North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from December 2004

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from December 2004

Social Security lawyers seek specialty status.(North Carolina)
December 6, 2004... Byline: Michael Dayton Social Security lawyers have taken the initial steps to have their practice area designated a specialty. Under new Bar rules, they're now required to show that the proposal is backed by the public and the...

Federal judge rules Social Security disability claim conflicts with ADA suit.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Ertel Berry An employee's claim for Social Security benefits after his employer fired him undercut a discrimination suit that said he was terminated despite being qualified to do the work, a federal judge has ruled. Saying the...

Federal judge rules trucker injured at mining site gets new trial over low damage award.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Ertel Berry A jury's $46,575 award to a trucker injured at a mining site was too small in light of evidence that his economic damages were at least $137,672, a federal judge has held. Setting aside a jury verdict for inadequate...

Federal judge rules keeping at-will job supports new arbitration agreement.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Ertel Berry A federal judge has upheld an arbitration agreement that imposed a one-year time limit on a Kernersville store manager's claims for wrongful termination, fraud and emotional distress. U.S. Middle District Judge...

Commentary: poker's lessons for litigation.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Press Millen Last year's surprise summer ratings hit for ESPN was the World Series of Poker from Las Vegas. In December, Sports Illustrated named as its best sports book of the year James McManus's Positively Fifth Street, the...

Supreme Court denies review of heart-related workers' comp award.(North Carolina)
December 13, 2004... Byline: Ertel Berry The Supreme Court will not disturb a comp award for a trucker who crashed after experiencing a bad heart rhythm, despite the general rule against benefits for heart attacks. In other petition list action, the...

N.C. Appeals Court rules reckless driving during police pursuit supports murder charge.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Ertel Berry A defendant's reckless driving during a high-speed chase that ended in a deputy's death established the malicious intent required for second-degree murder, the Appeals Court held Dec. 7. The holding is the first...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules dad not required to proceed pro se in neglect case.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Michael Dayton Even though the father in a Haywood County neglect case fired both of his court-appointed attorneys, a trial judge erred by making him proceed pro se, the Court of Appeals has ruled. The Dec. 7 opinion, In the...

North Carolina skating rink not liable for injuries a skater suffered in 2001.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Michael Dayton Even though a Cary skating rink was allegedly negligent for not using a safety patrol and did not warn a skater about using the center part of the ice, the rink was not liable for injuries the skater suffered in a...

N.C. Justice Edmunds named to Criminal Rules Advisory Committee.
December 20, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff State Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert H. Edmunds Jr. has been appointed to the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules. Justice Edmunds was notified of his selection...

Federal judge rules land development suit not grounds for lis pendens notice.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Ertel Berry Even though a plaintiff was suing over an alleged contract to develop Cabarrus County real estate, that didn't authorize him to file a notice of lis pendens on the defendant's property, a federal judge has ruled. ...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules husband not required to cover reduction in military pension.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Ertel Berry A McDowell County veteran's military pension was subject to equitable distribution, but his military disability benefits were not, according to a recent unpublished Appeals Court ruling. The veteran's former wife...

North Carolina Lawyers In The News: December 20, 2004.
December 20, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff District Attorney Mike Bonfoey and legal aid attorney Connie Moore appeared at a Haywood County rally kicking off Domestic Violence Awareness Month. A row of 71 empty chairs lined the courthouse...

North Carolina Obituaries: December 20, 2004.
December 20, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Judge H. Brent McKnight U.S. District Judge H. Brent McKnight of Charlotte died Nov. 27 at age 52. Born in Iredell County, he grew up in Charlotte, where he graduated from Myers Park...

North Carolina Lawyers In The News: December 20, 2004.
December 20, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A portrait of Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Russell G. "Rusty" Walker Jr., who will retire Jan. 1, 2005, was presented by the 19B District Bar Association for permanent display in the Hal...

