North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from August 2006

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from August 2006

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: August 7, 2006.
August 7, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Elizabeth City firm of D. Keith Teague has changed its name to Teague & Glover, P.A. The firm was founded in 1981 by Teague, who served as an assistant prosecutor in the First Judicial...

Broker wins $1.25 million arbitration award on ADA, FMLA claims.(Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act, Allen v. A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc.)
August 7, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A Charlotte broker has won a $1.25 million arbitration award on claims that he was improperly demoted -- then had to quit -- after returning from a brief hospital stay for treatment of a bipolar disorder. The...

Wilmington attorney launches virtual law office.(Stephanie L. Kimbro starts www.kimbrolaw.com.)
August 7, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton Is North Carolina ready for an online law office? Wilmington attorney Stephanie L. Kimbro thinks so. In late June, Kimbro went live with Kimbro Legal Services, LLC, which she describes as "the first completely...

Beat goes on: More dismissals over appellate rule defects.(appeals court)
August 7, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A pair of 2-1 opinions show a widening split at the Appeals Court over how strictly to construe the rules of appellate procedure. The primary dispute, which has surfaced in numerous opinions over recent months,...

Former Charlotte lawyer disbarred for mortgage fraud.(Dwayne A. Bennett, USA v. Bennett )
August 7, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton A former Charlotte attorney has been disbarred for his part in a mortgage fraud scheme that cost lenders more than $325,000. The State Bar formally stripped Dwayne A. Bennett of his license on July 21. Bennett...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: August 7, 2006.
August 7, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Dismissal With Prejudice - LLC - Membership Interest - Post- Judgment Motions Where the plaintiffs sought a declaratory judgment order that the limited liability company's...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: August 7, 2006.
August 7, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers Compensation Causation - Back Injury - Prior Injury - Doctor's Notes Even though the plaintiff's doctor testified that the plaintiff's injuries could have been caused in a number...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: August 7, 2006.
August 7, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Domestic Relations - Child Support - Chapter 13 Plan - BAPCPA - Priority - Interest Even though the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act purports to give...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: August 7, 2006.
August 7, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Immigration - Asylum - Ethiopian/Eritrean Conflict - Humanitarian Exception Even though the Ethiopian government threatened petitioner and his family, who are of Eritrean...

Verdicts & Settlements August 7, 2006: Man wins lawsuit for being demoted after bipolar diagnosis.
August 7, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, state law claims Injuries alleged: Demotion and constructive discharge Name of case: Allen v. A.G. Edwards &...

West appointed member of board of advisors for Duke Gardens of Duke University.
August 14, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Raleigh attorney Thomas R. West has been appointed to a three-year term on the board of advisors of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens of Duke University. The board assists the executive director of...

U.S. District Court Judge Frank Bullock joining Womble Carlyle.
August 14, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff After a 24-year career as a U.S. District Court Judge, Frank Bullock is making a return to private practice as a member of the business litigation practice group of Womble Carlyle Sandridge &...

Raleigh law firm of Kirby & Holt honored for donating funds to build adaptive playground.
August 14, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers from the Raleigh law firm of Kirby & Holt were honored as they donated funds to build New Hanover County's first public adaptive playground for the disabled. David Kirby and Mark Holt...

Spilman Thomas & Battle opens North Carolina office.
August 14, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The law firm of Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC has established an office in Winston-Salem and has hired three attorneys for that office. Stephen C. Minnich is counsel and his primary areas of...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: August 14, 2006.
August 14, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Senior Administrative Law Judge Fred G. Morrison Jr. has been appointed and commissioned a Tennessee Ambassador of Goodwill by the governor of that state. Morrison, a native of Memphis, completed...

Mack Paul joins Kennedy Covington land use group in Raleigh office.
August 14, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Real estate attorney Mack Paul has joined Kennedy Covington's land use group team and will work as a partner in the Raleigh office, the firm has announced. Paul will focus on real estate...

