By: Erin Parrot https://www.fitsnews.com/2025/12/02/former-s-c-lawmaker-strikes-plea-deal-ahead-of-trial/ In a last minute development, former South Carolina state lawmaker Rick Martin struck a plea deal with prosecutors one day after his trial was scheduled to begin in Newberry County. As we  exclusively reported  at the time, the third-term state lawmaker was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor in December of 2021 after he “did knowingly and willfully

By: Andy Tsubasa Field https://www.postandcourier.com/columbia/business/woman-prisma-plastic-surgeon-diaphragm/article_6ff057f3-eb15-4611-a0ec-d03aa5930a60.html COLUMBIA — A Richland County resident is suing Prisma Health and one of its plastic surgeons alleging he permanently injured the nerve that controls her diaphragm and left her with lasting breathing problems. In a lawsuit filed in Richland County court, Sheri Callahan, 54, alleges Dr. Mirsad Mirza Mujadzic of Prisma

David Pascoe: “Power, not justice, determines who gets a seat on the state’s highest court.” By: FITSForum & David Pascoe https://www.fitsnews.com/2025/12/02/guest-column-s-c-supreme-court-becomes-political-spoils-system/ Here we go again. Another round of cronyism at the Statehouse. Another example of insiders elevating insiders at the expense of the people of South Carolina. And this time, the stakes could not be higher, because they are doing it with our Supreme Court. Whi

By: The Editorial Staff https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/editorials/sc-judges-selection-legislature-governor-doge/article_a69416db-878b-4400-aa50-e246526948b6.html When South Carolina’s Legislature undertakes reforms to address a long-simmering problem, it usually avoids that topic for several years — whether that’s because lawmakers want to give the reforms time to take hold or because they’ve spent all the political capital they intend to on the topic. In either event

By: Cindi Ross Scoppe https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/commentary/sc-supreme-court-justice-elect-speaker-john-few/article_abc824dc-7b6f-459e-901a-80464d968d18.html Well now: It looks like we might have an interesting race for the S.C. Supreme Court after all. By interesting I mean “can’t guess how it will turn out,” and until Monday, I had my doubts. With the Legislature already angry over Associate Justice John Few’s vote to strike down its initial six-week abortion ba

By: Bryce Rawson https://oci.georgia.gov/press-releases/2025-11-19/commissioner-john-king-announces-major-savings-georgia-drivers ATLANTA  – Today, Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King announced major rate reductions, totaling an average of over 10% in the past year, for State Farm auto customers in Georgia.  “I promised on day one that I would not only fight for Georgia families to have coverage options, but affordable options at that,” remarked Commissioner K

By: Javon L. Harris https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article312930791.html?utm_ The father of Logan Federico has teamed up with South Carolina lawmakers, solicitors and the attorney general in an ongoing bid to shake up how judges are elected in the state. Stephen Federico took the stage Saturday with several state officials as he vowed to fight for judicial reform in South Carolina while tearfully recounting the murder of his daughter, Logan Federico. “Logan Hale Fe

By: The Editorial Board https://mcusercontent.com/e1238d5f6560fa573eebd96e3/files/932667b6-1a7f-77c8-68b5-d35c4191a34b/Florida_Pays_a_Tort_Reform_Dividend_WSJ_1_.pdf De Santis’s 2023 law is reducing home and auto insurance rates. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s litigation reforms are starting to pay off for the state’s citizens in a big way. Auto and home insurers are announcing rate cuts—and get this—even issuing rebates. State Farm said recently it will reduce auto rates in the

By: Felicity Ropp https://palmettopromise.org/partial-victory-not-full-justice-what-2025-lawsuit-reform-legislation-got-right-and-what-south-carolina-still-must-fix/ After years of false starts, heated hearings, and last-minute negotiations, South Carolina has finally passed lawsuit reform. Governor Henry McMaster signed H.3430 into law in May 2025, calling it “landmark tort reform.”  This legislation is, indeed, a milestone. For the first time in two decades, the General A

By: SC Judicial Integrity Project https://scjudicialintegrityproject.substack.com/p/senator-josh-kimbrell-objects-to?subscribe_prompt=free The growing movement for judicial reform in South Carolina gained a major boost this week as Senator Josh Kimbrell announced that he will formally object to all future judicial elections until what he called “meaningful reform” is enacted. In a statement posted to social media, Kimbrell said he can no longer support a system that allows p

