Marcus A. Manos

Marc Manos concentrates his practice in civil litigation, with an emphasis on intellectual property, unfair business practices, computer and technology related disputes, state procurement issues, constitutional issues and insurance coverage questions. He also counsels clients on the state procurement process, the procurement of technology, and intellectual property protection and licensing.

Marc also represents plaintiffs and defendants in class action practice in federal and state courts. Marc represents companies, partners and stock holders in shareholder litigation, minority oppression cases, partnership disputes, dissolution actions and securities claims.

Marc also practices in the area of public utility law including electric-service rights, eminent domain, pole attachments, easements, service/contact litigation, and all aspects of litigation, regulation and counseling, with an emphasis on cooperative organizations. Marc represents clients before the Public Service Commission as a regular part of his practice.

Marc represents financial institutions in all types of litigation. He has federal and state court experience defending a wide range of lender liability claims. He also represents financial institutions in credit reporting based claims and enablement of imposter fraud claims in court. He also handles credit account arbitration claims on behalf of issuing institutions.

A native of Mt. Holly, NC, Mr. Manos was an Echols Scholar at the University of Virginia and received an M.A. degree in history from the University of South Carolina. He attended the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif, the Moot Court Board, the National Moot Court Team, the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society and Omicron Delta Kappa.

Mr. Manos is active in his church, politics and various bar committees.

• Argued before the South Carolina Court of Appeals to defend an electric cooperative's service to Sandhills School in Lexington County from a challenge by a competing electric utilities service. The Court of Appeals affirmed the Public Service Commission and Circuit Court orders that Marc's client's service was legal and should continue.

	RECENT TRIAL AND APPELLATE EXPERIENCES
10/2005	Marc Manos led a Nexsen Pruet team to a successful verdict after a three-and-a-half week trial on behalf of a terminated heavy truck dealership.
9/2005	Marc Manos, David Black and a Nexsen Pruet team convinced the Procurement Review Panel to reverse a Chief Procurement Officer order, awarding the firm's health care industry client a major state contract for pharmacy benefit management.
10/2004	Marc Manos and a team of Nexsen Pruet attorneys represented a software developer in litigation over the Sumter Criminal Justice Network. Without the aid of a mediator, they assisted the client in negotiating a favorable settlement ending years of litigation.
10/2004	Marc Manos and his team represented one of a group of Defendants in successfully mediating a settlement of an unauthorized facsimile advertising class action. The case involved multiple parties and insurance claims.
8/2004	Marc Manos led a Nexsen Pruet team in a marathon 17 hours procurement protest hearing protesting the award of the State Employee Pharmacy Benefit Manager Contract. A later settlement resulted in the contract being awarded to Nexsen Pruet's client.
5/2004	Marc Manos successfully defended a protest of the award of the South Carolina Child Support Enforcement System Project Management Services Contract before the Information and Technology Management Office, Chief Procurement Officer.
3/2004	Marc Manos led the trial team on behalf of the House of Perfection in a copyright/trade dress defense in the United States District Court, Manhattan, New York. Rich Mandaro of Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein worked with Marc on the trial. Post trial motions resulted in the verdict being overturned and a new trial ordered in 6/2005
8/11/2003	Marc Manos argued and briefed the case where the Supreme Court of South Carolina found that no tort of aiding and abetting credit identity theft exists in South Carolina.
9/2003	Marc Manos and a team of Nexsen Pruet attorneys and paralegals successfully settled a troubling food industry trademark case for his client, Mitchum, Inc., in a New York mediation. The case involved alleged misuse of a potato chip/snack brand mark and involved serious issues of insurance coverage. Bob Kelly of McElroy, Deutsch & Mulvaney worked with Marc on defending this case in the United States District Court, Newark, New Jersey.
1/2002	Using the good offices of Florence, South Carolina mediator, J. Boone Aiken, III, Marc Manos assisted a major national bank client in settling a case involving a failed automated loan processing system development project brought by Affinity Processing Corporation.
8/2001	Without resort to mediation, a Nexsen Pruet team led by Marc Manos successfully reached a settlement on behalf of a major New York savings and loan in failed computer system project litigation with Columbia, South Carolina software developer, Policy Management Systems Corporation (now CSC).
8/14/2001	Marc Manos led the appellate team which argued and briefed Unisys Corporation v. South Carolina Budget & Control Board, 346 S.C. 158, 551 S.E.2d 263 (2001) (Link). The landmark decision firmly established the statutory, exclusive remedy for government procurement cases in South Carolina. Nexsen Pruet represented the governmental entities against a claim by Unisys Corporation that contract language could create an alternate in-court remedy.
4/1999	Marc Manos led a Nexsen Pruet trial team in an expedited trial settling of a trademark challenge in the United States District Court, Charleston, South Carolina. Nexsen Pruet successfully defended Beaufort, South Carolina/Savannah, Georgia furniture retailer, Mama's Used Furniture, from an injunction and damages claim, which would have destroyed its business. The Plaintiff, Palmetto Ford d/b/a Mama's Used Cars, pursued an aggressive case.
4/1998	A Nexsen Pruet team led by Marc Manos prevailed on summary judgment for their client, James Albergotti, on trademark and related unfair competition claims brought by America's Steak Expert, Inc. in the United States District Court, Sumter, South Carolina.
1/8/1998	Marc Manos assisted Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative, Inc. in settling its claims against the developer related to a system development project for Mid-Carolina's operational and customer service software.
8/1997	Marc Manos announced a favorable settlement of children's clothing copyright/trade dress litigation for his client, Baby Superstore (now Babies R Us). J. Mark Smith of Pittenger & Smith, P.C. worked with Marc on this case pending in the United States District Court, Denver, Colorado.
2/27/1995	Marc Manos argued and briefed the case where the Supreme Court of South Carolina abolished the torts of alienation of affection and criminal convictions.
1989-1991	Marc Manos successfully tried and defended on an appeal a case where the Ku Klux Klan challenged the Town of Pelion's refusal to admit the Ku Klux Klan to the annual Christmas Parade. The jury and appellate court found the Town of Pelion's decision justified under applicable law.

