South Carolina prides itself on being a conservative, pro-business state. We often hear the governor and legislative leaders talk about the state’s competitiveness in favorable terms when securing economic development deals.
That is one reason why I find it odd that South Carolina’s civil liability laws are so unfriendly to our business community.
In the modern economic development climate, where states must compete against each other for large projects, this outdated system of determining fault and financial damages is putting South Carolina at a competitive disadvantage.
Our antiquated civil liability laws allow some defendants to be held financially responsible for the actions of others. This means small businesses and large employers alike regularly end up bearing the cost of a lawsuit for an incident where they may have only had a small connection.
This unfair system may be used against the Palmetto State when site selection professionals are scouting locations for economic development projects.
Our conservative, pro-business legislators should act quickly to pass the South Carolina Justice Act to modernize our civil liability laws and allow us to remain competitive with neighboring states like North Carolina and Georgia.
WILLIS PONDS
Lodge