North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from August 2005

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from August 2005

Appeals Court finds general finding on ability to comply okay for contempt.(Adams v Adams)
August 1, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry Since there was ample evidence that a defendant had the means to pay past due alimony and child support, a Forsyth trial judge did not have to make specific findings on that issue to hold him in contempt, the Appeals...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: August 1, 2005.
August 1, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Licenses & Permits - Plumbing Contract - Failure to Obtain Permit - Unlicensed Subcontractor Where the respondent-board's notice stated that the petitioner had "violated...

Practice Tip: Go online for appellate briefs, records.
August 1, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry Ever read about a case from one of the state appellate courts and wonder what the winner's brief said or what the parties' pleadings looked like? With a few mouse-clicks, attorneys can now take a peek at those...

Proposed ethics opinion could extend trade name registration requirement to Web addresses.
August 1, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton For years, the State Bar has required law firms to register any trade names they use in their advertising. Now, a proposed ethics opinion could extend that rule to Web addresses, and that has the potential to...

Severance release no bar to family leave suit, 4th Circuit holds.(Taylor v. Progress Energy, Incorporated)
August 1, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry A woman who was terminated from her job at the Brunswick Nuclear Plant can go forward with a suit under the Family and Medical Leave Act even though her severance agreement waived that right, the Fourth Circuit has...

Trade names registered with the North Carolina State Bar.
August 1, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Bar currently has registered more than 200 trade names that law firms use. If proposed ethics ruling 2005 FEO 8 is adopted law firm web addresses affected by the opinion would also join the...

Proposed 2005 Formal Ethics Opinion 8.
August 1, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff July 14, 2005 Proposed opinion rules that the URL for a law firm website is a trade name that must register with the North Carolina State Bar and meet the requirements of Rule 7.5(a). ...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: August 1, 2005.
August 1, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Partner Adam Charnes of Kilpatrick Stockton's Winston-Salem office has been appointed to the Appellate Rules Committee of the North Carolina Bar Association for a one-year term. A state and...

Edward T. Hinson Jr. Receives 2005 Cannon Award.
August 1, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Edward T. Hinson Jr., former president of the Bioethics Resource Group, has been selected to receive the 2005 Cannon Award by the Mecklenburg Medical Society Alliance and Endowment. The...

N.C. Legal Community Obituaries: August 1, 2005.
August 1, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Maureen Breen Gerhardt Maureen Breen Gerhardt of Greensboro died July 16. She was born in New York, N.Y., and grew up in West Hempstead, Long Island. She graduated from the University of...

N.C. State Bar Council Actions: August 1, 2005.
August 1, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff At a meeting on July 15, 2005, the State Bar Council adopted the opinion summarized below upon the recommendation of the Ethics Committee. 2004 Formal Ethics Opinion 10 (revised): Preparation...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: August 1, 2005.
August 1, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Unresolved Claim - Final Decision A claim for legal fees based on a contractual provision that is not limited to expenses incurred during the underlying litigation is an...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: August 1, 2005.
August 1, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Labor & Employment - ERISA - Long- Term Disability - Evidence - Doctors' Notes - Vocational Reviewer Even though the plaintiff's new doctors say he is disabled, the...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: August 1, 2005.
August 1, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Corporate Tort/Negligence - Derivative Claims - Virginia Law - Contract Where the plaintiff failed to make a demand that the board of directors pursue claims that would benefit the...

N.C. Industrial Commission Case Summaries: August 1, 2005.
August 1, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers Compensation Occupational Disease - Foot Pain - Increased Risk - Medical Evidence - Insufficient Where the plaintiff's doctor did not believe the plaintiff's jobwhich required...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules false theft charge may support 'mental' comp claim.
August 8, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry A GE employee who suffered severe psychological problems after he was falsely accused of stealing laptop computers may be able to collect comp for an injury by accident, the Appeals Court held Aug. 2. The decision...