Darrell Williams, Class Representative, et al. v. South Carolina Department of Corrections and Williams Technologies, Inc. (2007)

Appeal of Petroleum Traders; PRP # 2006-8; IFB #07-S7324 (2007)

Huggins v. Citibank, N.A., 355 S.C. 329, 585 S.E.2d 275 (2003).

Hodges v. Thompson, 311 F.3d 316 (4th Cir. 2002).

Unisys Corp. v. South Carolina Budget and Control Bd. Div. of General Services, Information Technology Office, 346 S.C. 158, 551 S.E.2d 263 (2001).

U-Neek, Inc. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 147 F.Supp.2d 158, 2001 Copr.L.Dec. P 28,272 (S.D.N.Y. 2001).

Hodges v. Shalala, 127 F.Supp.2d 790 (D.S.C. 2001).

Hodges v. Shalala, 121 F.Supp.2d 854 (D.S.C. 2000).

Williams v. Sandman, 187 F.3d 379, 39 U.C.C. Rep. Serv.2d 591 (4th Cir. 1999).

Republic Leasing Co., Inc. v. Haywood, 329 S.C. 562, 495 S.E.2d 804 (Ct. App. 1998), vacated, 335 S.C. 207, 516 S.E.2d 441 (1999).

Hawkins v. Greenwood Dev. Corp., 328 S.C. 585, 493 S.E.2d 875 (Ct. App. 1997).

ML-Lee Acquisition Fund, LP v. Deloitte & Touche, 320 S.C. 143, 463 S.E.2d 618 (Ct.App. 1995), aff'd in part, rev'd in part, 327 S.C. 238, 489 S.E.2d 470 (1997).

Knotts v. Williams, 319 S.C. 473, 462 S.E.2d 288 (1995).

Russo v. Sutton, 317 S.C. 441, 454 S.E.2d 895 (1995).

Schlumberger Industries, Inc. v. National Sur. Corp., 36 F.3d 1274, 30 Fed.R.Serv.3d 729 (4th Cir. 1994).

Freeman v. Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund, 32 F.3d 90, 18 Employee Benefits Cas. 1870 (4th Cir. 1994).

Russo v. Sutton, 310 S.C. 200, 422 S.E.2d 750 (1992).

Sangamo Weston, Inc. v. National Sur. Corp., 307 S.C. 143, 414 S.E.2d 127 (1992).

Shelby Mut. Ins. Co. v. Askins, 307 S.C. 81, 413 S.E.2d 855 (Ct. App.1992).

In re: Protest of Express Scripts, Inc, South Carolina Procurement Review Panel Decisions, Case No. 2005-8 (October 7, 2005)

In Re: Protest of Palmetto Unilect, LLC; Diebold Election Systems; iPServices, LLC; Maximus, Inc.; and Election Systems & Software, Inc. Appeal of Palmetto Unilect; Diebold Election Systems; and Election Systems & Software, Inc., South Carolina Procurement Decisions, Case No. 2004-6 (July 1, 2004).

In Re: Protest of Smith Setzer & Sons, Inc., South Carolina Procurement Decisions, Case No. 1990-2 (February 22, 1990).

In Re: Protest of Smith Setzler & Sons, Inc., South Carolina Procurement Decisions, Case No. 1989-21 (January 4, 1990). 

• Procurement Law Update - January 2007
  Procurement Laws Revamped: Changes impact how businesses do work with state and contract dispute process.
• Intellectual Property Update - June 2005
• Don't Have a Loose Stick in that Bundle of Rights
  A CLE seminar presented by the North Carolina Association of Realtors.
• Advanced Trial Advocacy In SC Pt. 1
  Presented at the National Business Institute.
• Advanced Trial Advocacy In SC Pt. 2
  Presented at the National Business Institute.
• Trade Dress Protection and Pet Rocks: Are Both Just History?
• When Fairness Can Lead to the Unfair: Preventing the Use of Tort Remedies for Breach of the Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing from Defeating Contractual Terms and Allocations of Risk
• By the Way, is That a Good or a Service? Software Implementation Projects Litigation: Contracts with a Techno Twist
• A Primer on Software Litigation
  An introduction to common issues in computer litigation.
• International Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
  An overview of issues of protection for trade secrets, trademarks, trade names, copyrights, patents, and domain names from infringement, pirating, and misappropriation which are vital concerns for a company involved in export and import activities.
• Intellectual Property Law In Cyberspace
• Basic Issues of Jurisdiction and Procedure in Intellectual Property
  An outline of basic jurisdictional and procedural issues common to intellectual property litigation.