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x SouthiiCar'ol.irtianaALibrarj* S HorseShoe * f y Former US( By David Hill USC lawyers have dismissed an appeal to the S.C. Supreme Court of a judge's decision ordering the university to pay back a fee imposed after the beginning of a semester. T ofiiirAfr frvr Krv# U noroii/I t rv r\ ? r tvi i r r Lawjrcia IUI uum aiuv.3 051 w>wu IU uidiuidd the appeal earlier this year. They agreed on the settlement and asked for the appeal to be dismissed, USC Chief Legal Counsel Paul Ward said yesterday. The suit was brought in May 1982 by 23 students in the School of Medicine who ,.i?: a u? ? <r "i t c u : i u.. ?u? tmuiicu mai d sJ>jj i j lcquncu uy iuc university after the summer 1981 semester began amounted to a breach of contract. They sued for return of the money and for court costs. JUDGE WILLIAM McLeod of the Fifth Judicial Circuit ruled for the plaintiffs following lawyers' requests for summary iudement in October 1983. Lawyers for USC had filed notice to apOfficials annou registration da fnr Qiimmpr fa M%JM UUIIIIIIUI f IU From Staff Reports Advisement for registration for the fall sen mer sessions will be April 16-27, registratioi announced. Phase I Early Registration will be April 24 (including Saturday, April 29) at the Car Elephant Room. Announcement cards wil be mailed to all elij students on April 2, telling them where to obt ment forms and appointment notices. Appointments for April 24 through May 1 v from 12:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. on weekdays ; through 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 28. Make be on mornings following appointment days. Advisement forms, appointment notices, sp forms and override forms will be distribu propriate deans and departments during th April. Summer Master Schedules will be av 9 and Fall Master Schedules will be available Students who have not received eligibility April 15, or who are unable to meet their ; come during a make-up period should contact Center, 777-5141, tlje officials said. | 'No sand on your USC student Rv Ann f-'nrmfir The science of suntanning stepped forward this spring when a USC student found a way to let the sun shine where it has never shined before. "Beach Feet" accomplishes this feat by letting the "sun hit where sand used to get," creator Clint Cornette said. Beach Feet are plastic foot rests that raise the feet three inches from the sand, which Ifppnc ?anfi off lsos and allows the sun to tar more evenly, he said. CORNETTE, WHO operates a Nortl Myrtle Beach concession stand during the summer, got the idea when he saw a couple on the beach with their feet propped up. H< then began designing the foot recliners. "The first were like feet with two toes with the heel resting between the big toe anc little toe, but they were uncomfortable,' Cornette said. So he changed the design tc have a cup in the heel. The first company he contacted about pro ) medical sti peal in early November. According to documents on file with the Richland County clerk of court, the plaintiffs began a semester at the School of Medicine in June 1981, after paying their $790 tuition. The students attended classes until August * i * ...i A.i : i ~ ui uiai year wncii inc umveiMiy auiiuuiiicu a tuition increase of $215 dollars per student. Each plaintiff paid the additional $215. THE STUDENTS later sued for return of the $215 and costs. USC denied that there was a contract, and alleged that the contract was modifiable at any time. Some of the students had used ~ ? <-?i i u: ? v, ? c 1 giants ui duiuiaiMii^d iu pay uic aiiu the university argued that they therefore lacked standing in the case. University lawyers also argued that it is immune to such suits by virtue of the sovereign immunity doctrine of the 11th Amendment. They also argued that the university faced ikt* . * mi iiiiiiii ii ii I 1 \ jSH ~ ? /ill be scheduled j ' \ jnd from 9 a.m. ??ySj2^<. -up periods will ecial permission | ^iBSH^Rr ited to the ap- ' e first week of ^* 1 ailable on April April 16. Auuarrl winner ' notification by ~ ' appointments or Karen McDonald, right, receiv the Registration Art Exhibition at McKissick Mi tan' : designs 'Beach duction sent him to an Easley engineer, John I Burke. Through Burke he learned about a Georgia company who made the molds for I the feet. The molds