North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from December 2005

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from December 2005

U.S. 4th Circuit COS rules fired Dell employee has Title VII claim despite replacement by another fe.(Miles v. Dell Inc.)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A fired Dell Computer sales representative who was replaced by another female can go forward with sex and pregnancy discrimination claims against the company, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of...

N.C. Industrial Commission rules coming and going rule barred home nurse's comp claim.(Hollin v. Johnston County Council on Aging )
December 5, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton A home health care aide who was injured in a car wreck while driving to her first patient of the day was not entitled to workers' compensation benefits, the Industrial Commission has ruled. The commission said...

N.C. Industrial Commission adopts medical provider questions.(mandatory questions)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Industrial Commission has adopted mandatory questions for employers and insurers to use when communicating with an injured comp claimant's treating physician. The questions and...

Miles v. Dell, Inc.: One Legal expert's perspective.(cases)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers Weekly asked Raleigh lawyer L. Diane Tindall, an expert on employment law issues, for her reaction to the Miles case. Tindall's practice focuses on labor and employment law and...

N.C. Industrial Commission slashes sanction for discovery violation.(Adams v. Dayco Products)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Industrial Commission has ordered a comp defendant's law firm to pay $2,500 for violating a discovery order a big reduction from the original $20,000 sanction that was vacated on appeal. ...

Greensboro Bar Association honors two with its 2005 Pro Bono Award.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Greensboro Bar Association has honored 2004-05 GBA President Polly D. Sizemore and Brooks Pierce partner Allison M. Grimm with its 2005 Pro Bono Award. Sizemore and Grimm were honored...

N.C. Lawyers In The News: December 5, 2005.(John Wesley College in High Point)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Greensboro attorney Jim Slaughter, president of Forman Rossabi Black, P.A., has been appointed chairman of the national ethics committees for both the National Association of Parliamentarians and...

N.C. Lawyers In The News: December 5, 2005.(Vandeventer Black)(Carolina Land Title Association)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Allison Holmes has joined the Kitty Hawk office of Vandeventer Black, where she will concentrate her practice in civil litigation, eminent domain and land use and municipal law. She earned her law...

Commentary: Letter to the Editor: Comments on Culbertson web site.(Letter to the Editor)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: For better than 36 years now l have had a heavily federal law practice, civil and criminal, with several hundred cases in the Middle and Eastern Districts of North Carolina,...

Innovative Web marketing advice for law firms.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Amy Conner (This article originally ran in the Daily Record, Baltimore, MD., another Dolan Media publication).Your firm has spent a great deal of time and money perfecting its web site. But so did every other firm in your...

Lawyer tech round-up.(lawyers are increasingly using wireless technology)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson (This article originally ran in Lawyers Weekly USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication). A recent survey by the American Bar Association confirms that lawyers are increasingly using wireless technology...

Greensboro law office of Tuggle Duggins & Meschan, P.A. moving to new office.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tuggle Duggins & Meschan, P.A. is moving this week one block down Market Street into its new space in the Jefferson-Pilot Building, according to a firm press release. President Reed Johnston...

Officer's discrimination complaints involved 'public' matter.(Campbell v. The Town Of Southern Pines)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry A Nov. 21 decision from the U.S. Middle District highlights an issue in employment law for government workers: Are complaints about on-the-job gender discrimination and sex harassment always a matter of "public"...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(U.S. v. Gilbert)(Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition v. Bulen)(Miles v. Dell Inc.)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Felon in Possession - Transitory - 'Innocent Possession' A defendant who claims he found a collection of firearms in a backpack and blanket and that he was on his way to...

U.S. District Court Middle District Caes Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Campbell v. Town of Southern Pines)(MCI Constructors Inc. v. Hazen and Sawyer)(Jarvis v. Stewart)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Freedom of Speech - Labor & Employment - Public Concern - Sexual Harassment Even though the plaintiff's complaints about sexual harassment in the defendant- police...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Pisgah Labs, Inc. v. Pharmaforce, Inc.)(Hensley v. P. H. Glatfelter Co.)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Civil Practice - Mandatory Injunction - Status Quo - Joint Venture - Marketing - Ohio Law Even though this court has jurisdiction to grant injunctive relief, since the...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(re Medley)(re Smith)(re Smith and Sons Paving Co.)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Petition Preparer - Unauthorized Practice of Law - Web site - FAQs Where the petition preparer maintained a web site that provided specific and detailed answers to frequently...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(State ex rel. Cooper v. McClure)(re Pozen Shareholders Litigation)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Administrative - Price Fixing - Environmental - Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Where the state may be able to prove that defendant CBM Environmental Services' contract bid was...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Hollin v. Johnston County Council on Aging)(Adams v. Dayco Products Inc.)(Turlington v. US Airways Inc.)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers Compensation Coming & Going Rule - In- Home Aide - First Patient - Auto Accident Even though the defendant paid the plaintiff $0.31 per mile for travel between patients' homes,...