Estoppel recognized, rejected in arbitration setting by N.C. Court of Appeals.(Ellen v. A.C. Schultes of Maryland Inc.)
August 8, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff For the second time in a month, the Court of Appeals has recognized an exception to the general rule that only parties who sign arbitration agreements are bound by them but this time the judges...

Tracking the tractor-trailers in courts.
August 8, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry Although "black box" data from on-board computers is a common feature of tractor-trailer wreck suits, two case reports to Lawyers Weekly show that other types of evidence are equally important for a winning hand. *...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: Aug. 8, 2005.(appointments)
August 8, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Jonathan H. Edgar has joined the Charlotte office of McGuireWoods in the commercial litigation department after a stint at Patton Boggs in Washington, D.C. A George Washington University law grad,...

Interview with Mark Davidson, new chairman of N.C. Bar Assn. business law section.(North Carolina Bar Association)(Interview)
August 8, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Mark Davidson, the newly elected chair of the North Carolina Bar Association business law section, says his group will continue to focus on a pending overhaul of the state's Business Corporation...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules severance pay did not give employer right to comp credit.(Meares v. Dana Corporation/Wix Division)
August 8, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton An employer that gave a worker a severance package equal to 10 months of pay was not entitled to a credit in that amount for workers' compensation benefits, the Court of Appeals has ruled. The worker hurt his...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: Aug. 8, 2005.(North Carolina )
August 8, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Forsyth County Bar Association Names New Officers Robert G. Spaugh was installed July 11 as president of the Forsyth County Bar Association and the 21st Judicial District Bar at the groups'...

Verdicts & Settlements (Aug. 8, 2005) Negligence/auto accident victim receives $3,375M.
August 8, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: The plaintiff sued after he was severely injured in a crash with a tractor trailer. Injuries alleged: The plaintiff suffered multiple significant traumatic injuries, including...

Verdicts & Settlements (Aug. 8, 2005) Negligence/Auto: Plaintiff granted $1,075M.
August 8, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Personal injury/automobile accident Injuries alleged: Spleenectomy, multiple fractures, mild brain injury Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Wake Case no.:...

Verdicts & Settlements (Aug. 8, 2005): "No liability" verdict for two 18-wheelers collision.
August 8, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Motor vehicle accident involving collision of two 18-wheelers Injuries alleged: Serious burn injuries to plaintiff's feet, legs, and lower body Name of case: Padron v....

Verdicts & Settlements (Aug. 8, 2005): Plaintiff involved in motor vehicle accident receives $2M.
August 8, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Motor vehicle accident Injuries alleged: Severe brain injury Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Confidential Case no.: Confidential Tried before:...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: Aug. 8, 2005.
August 8, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Parade Permit - Small Groups - Sunday Ban Provisions in a South Carolina city parade ordinance that require a permit for small gatherings of two or three, and that ban Sunday...

Verdicts & Settlements Aug. 8, 2005: Guilford jury returns low wreck verdict after causation defense.
August 8, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Motor vehicle negligence Injuries alleged: Complaints of pain in the chest and right elbow, knot on the right lower leg, headaches, emotional and physical suffering,...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules double benefit to be struck from post-separation payments.(Powers v. Powers)
August 15, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff An unpublished Appeals Court holding underlines a key rule for trial judges to remember in equitable distribution: although a spouse may receive some benefit for making payments on marital debts...

First Rule of Drafting Contracts: Word order counts.(Wilson v. Ventriglia)
August 15, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry An Aug. 2 unpublished Court of Appeals decision points out that in drafting contracts, choosing where to place a word can have dramatic effects. In Wilson v. Ventriglia (North Carolina Lawyers Weekly No....

U.S. Eastern District Court rules warehouse tricycle race could put company on hook.(Goodwyn v. Siemens Dematic Corp.)
August 15, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A forklift operator who said he crashed to avoid hitting two workers who were speeding around on industrial-use tricycles can go to trial on gross negligence claims against their employer, a...

N.C. Lawyers In The News: Aug. 15, 2005.(North Carolina)(appointments)
August 15, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Two from the Greensboro firm of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon Humphrey & Leonard spoke at the semiannual meeting of the southeastern chapter of the Financial Managers Society. Randall Underwood talked...

