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378 S.C. 430

Melton v. Malloy

Supreme Court of South Carolina

Decided June 16, 2008

Supreme Court of South Carolina · decided 2008-06-16

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently August 2018

4 state decisions

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 2008-06-16

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Justice PLEICONES.

¶1I concur in the result reached by the majority but am troubled by the imposition of a new duty forcing an attorney to conduct a “reasonable” investigation so as to comply with *441§ 15-36-20. In my opinion, this new responsibility places upon an attorney an additional requirement not currently required by statute. I would not create a blanket rule that precludes an attorney from obtaining a reasonable belief in the merits of a case based solely on information related to him by a client.

¶2I agree that, based on the facts of this case, appellant filed the action primarily for a purpose other than securing the proper adjudication of the claim upon which the proceedings were based. I would affirm the lower court but see no need to impose additional duties on an attorney beyond that which is required by statute.

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