SC high court overturns $11M defamation verdicts

Headline Legal News

South Carolina's high court has overturned $11 million in verdicts against a Charleston attorney accused of defaming a businessman by comparing him to television mobster Tony Soprano.

The state Supreme Court this week sent a civil case against Paul Hulsey back to Circuit Court, according to a report from The Post and Courier of Charleston.

Hulsey was sued several years ago by Charleston businessmen Lawton Limehouse Sr.

The attorney had previously sued Limehouse's company on behalf of day laborers, claiming staffing agency L&L Services made fake green cards and Social Security cards, exploited workers and failed to pay overtime.

"This is a blatant case of indentured servitude," Hulsey told the newspaper in 2004. "L&L Services took advantage of the complexity of the system. They have created a perfect racketeering system, just like Tony Soprano."

Authorities looked into Hulsey's allegations but didn't bring charges. The lawsuit was ultimately settled for $20,000, according to the high court's ruling.

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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC

A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party

Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.

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