North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from April 2007

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from April 2007

N.C. Lawyers in the News: April 2, 2007.(North Carolina)(law firms appointments)
April 2, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bill Wofford of the Hutchison Law Group contributed to the ABA's recently published book on complex legal issues challenging the biotech industry, titled Biotechnology and the Law: A Primer. He...

Federal judge rules insurer's offer could be accepted despite expired limitations period.(Mangum v. Progressive American Insurance Company)
April 2, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton Even though a Georgia statute of limitations ran before a plaintiff accepted an auto insurer's $25,000 settlement offer, the parties had a binding contract, a federal judge has ruled. The insurer's offer was in...

Fed judge rules woman who fell into Highlands grave can go forward with injury lawsuit.(May v. Town of Highlands)
April 2, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton When Marian T. May attended a funeral at Highlands' town cemetery, she came to say a final goodbye to her best friend. She was not prepared for what happened next. "I went to a funeral and I ended up in the...

Federal judge rules Chinese furniture maker subject to N.C. jurisdiction in patent dispute.(Hanamint v. Alliant Marketing Group, LLC)
April 2, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton An overseas furniture maker that marketed a patio set through Wal-Mart must face a lawsuit in North Carolina over allegations of patent infringement, a federal judge has ruled. The March 8 opinion in Hanamint v....

N.C. Legal Obituaries: March 30, 2007.(North Carolina)(Curt J. Vaught)(Harry M. Lee)(Obituary)(Brief article)
April 2, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Curt J. Vaught Hickory lawyer Curt J. Vaught died March 18 at age 60. After graduating from High School in 1964, he attended college for two years, then joined the U.S. Marine Corps and...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: April 2, 2007.(North Carolina)(Piedmont Venture Partners, L.P. v. Deloitte & Touche, L.L.P.)(Green v. Short)
April 2, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Contract - Non- Signatory - Broad Clause - Equitable Relief Where nearly every claim in the complaint refers to the plaintiff-company's operating agreement and defendant...

N.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: April 2, 2007.(North Carolina)(Caruso v. Hennessy)(Goetz v. Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines)
April 2, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Discovery - Violations - Medical Records - Releases - Sanctions Even though the defendant (belatedly) provided medical record release authorizations in response to the...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: April 2, 2007.
April 2, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy BAPCPA - Owned Car - Local Standard - Allowance Even though the debtor owns her car outright, she is entitled to include in her Chapter 13 plan the local standard...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 2, 2007.(Mbea v. Gonzales)
April 2, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Immigration - Removal - Arson Conviction A citizen of Cameroon who is a permanent resident of the U.S. can be removed based on his convictions for arson and destruction of...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: April 2, 2007.(Giovanni Carandola, Ltd. V. City of Greensboro)
April 2, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Civil Rights - Municipal - Zoning - Adult Businesses Even though the plaintiffs alleged civil rights claims based on the defendant-city's new zoning ordinance, since the...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: April 2, 2007.
April 2, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Nondischargeability - Civil Practice - Collateral Estoppel - Tort/Negligence - Alienation of Affections & Criminal Conversation - Punitive Damages - 'Willful & Malicious' Even...

Womble, Helms Mulliss selected as best overall in Web site contest in N.C.(Womble Carlyle Sandridge and Rice)(Helms Mulliss and Wicker)
April 9, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton Womble Carlyle Sandridge and Rice and Helms Mulliss & Wicker have grabbed top honors in Lawyers Weekly's "Best Law Firm Web Site" competition. One judge praised Helms Mulliss for its "attractive and...

N.C. Bar Assn. names new admissions.
April 9, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff -A- Albano, Suzana Stoffel Martins, Morrisville, NC; Allen, Patrick Michael Jamison, Charlotte, NC; Allen, Utaukwa Brown, Apex, NC; Allen, Virginia Vaughan, Durham, NC; Anderson, Susan V.,...

Innocence Commission of N.C. names executive director.(Kendra Montgomery-Blinn)(Brief article)
April 9, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Former Durham ADA Kendra Montgomery-Blinn has been named executive director of the Innocence Inquiry Commission, according to a release. A Duke law grad, as a law student Montgomery-Blinn...