Beware Subcontractors: Notice provisions in general contract defeat subcontractors claim for damages.(American National Electric Corp. v. Poythress Commercial Contractors Inc.)
August 15, 2005... Byline: Court Young Many subcontractors operate at the mercy of a general contractor and often find themselves delayed in completing a project as a result of the general contractor's scheduling changes. A recent decision from the North...

Annexation - Legal and practical considerations: Part II.
August 15, 2005... Byline: Michael Fox Editor's note: This is Part 2 of a two-part article. Part 1 ran in the July 18 issue. B. Case Studies in Annexation. Many cities approach annexation as a continuous process. Charlotte for example, has a...

Commentary: General contractors' obligations for OSHA compliance expanded.(Occupational Safety & Health Administration)
August 15, 2005... Byline: Dan Cahill General contractors have an increased responsibility to insure that their subcontractors and their employees comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations under a recent decision from the North...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: Aug. 15, 2005.
August 15, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Race Discrimination - Title VII - CIA Operative - 'State Secrets Doctrine' A Title VII race discrimination suit filed by an African American operations officer in the...

N.C. Business Court rules aiding and abetting claim not allowed in fraud suit.(North Carolina )
August 15, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry A Japanese insurer couldn't sue an accounting firm for aiding and abetting the fraud of a company it audited because North Carolina courts will not recognize that type of tort, the state's Business Court has ruled. ...

U.S. District Court Eastern DistrictCase Summaries: Aug. 15, 2005.
August 15, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort/Negligence Personal Injury - Gross Negligence - Warehouse Accident - Industrial Tricycles & Forklift Where the plaintiff and an eyewitness aver that the defendant's employees were...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: Aug. 15, 2005.
August 15, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Bankruptcy - Real Property - Undervalued Asset - Failure to Cooperate Where Chapter 7 debtors tried to retain their residence by undervaluing it and by vehemently...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: Aug. 15, 2005.
August 15, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Real Property Lawsuit - Attorneys' Agreement - Consent Order Even though the defendants never signed an agreement containing an arbitration clause, since their attorney...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: Aug. 15, 2005.(North Carolina)
August 15, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort/Negligence Fraud - Aiding & Abetting - Not Recognized - Scienter Where, in order to establish a claim for aiding and abetting fraud, the plaintiff would be required to prove that the...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Court Case Summaries: Aug. 15, 2005.(North Carolina)
August 15, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Causation - Back Injury - Credibility - Medical Evidence Even though the plaintiff's family doctor did not agree, since two of the three physicians who treated the...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: Aug. 22, 2005.
August 22, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Constitutional - Establishment Clause - School Pledge A Loudoun County public school that provides for daily, voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance does not...

N.C. Appeals Court rules group of auto owners can't sue Chrysler.(Coker v. DaimlerChrysler Corporation)
August 22, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A group of Chrysler minivan owners didn't have standing to sue the manufacturer because the only damages described in their complaint the future cost of a safety fix didn't show an "actual or...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules Nationwide could discover insured's statements to retained lawyer.
August 22, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry Where Nationwide retained counsel for an insured homeowner who later sued the insurer over an indemnification dispute the company could discover most of the communications between the insured and the lawyer, the...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules Vermont retailer's web site no basis for N.C. jurisdiction.(Havey v. Valentine)
August 22, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Because a Vermont furniture company's Web site didn't "actively" target North Carolina residents or let viewers buy items electronically it didn't provide a basis for subjecting the company to...

Lawyers are working working playing.
August 22, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton How did you spend your summer vacation? Perhaps you went to the beach for a week or slipped off to Paris and Rome. But if you're like many of your colleagues, that vacation trip wasn't all play. You worked....

N.C. Lawyers in the News: Aug. 22, 2005.(appointments)(North Carolina )
August 22, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Charlotte lawyer James E. Daniel, who practices in Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice's employee benefits group, has been elected a fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. An...

