute of Repose
As a result of the 2005 Tort Reform Act, all improvements to real property where a certificate of occupancy is issued after July 1, 2005, now have an eight year statute of repose. Basically, after a company does substantial work on real property and eight years after the work is completed, they are forever removed from liability for any harm caused that is allegedly a result of their work. Specifically, any law suit filed because of defective construction on real property will now be restricted by an eight year period of limitations. Additionally, all building permits issued after July 1, 2005, must have in bold type, a notice to the owner of the property telling him/her their rights under this law and their ability to contract for a longer guarantee period than eight years. This article is not a complete summary of the Act, but it covers some of the sections that have had the greatest impact upon my practice.
Joint and Several Liability
If for any reason, whether that is a car crash, defamation suit, damage to property, or any other wrong that involves more than two parties and results in a damage award that cannot be divided, South Carolina has decided to try and reduce liability. Before the 2005 Tort Reform Act, if a person got involved in any type of multi-party mix up that caused another person harm, the person that caused the harm whether they shouldered 90% of the blame or 10% of the blame could be held responsible for 100% of the damages. Now, a person must be 50% at fault or more for them to be held responsible for 100% of the damages. If a person is 49% or less responsible then under the new law, they will be liable for paying that percent of the total damages only. For instance, if a plaintiff receives a $10,000 judgment and defendant iA is found to be 49% at fault, defendant A will be responsible for paying $4,900, 10% at fault, $1,000. Lastly, the percentage of fault will be decided by the jury and if there is no jury, by a judge.
Venue
The 2005 Tort Reform Act also reworked the rules for Venue. Venue is merely a name for where a trial will be heard, located. Prior to the Act many facets of Venue law were based on South Carolina case law. This Act now makes Venue rules a lot more clear and definable. Specifically, the law states what will happen in various scenarios. For instance, the new law defines where a case should be heard when a person sues another person, or when a domestic corporation sues a foreign corporation. The law is straight forward and benefits the corporations and people of South Carolina because they can now have a good idea as to where cases will be heard if they are sued or sue someone else. This increases their ability to be prepared well in advance for many contingencies.
Change of Venue
The 2005 Tort Reform Act made a minor adjustment to the Change of Venue rules. Specifically, the act incorporated a reference to the changes noted above and provided that a Change of Venue could be done if the proper Venue is wrong as per the law.
Personal Jurisdiction
The requirements to obtain the ability to legally hail a person into a court in South Carolina, requirements for personal jurisdiction, have remained the same. The only effect of the 2005 Tort Reform Act on personal jurisdiction is that prior to this act when a person or corporation gained personal jurisdiction over a person or corporation by using SC Code § 36-2-803 they were precluded from seeking a Change in Venue because the convenience of bringing in witnesses would promote justice. Now, under the new act a person or corporation is able to seek a Change in Venue for reasons of convenience in bringing in witnesses.
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