Wake Forest law Prof. Thomas McKnight Steele, 58, of Tobaccoville, dies.(Obituary)(Brief article)
April 9, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Thomas M. Steele Wake Forest law Prof. Thomas McKnight Steele, 58, of Tobaccoville, died March 27. Born in Oklahoma, he received his master of library science from the University of...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: April 9, 2007.(North Carolina)(Wachovia Capital Partners, LLC v. Frank Harvey Investment Family Ltd.)
April 9, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Corporate Limited Liability Company - Merger - Business Judgment Rule - Civil Practice - Discovery - Breach of Contract Even though managers of a limited liability company were on "both...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 9, 2007.(North Carolina)(McKyer v. McKyer)(State v. Combs)
April 9, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Appeals - Record on Appeal - Incomplete - Parent Coordinator Appointment Where the trial court conducted a hearing prior to appointing a parent coordinator, but where the...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 9, 2007.(U.S. v. Cooper)(CSX Transportation Inc. v. Transportation Communications Int'l Union)
April 9, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Environmental Clean Water Act - Virginia Creek - Sewage Discharge The operator of a Bedford County, Va. trailer park violated the Clean Water Act by continuously discharging inadequately...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: April 9, 2007.(Cranford v. Frick)
April 9, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Search & Seizure - Labor & Employment - Fired Deputy - County Property - Tort/Negligence - Slander Where the plaintiff alleges that the defendant-sheriff failed to train his...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: April 9, 2007.(Southstar Funding LLC v. Sprouse)
April 9, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Damages - Tort/Negligence - Fraud - RICO - Treble Damages - Punitive Damages - Attorneys' Fees Where treble damages in this civil RICO case were punitive in nature, the...

N.C. Supreme Court plans May homecoming event.(North Carolina)
April 9, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff After a two year absence, the Supreme Court of North Carolina is returning to the Law and Justice Building. The move should be completed by the end of April. On Friday, May 11, the N.C....

N.C. Lawyers in the News: April 9, 2007.(North Carolina)
April 9, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Kimberly H. Stogner of Vaughn Perkinson Ehlinger Moxley & Stogner in Winston-Salem has been elected as a fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel. A North Carolina...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules sellers must return earnest money when buyers can't sell own home.(North Carolina)(Carson v. Grassmann)
April 9, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton Even though a Rowan County couple agreed to take their Kannapolis property off the market for 30 days while potential buyers tried to sell their own home, the couple did not have the right to keep the earnest money...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules eye patient to get trial on issue of informed consent.(Handa v. Munn )
April 9, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton A patient who alleged he was effectively blinded when an eye operation went wrong can go to trial on claims that he was not told about the risks of surgery, the Court of Appeals has ruled. The central issue in...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: April 16, 2007.(Brief article)
April 16, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Anne Duvoisin has joined HensonFuerst, PA, as a partner in the firm. Prior to becoming a partner she was of counsel for several years after serving as the managing attorney for the state office...

Writer Questions Position Of Notary Official.(Letter to the editor)
April 16, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I am a legal assistant in a law firm that DOES NOT do any real estate closings. But, on many occasions I am involved in a client matter in which real estate closing documents...

Client Surveys Slow To Catch On As A Legal Marketing Tool.
April 16, 2007... Byline: Dick Dahl Dolan Media News Service Client surveys are slowly being recognized as a viable marketing tool by law firms, but the profession still lags far behind the rest of the business world. "Client feedback is a normal part...

Murder trial raises ethical dilemma over representing defendant, witness, rules N.C. COA.(North Carolina Court of Appeals)(State v. Hyman)
April 16, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton Where the lawyer for a criminal defendant had also previously represented a key witness for the prosecution, there was a clear conflict of interest, the Court of Appeals ruled April 3. But the conflict wasn't...

N.C. COA rules large hospital doctor was not qualified as expert in medmal case.(North Carolina Court of Appeals)
April 16, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton A doctor who had practiced only in large hospitals did not qualify as an expert in a medical malpractice trial in Goldsboro, the Court of Appeals ruled April 3. The doctor hadn't shown sufficient familiarity with...

Bills target rulings on predatory mortgage loans, construction dispute in N.C.(Skinner v. Preferred Credit)
April 16, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton Appellate courts routinely invite parties who question the fairness of a particular law to take it up with the General Assembly. Lawmakers have apparently been paying attention. Two bills introduced in the...

N.C. Legal Community Obituaries: April 16, 2007.(Claire Pierce Cole)(William M. Lederer)(Obituary)
April 16, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Claire Pierce Cole Mrs. Claire Pierce Cole, 70, of Charlotte, died March 12. Born Elaine Claire Pierce in Jersey City, N.J., she attended Fairleigh Dickinson University. In Pennsylvania, she...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: April 16, 2007.(Crutchfield v. Carolina Football Enterprises)
April 16, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Average Weekly Wage - Football Player - Insurance - Unreasonable Defense Where the plaintiff had worked less than 52 weeks when he was injured, the Industrial...

