South Carolina Code 15-50-50. Rights and obligations of obligors; discharge of liability
(1) the structured settlement obligor and the annuity issuer may rely on the court order approving the transfer in redirecting periodic payments to an assignee or transferee in accordance with the order approving the transfer and shall, as to all parties except the transferee or an assignee designated by the transferee, be discharged and released from liability for the redirected payments. Such discharge and release shall not be affected by the failure of any party to the transfer to comply with this chapter or with the court order approving the transfer;
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 15-50-50
- Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
- Annuity issuer: means an insurer that has issued a contract to fund periodic payments under a structured settlement. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Assignee: means a person acquiring or proposing to acquire structured settlement payments from a structured settlement purchase company or transferee after, or concurrently with, the transfer of the structured settlement payment rights by the payee to the structured settlement purchase company or transferee. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
- Payee: means an individual who is receiving tax-free payments under a structured settlement and who proposes to make a transfer of payment rights under the settlement. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Periodic payments: includes recurring payments and scheduled future lump-sum payments. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Structured settlement: means an arrangement for periodic payment of damages for personal injuries or sickness established by settlement or judgment in resolution of a tort claim. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Structured settlement obligor: means , with respect to a structured settlement, the party that has the continuing obligation to make periodic payments to the payee under a structured settlement agreement or a qualified assignment agreement. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Structured settlement payment rights: means rights to receive periodic payments under a structured settlement, whether from the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer, if the:
(a) payee is domiciled in, or the domicile or principal place of business of the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer is located in, this State; or
(b) structured settlement agreement was approved by a court in this State; or
(c) structured settlement agreement is governed expressly by the laws of this State. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20 - Terms of the structured settlement: include the terms of the structured settlement agreement, the annuity contract, a qualified assignment agreement, and an order or other approval of a court that approved a structured settlement agreement. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Transfer: means the sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation, or other alienation or encumbrance of structured settlement payment rights made by a payee for consideration; except that the term "transfer" does not include the creation or perfection of a security interest in structured settlement payment rights under a blanket security agreement entered into with an insured depository institution, in the absence of an action to redirect the structured settlement payments to the insured depository institution, or an agent or successor in interest of it, or otherwise to enforce the blanket security interest against the structured settlement payment rights. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Transferee: means a party acquiring or proposing to acquire structured settlement payment rights through a transfer. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
(2) the transferee is liable to the structured settlement obligor and the annuity issuer:
(a) for taxes incurred by the parties as a consequence of the transfer if the transfer contravenes the terms of the structured settlement; and
(b) for other liabilities or costs, including reasonable costs and attorney’s fees, arising from compliance by the parties with the requirements of this chapter, with the order of the court, or for costs arising as a consequence of the transferee’s failure to comply with this chapter;
(3) neither the annuity issuer nor the structured settlement obligor is required to divide a periodic payment between the payee and any transferee or assignee or between two or more transferees or assignees; and
(4) any further transfer of structured settlement payment rights by the payee may be made only after compliance with all the requirements of this chapter.