By: Jenn Wood https://www.fitsnews.com/2025/11/10/toxic-justice-part-5-the-asbestos-carveout/ State lawmakers promised to fix South Carolina’s broken civil-justice system — then wrote a law that kept their own asbestos network immune from reform. When South Carolina lawmakers vowed to “fix” the state’s broken civil justice system this spring, they sold their tort reform package as a long-overdue check on runaway verdicts and predatory lawsuits. But buried deep within their so

By: Caitlin Bell and Alan Hovorka https://www.postandcourier.com/news/crime/michele-leber-arrest-matt-leber-charleston/article_494db0a3-c728-434e-8ba3-32c5447a6e05.html CHARLESTON — County School Board member Michele Leber turned herself in to police Nov. 7 after her husband, state Sen. Matt Leber, accused her of attacking him. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office charged Suzanne “Michele” Leber, 55, with one count of third-degree domestic violence. Deputies booked her into

By: Alan Hovorka https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/former-charleston-rep-marvin-pendarvis-federally-indicted-on-money-laundering-wire-fraud-charges/article_c85c018b-25ec-4b8e-9915-4ce108bd8813.html A former North Charleston state lawmaker and attorney has been federally indicted in a scheme to defraud clients. Former Rep. Marvin Pendarvis was indicted Nov. 5 in connection with a series of four allegedly fraudulent settlements he negotiated as part of his law practice.

By: Neil Abt https://www.trucknews.com/transportation/nuclear-verdicts-against-trucking-companies-hurt-broader-economy-report-finds/1003203952/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=rasa_io&utm_campaign=newsletter A new report has documented how soaring legal judgments against trucking fleets are hurting broader economic growth. The report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform and the Brattle Group found that every $1 million (all figure USD) increase in tort

By: Daniel Fisher https://www.legalnewsline.com/state-courts/s-c-asbestos-judge-approves-another-mysterious-fund/article_32a7431d-5bc3-4d84-b960-fa30882761cc.html COLUMBIA, S.C. - A U.K. company is begging the South Carolina Supreme Court to intervene after the state’s asbestos judge approved a settlement that sends money into a secret trust controlled by a plaintiff attorney who can disburse the funds as he sees fit. That attorney, Peter Protopapas, for the first time reveal

By: Nick Reynolds https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/judicial-reform-sc-legislature-rom-reddy/article_5d14c1db-dbb9-43d2-b920-ac60806bc274.html?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%20110225&utm_content=Daily%20Headlines%20110225+CID_09a1c38f8d2151d2819e9c4147c7b559&utm_source=CampaignMonitor&utm_term=how%20the%20General%20Assembly%20picks%20state%20judges&tpcc=campaignmonitor_Daily%20Headlines%20110225 COLUMBIA — It took years for South Carolina legislators to

By: Luna Hoit https://carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu/liquor-liability-insurance-costs-blamed-for-brewery-closure/ Three Columbia-area breweries have closed their doors in the past month. The Dales Biergarten & Bottle Shoppe in Springdale gave a reason – the cost of liquor liability insurance. The beer garden announced on Facebook it would be closing Oct. 17, citing the steep cost of liquor liability insurance. Liquor liability insurance is legally required in South Caroli

By: Steve Cortes https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2025/10/26/all_americans_pay_for_jackpot_justice_vs_truckers_1143346.html On highways all over the United States, it’s hard to miss the giant trial lawyer billboards that now abound, many of them specifically targeting truckers. If a driver or a transportation firm acts negligently, of course they should pay fair recompense to legitimate victims. But a lot of super powerful, scurrilous tort lawyers do not seek justice

By: Black Chronicle News Service https://blackchronicle.com/southeast/south-carolina/unfair-and-recurring-concerns-with-s-c-asbestos-judge-sent-to-justices/ Defendants caught in a web of litigation have asked the South Carolina Supreme Court to rein in a former colleague who has turned the state’s asbestos docket into a lucrative enterprise for plaintiff lawyers, including her hand-picked receiver. Judge Jean H. Toal was put in charge of statewide asbestos litigation after sh

By: Jenn Wood https://www.fitsnews.com/2025/10/21/toxic-justice-part-1-the-south-carolina-asbestos-machine/ Toxic Justice, Part 1: The South Carolina Asbestos Machine How a dying elderly woman’s lawsuit opened a window into a court system where dead companies are resurrected — and political power shields the players pulling the strings. On June 9, 2021, at 5:16 p.m. EDT, Isabella Park — a 90-year-old widow — died in a Spartanburg, South Carolina nursing facility. Her offici