Greensboro attorney appeals discipline for admissions request.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A Greensboro attorney who was disciplined for asking a plaintiff in a civil suit to admit whether she had a romantic relationship with her lawyer has taken his case to the Court of Appeals. In documents filed last...

NC Bar committee weighing revisions to limitations rule.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A committee that's considering changes to the Bar's six-year limitation period for grievances has gotten over one hurdle -- deciding whether to have a limitations rule in the first place. After hearing arguments on...

Current, past invoices didn't prove Quantum Meruit Award, rules NC Court of Appeals.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A surveying firm's past and current invoices to a client were insufficient, standing alone, to support a $2,100 award for quantum meruit, the Appeals Court has held. Current invoices to the client -- if combined...

Adverse possession claim in North Carolina could turn on evidence of loaded shotgun.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton In 1965, an Orange County man allegedly used a loaded shotgun to run off two people who said they owned the land he lived on. Now, 46 years later, his heirs are getting a second shot at proving that hostile...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: August 14, 2006.
August 14, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Appeals - Rules Violations - Domestic Relations - Adoption Even though two of the respondent's assignments of error are more than adequate to direct the court's attention...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: August 14, 2006.
August 14, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Discharge - Post- Petition Conduct - Tort/Negligence - Domestic Relations - Alienation of Affections & Criminal Conversation Even though the claimant's former wife and the...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: August 14, 2006.
August 14, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative FTC - 'Fencing- In' Order - Direct-Response Advertiser Based on petitioner Telebrands' nationwide marketing of the "Ab Force," an electronic muscle stimulation abdominal...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: August 14, 2006.
August 14, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Sexual Harassment - Hostile Environment - Sexual Comments - Insufficient Even though a part-owner of the defendant-restaurant made five sexually explicit comments to a...

N.C. Lawyers In The News: August 21, 2006.(Robert and Stephens's Doris Oates honoured)(Jennifer M. Ball joins Raleigh's Hutchison Law Group)(David Ennis opens law firm)
August 21, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Senior partner Landon Roberts of Asheville's Robert & Stephens has never had a secretary other than Doris Oates since he began practicing in 1948. Oates, who came to the firm in June of 1946, was...

John F. Baron to lead Alston and Bird's Charlotte office.(Brief article)
August 21, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Alston & Bird has announced that John F. Baron has been named partner-in-charge of the firm's Charlotte office. Baron will be responsible for overseeing the office's daily operations and...

Einstein Moves Law Practice to Morganton.(Nancy Einstein )(Brief article)
August 21, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Former District Judge Nancy Einstein has moved her law practice to the Einstein Law Firm, PLLC, located at 410 A East Union Street in Morganton. She will concentrate her practice in family...

Managing partner of Raleigh law firm honored by Delta Waterfowl Foundation.(Frank R. Liggett III)(Brief article)
August 21, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Frank R. Liggett III, managing partner and founder of Ragsdale Liggett PLLC in Raleigh, has been named honorary director of the Delta Waterfowl Foundation, a North American leader in waterfowl...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules survivorship rights didn't exclude home from marital estate.(Estate of Nelson v. Nelson )
August 21, 2006... Byline: Erel Berry Even though a Lee County husband died while his ED claim was pending, that didn't mean his wife's survivorship rights kicked in to make her the sole owner of their tenants-by-entirety property, the Appeals Court held...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules dad's college grant may be income for child support.(McKyer v. McKyer )
August 21, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A Charlotte dad's $1,800 educational grant for part-time college study might count as income for child support, according to the Court of Appeals -- but the judges disagree which factors will be relevant in making the...

By The Numbers: N.C. legal population booming.
August 21, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton The statistics in three unrelated news reports tell the same story: North Carolina's legal population is bursting at the seams. How big are we getting? Would you believe the latest bar exam was held at a...