N.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: April 16, 2007.(Lee v. Spring Pines Homeowners Association)
April 16, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Rule 60 Motion - Appeals Where the plaintiff sought relief under N.C. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6) because the trial court "entered the wrong judgment," and where her arguments...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: April 16, 2007.(Anderson v. Brokers, Inc.)
April 16, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Partnership Joint Venture Agreement - Corporate - Director - Breach of Fiduciary Duty Where the purported joint venture between the debtor-corporation and plaintiff Anderson does not...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 16, 2007.(Eddy v. Waffle House Inc.)(U.S. v. Stephens)
April 16, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Restaurant Service - Racist Comment In this suit under 42 U.S.C. 1981, in which plaintiffs, a group of African-American family and friends, stopped for lunch at a Waffle...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: April 16, 2007.(Jackson v. Leake)(Brief article)
April 16, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Elections Judges - Campaign Financing - Matching Funds - Statutory Challenge - Standing - AG & DA Even though the N.C. Attorney General might offer legal assistance to the State Board of...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: April 16, 2007.(Martin v. Patrick Industries)
April 16, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Civil Rights - Age & Sex Discrimination Claims - Retaliation - ERISA - Falsified Expense Receipts Even if the plaintiff could make out a prima facie case that the...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: April 16, 2007.(Orrell v. Motorcarparts of America, Inc. )
April 16, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Venue - Motion to Transfer - Plaintiff's Initial Choice - Plaintiff's Second Choice Where the plaintiff has alleged no change of circumstances since she filed her...

Chatham assistant district attorney moves to Indonesia.(Sam Cooper)(Brief article)
April 23, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Sam Cooper, Chatham County assistant district attorney and Chatham County native, is moving to Jakarta, Indonesia, says a release. Retained by the National Center for State Courts, Cooper will...

Law firm of Van Winkle in Asheville celebrates centennial.
April 23, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Asheville's Van Winkle law firm, which began with two lawyers in 1907 and went on to become the largest firm west of Charlotte, is celebrating its centennial this year, a release says. Early...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: April 20, 2007.(Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart appoints Lindsay Peed)(Constangy, Brooks and Smith's Penni P. Bradshaw awarded)(Robin J. Stinson awarded)
April 23, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Lindsay Peed has joined the Charlotte office of Ogletree Deakins as an associate. Licensed in N.C. and Virginia, the Washington & Lee law grad represents management on labor and employment matters...

LLC Act shielded Winston-Salem lawyer from liability for former partner's embezzlement.(Babb v. Bynum)
April 23, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton A Winston-Salem lawyer whose partner was disbarred for misappropriating more than $2.5 million in client funds was shielded from individual civil exposure by the Limited Liability Company Act, the Court of Appeals...

N.C. Court of Appeals affirms $42K judgment for sagging trusses in new home.(Lord v. Customized Consulting Specialty Inc.)
April 23, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton In a case that clarifies the application of the economic loss rule, the Court of Appeals has affirmed a $42,000 judgment for Statesville homeowners who alleged defective trusses were used to build their new house....

N.C. Court of Appeals dismisses another case over missing certificate of service.(Recycling v. Town Of West Jefferson)
April 23, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton The Appeals Court has dismissed yet another case for an alleged defect in the certificate of service. The April 17 decision in Blevins d/b/a Rainbow Recycling v. Town Of West Jefferson (North Carolina Lawyers...

N.C.'s largest law firms report robust growth.(Brief article)
April 23, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Eleven North Carolina law firms now have 100 or more lawyers, according to Lawyers Weekly's annual "25 Largest Law Firms" survey. The average 2006 growth for those 11 firms was 7 percent, the...

N.C. Law Examiners recognize bar candidate committee.
April 23, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The N.C. Board of Law Examiners has adopted a formal resolution of gratitude and appreciation to lawyers who served on the bar candidate committee in recognition of their service to the board and...

N.C. Sen. William Nelson Martin died April 6.(Obituary)(Brief article)
April 23, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Sen. William Nelson Martin died April 6 at his residence in Greensboro. Born in Eden, he attended public schools in Stoneville, Madison and Eden. Following a period of employment with IBM and...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 23, 2007.(Edwards v. Taylor)(State v. Key)(Babb v. Bynum and Murphrey)
April 23, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Enforceability - Oral Contract - Performance - Written Agreement Where the parties entered into and performed an oral agreement before the defendants ever even suggested...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: April 23, 2007.(Scott v. May Apparel Group Inc.)(Lococo v. Union Mission Inc.)(Brown v. Via Electric Co.)
April 23, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Disability - Causation - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - Arthritis - Attorney's Fee Even though the plaintiff may be disabled because of pain in her hands, since that pain...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 23, 2007.(Jennings v. University of North Carolina)(U.S. v. Blatstein)
April 23, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Title IX - Female Soccer Player - Sexual Harassment A female soccer player at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who alleged a hostile environment from sexual...