N.C. Administrative Hearings Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(East Winston Primary School Corp. v. North Carolina State Board of Education.)
December 5, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Schools & School Boards Charter School - Charter Revocation - Constitutional - Due Process - Insufficient Proof Where the State Board of Education's notice to the petitioner-school said...

Carpal tunnel award reversed despite fruitless job search.(Terasaka v. AT&T)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry Even though an injured AT&T employee said 500 unsuccessful job searches showed that no other employer would hire her, she couldn't get total disability without medical evidence for that contention, the Appeals Court...

Panel clarifies dismissal on assignments of error.(Walker v. Walker)
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A Dec. 6 Appeals Court opinion makes it clear that the "generic" phrasing of a defendant's assignments of error was not the only reason his appeal was dismissed last month. The court's...

High Court won't review Greensboro settlement policy ruling.(Clayton v. Branson)
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Supreme Court has declined to review a decision that upheld the way Greensboro officials settled tort claims against the city. The justices denied the plaintiff's petition for...

Massachusetts Lawyers in the News: December 12, 2005.(Robert Meyer, Sarah H. Roane and Pedro Zabala appointed)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Robert Meyer has been named of counsel at Poyner & Spruill in Charlotte, where he concentrates in labor and employment law. Sarah H. Roane has joined the Greensboro office of Ogletree,...

Bar professionalism program held at Wrightsville Beach.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr. (r) and 5th Judicial District Bar President Stephen C. Baynard appeared at a Bar professionalism program held earlier this month at Wrightsville Beach. Also...

Richard W. Riley presented Citizen of the Carolinas Award.(Charlotte Chamber of Commerce)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Richard W. Riley, a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, was presented the 2005 Citizen of the Carolinas Award by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce at its annual meeting last month....

Verdicts & Settlements December 12, 2005: Nursing home resident's death in $1.225M settlement.(negligence and medical malpractice)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Nursing home negligence; medical malpractice Injuries alleged: Severe fecal impaction resulting in sepsis, multi-organ failure and death Name of case: Confidential ...

Verdicts & Settlements December 12, 2005: Patient's family recovers $500K for nursing home overdose.(negligence, medical malpractice)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Nursing home negligence; medical malpractice Injuries alleged: Death Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Confidential Case no.: Confidential Tried...

Verdicts & Settlements December 12, 2005: Hunt Club patron recovers $2M over deer stand collapse.(John Doe v. Hunting Club)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Personal injury/premises liability Injuries alleged: T-1 burst fracture resulting in paraplegia Name of case: John Doe v. Hunting Club Court/county: Confidential ...

Weblog: Online notes from a personal injury lawyer.(Reprint)
December 12, 2005... Byline: David Swanner Editor's note: Myrtle Beach, S.C. personal injury attorney David Swanner is the author of "South Carolina Trial Law Blog." Located at http://www.sctriallaw.com, the Weblog "focuses on using technology to be a better...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.(U.S. v. Alerre, Chacko v. Patuxent Institution)
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Jurisdiction - Personal Before Subject Matter - Defamation Action In this case arising from a state suit alleging breach of contract, defamation and conspiracy, the...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.(Pergo Inc. v. Faus Group Inc.)
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Intellectual Property Patent Infringement - Civil Practice - Preliminary Injunction - Unlikelihood of Success - No Irreparable Harm Where the only independent claims in the plaintiffs'...

N.C.Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Impartial Trial - Court's Negative Comments - Negative Atmosphere - Defendant Prejudiced - Jury Prejudiced Where our Court of Appeals held, Where the trial judge made...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Award Reasoning - Not Required - Civil Practice - Appeals - Incomplete Record Where (1) the arbitration agreement does not require the arbitrators to set forth the reasons...

Lawyer sues PALS official over 12-step referral.(Pugh v. Fellowship Hall Inc.)(Phonological Awareness and Literacy Screening)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton An Asheboro lawyer is seeking injunctive relief to keep an employee of the State Bar from forcing him and others to participate in what he says is a "religious program." In November, Alan V. Pugh filed a...

Australian Dean picked to head Charlotte Law School.(E. Eugene Clark)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Charlotte School of Law and the InfiLaw Consortium of Independent Law Schools last week appointed Dr. E. Eugene Clark as dean of the city's first law school, which is scheduled to open in...