Fourth Circuit strikes subpoenas to non-parties for lack of notice to plaintiff.(Asheville hospital )
August 21, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry An Asheville hospital defending a Family and Medical Leave Act claim had to give prior notice to the plaintiff before subpoenaing documents from her subsequent employers, a federal judge has ruled. That holding,...

Richard Lane Braun of Raleigh dies at age 88.(Obituary)(Brief article)
August 21, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Richard L. Braun, Richard Lane Braun, 88, died Aug. 13 in Raleigh. Born in Los Angeles, he attended Georgetown University Law School while in the U.S. Marine Corps. He obtained his master...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: August 21, 2006.(Crisp v. Eastern Mortgage Investment Co.)(Hamby v. Profile Products L.L.C.)(State v. Calvino)
August 21, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Statute of Limitations - Equitable Estoppel - Contract - Promissory Notes - Corporate Where the plaintiff, as a corporate officer, for years listed the promissory notes in...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: August 21, 2006.(Polston v. Six Star Economic Development)(Britt v. Durden Home Improvement PTR)(Ferrell v. Central Carolina Bank)
August 21, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers Compensation Causation - Psychological Condition - Elevator Accidents - Auto Accidents - Aggravation Even though the plaintiff's psychological condition improved enough to allow...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: August 21, 2006.(Island Creek Coal Co. v. Henline )(Denny v. Elizabeth Arden Salons Holdings Inc.)(Natural Resources Defense Council v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc.)
August 21, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Black Lung Benefits - Limitations - Diagnosis Notice In this black lung case, the Benefits Review Board erred in upholding an administrative law judge's decision that the...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: August 21, 2006.(Billy Dixon, Barry Robinson)
August 21, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment FLSA - 'Joint Employer' - State Agency - Live- In Caregiver Even though the defendant-agency referred the plaintiff to employers Robinson and Dixon, and even though...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: August 21, 2006.(Ciancia v. Mission Hospitals Inc.)(Falise v. Smithkline Beecham Corp.)
August 21, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Statute of Limitations - Tort/Negligence - Wrongful Death - Imitrex - Heart Attack Where the patient suffered a heart attack on Apr. 3, 1998 and informed the defendant on...

Verdicts & Settlements August 21, 2006: Steelworker sub-contractor awarded $3.5M for fall.
August 21, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Personal injury Injuries alleged: Collapsed lung; T4-5 fracture with paraplegia; spinal fusion at T2 to T9 with permanent dual rod placement; lack of bowel control; erectile...

Verdicts & Settlements August 21, 2006: Red light camera aids $290K UM insurance recovery.(Woody White claims for damages)(Brief article)
August 21, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Motor vehicle Injuries alleged: Permanent scarring, disfigurement, left shoulder injury Name of case: Unnamed Court/county: New Hanover Case no.: n/a Tried...

North Carolina Lawyers In The News: August 28, 2006.(Legal Aid of North Carolina elects Nancy Edmunds Hannah, Gregg M. McDougal, Paul C. Shepard and Lisa Morgan )
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Four lawyers were elected to serve on the board of directors of Legal Aid of North Carolina at its annual meeting this summer. They are Nancy Edmunds Hannah and Gregg M. McDougal, both of Raleigh,...

Judge Davis installed as Forsyth County Bar President.(Chester C. Davis appointed)(Brief article)
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Judge Chester C. Davis, a local District Court judge, was installed July 10 as president of the Forsyth County Bar Association and the 21st Judicial District Bar. Other new officers are:...

North Carolina attorney to chair US soccer committee.(Robert "Bob" A. Singer joins Goals and Strategic Initiatives Committee )(Brief article)
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Robert "Bob" A. Singer, a partner with the law firm of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP, has been named as chair of the Goals and Strategic Initiatives Committee of the United...

Campbell Law Professor recognized for contributions to real estate manual.(Patrick Hetrick)(Brief article)
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Patrick Hetrick, a professor at Campbell University's Norman A. Wiggins School of Law, has been honored for his work on the North Carolina Real Estate Manual. The North Carolina Real Estate...