Greensboro attorney chairs Light The Night Walk.(The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society names Greg Williams)(Brief article)
April 30, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society named Greg Williams, an attorney with Carruthers & Roth, P.A., as this year's corporate walk chair of its annual Light The Night Walk in the Triad. More than 240...

Western North Carolina Crime Victims' Coalition honors seven.
April 30, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff As a part of National Crime Victims' Rights Week, the Western North Carolina Crime Victims' Coalition recognized area crime victims and individuals who have made significant contributions in...

Assistant U.S. Attorney Youngs of Western District of N.C. receives Crime Victims Fund Award.(Brief article)
April 30, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Crime Victims Fund Award, which recognizes outstanding work in pursuit of federal criminal offenders and in the collection of fines, penalty fees, forfeited bail bonds, and special assessments...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: April 30, 2007.(Tejesova v. Bone)
April 30, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort/Negligence Personal Injury - Auto Accident - Civil Practice - Subject Matter Jurisdiction - Federal Highway - Cherokee Reservation Even though the defendant is a member of the...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: April 30, 2007.(Kilpatrick Stockton L.L.P. appoints Paula Hopper, James Averitt )(Wyatt, Early, Harris, Wheeler and Hauser appoints Brian P. Gavigan, Leigh Anne Kasias)
April 30, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff William P.H. "Bill" Cary, attorney and partner at Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro, is the new chair of the North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics' board of...

U.S. Western District rules against tribe in jurisdiction dispute over accident on federal highway.(Tejesova v. Bone)
April 30, 2007... Byline: Fred Horlbeck A federal court's reversal of a U.S. magistrate's recommendation has kept an auto collision case arising at a Native American reservation out of a tribal court that the defendant argued should have jurisdiction. ...

Bill would allow inactive attorneys in N.C. to lend a hand to legal services groups.
April 30, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton Lawyers who retire from the practice of law would still be able to handle pro bono cases under a bill filed April 16 in the General Assembly. House Bill 1487, titled "Pro Bono Emeritus Lawyers," would allow...

Mecklenburg School District wins $1.6M award against general contractor.(Board of Education v. R.L. Casey Inc.)
April 30, 2007... Byline: Fred Horlbeck Six years after a mail courier drove a car into the side of a Mecklenburg County elementary school, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District has reached a settlement -- not with the driver but with the building's...

Greensboro lawyer James D. Squires dies at 36.(Obituary)(Brief article)
April 30, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Greensboro lawyer James Drew Squires, 36, died April 19. Squires grew up in Charlotte and graduated from Providence Day. He got his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University and went on...

N.C. Administrative Hearings Case Summaries: April 30, 2007.(Ledbetter v. N.C. Department of Health & Human Services)(Brief article)
April 30, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Licenses & Permits - Foster Parents - Agency Cooperation - Birth Family Where the respondent-agency revoked the petitioners' foster parent license because the foster...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: April 30, 2007.(Zobel v. Duke Power Co.)(Burrow v. Dunn & Bradstreet/RH Donnelley)(Bland v. Jones Bros Inc.)
April 30, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Death Benefits - Occupational Disease - Form 60 - No Final Determination - Attorney's Fees Even though the defendant's employee died more than six years after he...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: April 30, 2007.(Bee v. Purser Construction Service)(Blohm v. Clark)(Webster v. Webster)
April 30, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Licenses & Permits - Real Estate Appraiser - Due Process - Notice Where G.S. 150B-38(b)(3) only requires a "short and plain statement of the facts alleged," the N.C....

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: April 30, 2007.
April 30, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Attorneys - Fees - Security Retainer - Administrative Expenses Where the law firm received a pre-petition retainer and deposited the funds in its trust account, this court...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 30, 2007.(Campbell v. Galloway)(Bader v. Kramer)(U.S. v. Mathias)
April 30, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Plan Confirmation - IRS Claim - Partial Surrender - Chapter 13 Debtors have not "surrendered" to the IRS household property that they have retained and will continue to use,...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: April 30, 2007.(Baucom v. Cabarrus Eye Center P.A.)(Bowen-Hayes v. Troxler Electronic Laboratories Inc.)
April 30, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Age Discrimination Claim - Computer Upgrades - Younger Replacement - Skills Even though the 54-year-old plaintiff was replaced by a younger person, since the...