Federal judge allows bi-racial couple to file a discrimination suit against Waffle House.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Ertel Berry A bi-racial couple who said they sat in a Polk County Waffle House for 45 minutes without being served - while other customers were waited on - can go to trial on race discrimination claims, a federal judge has ruled....

N.C Unpublished Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 20, 2004.
December 20, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Appeals - Dismissal - Rules Violations Where the defendant's appellate brief violates N.C. R. App. P. 28(b)(4), 28(b)(6) and 26(g)(1), the appeal is dismissed. The...

U.S. Eastern District Court Case Summaries: December 20, 2004.
December 20, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Federal Jurisdiction - Removal - Waiver - State Court Motions - Status Quo Even though the defendants filed motions in state court, since those motions were filed in an...

North Carolina Lawyers In The News: December 27, 2004.
December 27, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff John L. Shaw, a partner at Poyner & Spruill's Raleigh office, has been awarded the Evelyn M. Coman Award for distinguished service in the field of construction law by the North Carolina Bar...

N.C. Supreme Court rejects employment-at-will exception for domestic violence victims.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Michael Dayton The state Supreme Court has rejected an attempt to carve out a new exception to the employment-at-will doctrine for victims of domestic violence. In the Dec. 17 per curiam decision of Imes v. City of Asheville...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 27, 2004.
December 27, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration FAA - Scope - Interstate Commerce - Labor & Employment - Medical Practice - Scope Where the parties' arbitration clause is broad, and where claims such as rescission, no...

Verdicts & Settlements December 27, 2004: N.C. mel-mal suit settles for $3.5M.
December 27, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff According to the plaintiff's allegations: a retired career Special Forces American military hero suffered irreversible brain damage ultimately leading to death in the course of a botched...

Verdicts & Settlements December 27, 2004: N.C. OB/GYN's negligence results in $13.5M settlement.
December 27, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff According to the plaintiffs' allegations: The bungled handling of a shoulder dystocia birth left a baby with massive brain damage, a broken neck, a broken collarbone, a broken arm, C2...

North Carolina Obituaries: December 27, 2004.
December 27, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff J. Ruffin Bailey Raleigh lawyer James Ruffin Bailey died Dec. 16 at age 85. Born in Jacksonville, he graduated from high school in Raleigh, then went to the University of North Carolina...

N.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 27, 2004.
December 27, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Consent Judgement - Withdrawal of Consent - Attorney's Termination - Agency Where our Court of Appeals held, Even though the plaintiffs initially agreed to the settlement...

Verdicts & Settlements December 27, 2004: N.C. contractor recovers on claims owner caused delays.
December 27, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff According to the plaintiffs' allegations: the general contractor on construction of a new county jail and sheriff's administration facility claimed it and its subcontractors were delayed by the...

North Carolina Court of Appeals Panel reverses recusal of judge in custody case.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Ertel Berry Even though a trial judge in a custody dispute co-owned a vacation home with the dad's attorney and several other people -- and talked to the lawyer about their interests in the property while the case was still pending...

North Carolina Court of Appeals rules no review of arbitrator's ruling on oral settlement.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Ertel Berry An arbitrator's conclusion that the parties in a bailment dispute had entered a binding oral settlement was not subject to judicial review, the Court of Appeals held Dec. 21. There was no statutory basis for...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules ADA suit dismissal barred plaintiff's reda action.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Ertel Berry Where a plaintiff's federal suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act was tossed at summary judgment, res judicata barred her state law action under the Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act, the Appeals Court...

U.S. Eastern District Court Case Summaries: December 27, 2004.
December 27, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort/Negligence Libel Counterclaim - Letter to Neighbor - Civil Practice - Standing - Statute of Repose - Rule 11 Where the plaintiff signed and sent a letter to the defendant's neighbor...

Verdicts & Settlements December 27, 2004: N.C. paraplegic airline pilot gets $7M in auto crash suit.
December 27, 2004... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff According to the plaintiffs' allegations: Defendant Driver hit Plaintiff from the rear while Plaintiff was stopped on a two-lane road waiting to make a left turn. Defendant was driving a tractor...