went to another Georgia company that injected dye into the molds to ' produce the plastic feet. Cornette also got help from Columbia patent lawyer Bill Killough and the USC Small Business Development Center. i WITH KILLOUGH'S advice, Cornette got a copyright on his product's name, which he said he and friends came up with while sit1 tine in Crazv Zack's at Mvrtle Beach. Three months ago he applied for a patent, which i; ; pending. The Small Business Development Centei gave Cornette some books and ideas aboui , marketing, as well as hints on proper book 1 keeping procedures. Patrick Peters, who worked with Cometh > at the center, said Cornette is unique in tha he had enough business sense to put his ide; into practice. udents win a force majeur, or an unforseen extenuous circumstance that affected the agreement: the university did not know how much tuition would be needed because the state General Assembly had not allocated funds before the medical school semester began. MCLEOD RULED in his judgment. however, that the the Medical Bulletin containing information on registration and fees for medical students was an offer to enter into a contract, and that the students' payment of the original $790 constituted entering into the contract. Furthurmore, acceptance of the payment was acceptance of the contract by the university. USC lawyers relied on a statement in the Medical Bulletin that says fees are subject to change without notice. McLeod, however, disagreed. He said to interpret the provision as meaning the university can raise fees throughout each semester "would amount to an uncons BP (lBaunve^v:v. ^BSEffiBBflHsaEw bs a Merit Award from Carolyn Holderman for her painti iseums Monday. Feet' to aid sun "Cornette believes in the product; he's put much money and effort into it. I believe, if it is marketed the right way, it's going to sell like hotcakes," Peters said. CORNETTE SAID he has spent about $10,000 and has received good and bad I comments. "The first girl who got one said it was comfortable, she liked it, and she was going / ? ?*?ll hor fri#?nHc ahnnt it " hp taiH. Others i who received complimentary feet from WNOK radio at a showing of the movie ; "Footloose," however, were not as > impressed. 1 Cornette said his future marketing plans r included distribution in Florida and! South t Carolina, business logos on the bottom of the feet ("Like 2001 and Budweiser," he said.), and a display at the USC Bookstore. I I ? l? I? rrl/\ri/la I)/1* K 1 hat J nc ?>UIU 111 r> ctgCIll 111 I IWIIUO, IJVIW ?>\.v/n, int.? t talked to the owner of the Panama Jack com? pany about using the feet for promotions and advertisements. lawsuit cionable construction of the contract," althmioh it allnwc raisinix fpps nt (hp hpoinn ing of a semester. MCLEOD RULED that the university must meet requirements of its contracts regardless of other considerations, including sovereign immunity. The judge also addressed the force majeur. He said the iiniversitv's flnnrnnriatinns were reduced by $2.4 million, and the amount in question in the suit was less than $5,000, "and that it announced an increase in tuition for non-medical students for the fall 1981 semester before it began. And, McLeod said, if the summer increase had affected all USC students in the same way, the university would have had a better argument. BUT THE increase came before the start of the fall semester for all students other than See "Lawsuit," page 6 Photo by Sohail Khwaia ng in the All University Student Competitive fnnnnro iiamiGi a The development of his idea into a finished product led Cornette to form his own company ? Beach Feet Tanning Products Inc., and some day he wants to market a tanning lotion. CORNETTE, A 22-year-old junior, will change his major from the College of Health to the College ot Business Administration next semester, he said. Because he lost some credits when he transferred from North Greenville Junior College, he didn't have the grade-point ratio required to declare business. i in iuv;i t uu^nitwui i^iiku, v.ui licuc said. He wants to get a marketing degree with a minor in physical education so he can coach, which is one of his interest^. Cornette said business has hceii?slow so far, and he hopes it will increase over the summer. Even if the product doesn't sell, he enjoyed the experience and learned a lot, he said.