Dan L. O'Korn joins Hunton & Williams' life sciences group.(Brief article)
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Dan L. O'Korn has joined the Hunton & Williams' Raleigh office as a partner with its life science practice, a multidisciplinary group of more than 45 lawyers with patent, FDA, litigation and...

Lonnie M. Player Jr. elected president of Cumberland County Bar Association.(Brief article)
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Lonnie M. Player Jr., a partner in the Fayetteville firm of Hutchens, Senter & Britton, has been inducted as president of the Cumberland County Bar Association. Player received his law degree...

Smith Moore expands Wilmington office.(appoints Dana Pellizzari )(Brief article)
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Dana Pellizzari has joined the Wilmington office of Smith Moore LLP, becoming the third attorney in that office, which opened a little over a year ago. An alumna of State University of New...

Traffic Law Round-Up: August 28, 2006.(State v. Bowden)(State v. Alston)(State v. Cornett)
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Habitual DWI - Search & Seizure - Driver's License Checkpoint - Turn Off Where the defendant-driver made a quick (though legal) turn just before a driver's license...

Failure to signal turn didn't justify traffic stop, says Supreme Court.(State v. Ivey )(Case overview)
August 28, 2006... Byline: Ertel Bery Because a Charlotte driver's failure to give a turn signal didn't affect other cars or pedestrians, there was no probable cause to pull him over, the state Supreme Court has held. The traffic stop by a city police...

High Court lets stand abandoned easement, title search decisions.(Francis L. Austin Family Limited Partnership v. City of High Point)
August 28, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry The Supreme Court will not review a decision that said a city could abandon a sewer easement without compensating the landowner for 1,500 feet of pipe left in the ground. That case, which rejected a claim for...

Jury instructions flawed in DOT negligence verdict.(Department of Transportation)
August 28, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry The Appeals Court has tossed out a jury verdict that held the state Department of Transportation liable for a motorist's injuries in an I-40 chain collision near Enka. The 1998 accident occurred after a DOT...

Judges, attorneys take turns serving jury duty.(Charles E. Rice III)
August 28, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton For more than three decades, Wilmington family lawyer Charles E. Rice III has worked the courtroom from the lawyers' seats or the judge's bench. Earlier this month, Rice got his first shot as a juror. He was...

Robert C. Howison Jr., retired Raleigh lawyer, dies.(Obituary)(Brief article)
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Robert Cooke Howison Jr., retired lawyer of Raleigh, died Aug. 18 at age 91. Born in Baltimore, he attained his law degree in 1939 at the University of North Carolina, where he served as...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: August 28, 2006.
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers Compensation Causation - Slip & Fall - Back Injury - Medical Testimony Even though the doctor who treated the plaintiff after his fall at work on May 23, 2003 and again after his...

N.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: August 28, 2006.
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Search & Seizure - Traffic Stop - Failure to Signal - No Other Vehicles Where there were no pedestrians and no other vehicles to be affected by the defendant's turn,...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: August 28, 2006.
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Voluntary Dismissal - Defendants' Counterclaims - Hearing - Lack of Notice Where the plaintiff filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, the trial court erred in holding a...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: August 28, 2006.
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Exemption - Real Property - Homestead - Uninhabitable - Repair Expense - First Impression Even though the debtor has not used her property as a residence since 1999, since she...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: August 28, 2006.
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Immigration - Reopening Removal Proceedings - Tolling Departure Period The Board of Immigration Appeals did not err in finding that petitioner, a native of Ghana who first...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: August 28, 2006.
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Constitutional - Equal Protection - FIFRA - 'Me Too' Applications - Pesticide Where the plaintiff contends that the EPA refused to cancel the plaintiff's metolachlor...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: August 28, 2006.
August 28, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Abstention - Colorado River Doctrine - Tennessee State Court Action - Different Parties & Claims Where there are many more parties to this federal court action than there...