N.C. Legal Obituaries: Aug. 22, 2005.(North Carolina)(Obituary)
August 22, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Michael D. Levine Chapel Hill lawyer Michael D. Levine, age 65, died in Efland on Aug. 11. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962, he joined the Marine Corps...

Commentary: Guest Column: Critique Of Class Action Against Litigation Funding Company.
August 22, 2005... Byline: Wayne C. Walker I was surprised to see that the article "Class Suit Challenges Litigation Funding Company" not only found its way into Lawyers Weekly (see July 18, 2005 issue) but also was given such a prominent position in the...

Verdicts & Settlements (Aug. 22, 2005): Driver hit while moving company van off highway recovers $1M.
August 22, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Motor vehicle accident Injuries alleged: Loss of both legs Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Confidential Case no.: Confidential Name of judge: n/a...

Verdicts & Settlements (Aug. 22, 2005): Rowan jury awards $750K in heart-balm case.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Alienations of affections; criminal conversation; punitive damages Injuries alleged: Injury to marital relationship Name of case: Sitterson v. Miller Court/county:...

Verdicts & Settlements (Aug. 22, 2005): Fatal sores in nursing home result in $850K settlement.
August 22, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Hospital/nursing home negligence Injuries alleged: Wrongful death Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Confidential Case no.: Confidential Tried before:...

Verdicts & Settlements (Aug 22, 2005) Motorist recovers $325K after truck's load hit highway bridge.
August 22, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Brief statement of claim: Plaintiff was operating his large pick up truck in a southerly direction on Interstate 95 in North Carolina. Defendant driver drove a tractor trailer truck under a bridge...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: August 22, 2005.
August 22, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Public Records Act - Public Hospital Personnel Act - Salaries Even though the Public Records Act generally gives the public liberal access to public records, the...

N.C. Supreme Court rules state trooper to get green light on whistleblower suit.(North Carolina, Reginald Newberne)
August 29, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A state trooper who said he was fired for reporting the possible use of excessive force by a fellow officer can go forward with a suit under the North Carolina Whistleblower Act, the Supreme Court...

N.C. Supreme Court to review injury waiver, interlocutory appeal issues.(North Carolina)
August 29, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry The Supreme Court has agreed to review two unpublished Appeals Court holdings in a move that could result in new precedents on liability releases and the dismissal of interlocutory appeals. One case raises the issue...

Appeals court strikes 'blue-penciled' non-compete.(Southeastern Outdoor Products Inc.)
August 29, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A non-compete that purported to cover every county of North and South Carolina making it too broad to enforce could not be judicially redrawn to cover a smaller territory, the Appeals Court has...

Standard of review must now be part of appellate briefs.
August 29, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton Beginning Thursday, lawyers filing appellate briefs will have to include the standard of review that applies to their case. That new requirement is one of several appellate rules amendments that take effect Sept....

Q&A with Stephen C. Baynard, defense attorney.(Interview)
August 29, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Q: What do you hope to accomplish in your year in office? A: We are implementing the Professional Support Initiative with the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism in our district. Its...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: August 29, 2005.(appointments)
August 29, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Samantha Gray Steffen has joined the Greensboro firm of Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston where she will concentrate in the area of trademarks and other intellectual property. A native of...

Murfreesboro atty. James Guy Revelle Jr. dies at age 72.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
August 29, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney James Guy Revelle Jr. of Murfreesboro died Aug. 22 at age 72. Born in Conway, he went to both undergraduate and law school at Wake Forest. After graduating from law school in 1957, he...

N.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: August 29, 2005.(North Carolina )
August 29, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Settlement Agreement - Tobacco Trust - FETRA - Timing Even though Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act was enacted in 2004, the defendant-tobacco companies must still make...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: August 29, 2005.
August 29, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Summary Judgment - Opposing Affidavits - Timely Service - Record on Appeal - Contract - Guaranty Agreement Where the record on appeal does not reveal whether the three...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: August 29, 2005.
August 29, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Immigration - Removal Order - Aggravated Felony - Credit Card Fraud An Egyptian national can overturn a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ordering her removal to...