D. Nathan Davis

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, I have been helping people with financial problems, financial planning and creditor abuse matters for over 40 years. My goal is to have my clients in better shape when their legal matter is concluded than when it bagan.

Bankruptcy

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Debt Relief

Business Law

Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes

Real Estate Law

Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Easements, Eminent Domain, Homeowners Association, Land Use & Zoning, Mortgages, Neighbor Disputes, Residential Real Estate, Water Law

Consumer Law

Class Action, Lemon Law

Collections

Estate Planning

Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills

Probate

Probate Administration, Probate Litigation, Will Contests

• Free Consultation
  I meet with you for up to 1 hour at no charge. I often find that I cannot handle a matter and refer you to an attorney I would use if I had the same legal problem.
• Contingent Fees
  Not all cases are suitable for contingent fee representation.
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  You will be responsible for costs and expenses even if I take your case on a contingent fee basis.

South Carolina

Since 1975

4th Circuit

University of South Carolina School of Law

Juris Doctor (1975)

1975

National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys

member

2009 - Current

Activities: participate in forums on national issues.

South Carolina State Bar

Member

1975 - Current

Q. received a call regarding a Best Buy cc purchase over 25 years ago. The purchase was under 500.00 but was advised 2400.0

March 27, 2023

A: In no uncertain terms, tell them that you do not owe the money. I am assuming that you have not made a payment in more than 3 years. Do not admit in writing that you owe or owed the money. The SC Statute of Limitations is 3 years but you cannot have made a payment or admitted in writing that you owe or owed the money or the time is extended. Do not agree to pay them any money or pay any money to the collector. If the collector actually files a lawsuit, you will need to respond to the suit. In many states, the statute of limitations is an absolute bar to the bringing of a lawsuit to collect on old debt. South Carolina is not one of those states. If you are sued, you must file an answer or motion to dismiss the case which should keep the collector from obtaining a judgment. If you sleep on your rights, you could end up having a judgment against you. Threatening to file a lawsuit to collect money and not doing that may be an unfair debt collection matter which may cause the collector to be liable for unconscionable conduct. Be sure to remain vigilant and if someone tries to serve you with suit papers, do not try to avoid service.

Q. Can I get a down payment back on a car if I never took the car from the lot

March 6, 2023

A: My initial answer is yes, you should get your money back. Even though you signed the contract, you never took possession of the vehicle. The reason should not be an issue. You never took delivery of the vehicle so one of the conditions to make the contract never occurred. Another reason the contract would not be enforceable is that part of the contract required the commission of a crime. A court will never enforce a contract that requires an illegal act. The real problem is how do you prove the illegal act was part of a deal? If you are not careful, you could get into trouble for agreeing to commit a crime. You should probably contact an attorney and see how you can handle this with the police so they do not try to take you down. The big thing is that you do not want to threaten the car dealer about the criminal act to get paid. There is something called accessory after the fact which may apply if you do not report the crime. You also want to not aid in putting unlicensed drivers on the road. If you simply bring a lawsuit, the dealer is likely not going to agree to pay and will claim you breached the contract. My real advice to you is to never agree to be part of a criminal act to achieve some goal such as buying a car or obtaining a license. You were smart enough to not commit a crime.

Q. What do I file if a company ignores a Subpoena to produce documents by a certain date?

March 3, 2023

A: You will need to file a motion to compel and for sanctions if the company is ignoring the subpoena. This is done pursuant to Rule 11 and should get you the desired result. You need to send a letter threatening to file the motion to the attorney for the company. Unless your case is in Magistrate Court which normally does not have a motion's practice or the business is not incorporated, they must be represented by an attorney and the officer/owner cannot appear on behalf of the company. I will caution you that just because you get an Order for Sanctions or a judgment, you may still not be able to collect. Hopefully, the company doing the work is licensed. If it is licensed, it may have been required to post a bond to respond to your claim for damages. Hopefully, the company pulled a permit to do the job at your home. If a permit was not pulled for the job, contact the city or county business license department to find out if a license has been issued to the company. A lot of the business license agencies have a revocation proceeding which may prod the company to want to shut you up. Almost every contractor is required to be licensed by someone, It may be the county, city or state, or a combination of them. You may have to even go to the trouble of tailing the company truck and call the licensing department to report them if there is no permit posted. What you have to do is be a bulldog who is not giving up the bone. The company is trying to ignore you so you will go away. If they realize that is not going to happen, then they will likely want to get you out of their life. Don't forget to contact the BBB to find out if they are a member. You may find out that what is happening to you is the way the company operates. If that is the way it does business, it really wants to keep you quiet. The Clerk of Court has a motions docket which you can look at. Try to find some Motions to Compel which are public records and use them as an example.

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