Durham-based law firm in legal dispute with former law partners.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton A dispute between one of the state's largest law firms and two former partners has boiled over into court, with the parties trading charges of mismanagement, slander, conversion and computer tampering. ...

N.C. State Bar delays collection of $50 surcharge for judicial races.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry The State Bar has put off collecting a controversial $50 surcharge on membership fees until next spring and by then many attorneys hope the assessment will be repealed by lawmakers or struck down in court. An...

Paralegal program in N.C. draws 1,200 applicants.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton A State Bar program to certify paralegals has only been taking applications for five months but already has 1,200 submissions. By last week, more than 500 of those applications had been approved, according to...

N.C. Court of Appeals tosses out equitable distribution valuation of husband's business.(Robertson v. Robertson)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry An unpublished Appeals Court opinion on equitable distribution shows that when competing experts offer different valuations for a business, trial judges can't just pick one figure their findings must reflect the...

N.C. Secretary of State honored by Recording Industry of.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff She may not have a hot single spinning its way to the top of the charts, but North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall now has something to make many musicians envious: a Gold Record. ...

N.C. Lawyers In The News: December 19, 2005.(Scott E. Lebensburger)
December 19, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Evan M. Gilreath has joined Scott E. Lebensburger, P.A., an estate planning and administration firm in Hendersonville. An Asheville native and 2000 UNC law graduate, he was an associate for over...

Pitt County sues online services over hotel taxes.
December 19, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A class action lawsuit, with Pitt County as the lead plaintiff, accuses online hotel booking companies of shortchanging local governments on hotel occupancy taxes. Last year, Pitt County made...

Minority leaders in S.C. hear proposals for property tax relief.
December 19, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff State lawmakers are considering raising the state sales tax in order to reduce or eliminate property taxes in South Carolina, but that's a cause of concern for some minority officials in the...

N.C. Appeals Court rules venue for land contract dispute not changed by personal claims.(Fox Holdings Inc. v. Wheatly Oil Co)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry A recent Appeals Court opinion reiterates a key rule for determining venue, as well its only exception: Even if a complaint seeks damages against a defendant personally, if a judgment would also affect title to...

Roanoke Rapids attorney Willis E. "Doc" Murphrey dies at 77.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 19, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Willis E. "Doc" Murphrey Roanoke Rapids lawyer Willis Everette "Doc" Murphrey III died Dec. 6 at age 77. Born in Roanoke Rapids, in his youth he was an Eagle Scout, was all-state on his...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(AbilityOne Corp. v. Brown)(Moore v. Town of Chapel Hill)
December 19, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Contract - Tort/Negligence - Unfair Trade Practices - Work for Competitor - Mediation Where the defendant's response to the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(In re Moore)(Hambacher v. ASC)
December 19, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy BAPCPA - Automatic Stay - Prior Case - 'Pending' - Dismissal - Case Closure Even though the debtor's prior bankruptcy case remained open until Nov. 10, 2004, since it was...

N.C. Industrial Commisson Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(Queen v. Highway Express Inc.)(Punch v. Caldwell Freight Lines Inc.)
December 19, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers Compensation Disability - Failure to Seek Work - Truck Driver - Form 60 - Sanctions Where a vocational rehabilitation specialist identified several local jobs the plaintiff could...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(Obioha v. Gonzales)(Wendt v. Leonard)(Emery v. Roanoke City School Board)
December 19, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Immigration - Removal - Request For Cancellation The 4th Circuit affirms the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals denying a Nigerian woman's motion to remand her...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(Sciteck Clinical Laboratories Inc. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)(Blount v. CSX Transportation Inc.)
December 19, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Licenses & Permits - Drug- Testing Lab - Civil Practice - Preliminary Injunction Even though the suspension of the plaintiff's certification as a drug-testing laboratory...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(Mercer v. Howard)(Hargrove v. Howard)(Son-Lan Development Co. v. Wells)
December 19, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Driver's License Revocation - Criminal Practice - DWI - Chemical Analysis Refusal - Traffic Stop - Reasonable Suspicion Where Corporal Holland clocked the petitioner...

In separate decisions, N.C. Appeals Court panels excuse defective assignments of error.(Walker v. Walker)
December 26, 2005... Byline: Ertel Berry In separate opinions issued Dec. 20, the Appeals Court has excused significant assignment-of-error defects, even though similar flaws got another appeal dismissed last month. Both panels held they were able to...

D.C. Circuirt Court rules lawyers not required to send privacy notices to clients.
December 26, 2005... Byline: Reni Gertner (This article originally appeared in Lawyers Weekly USA, Boston, MA Lawyers who handle financial information are not required to send privacy notices to their clients, the D.C. Circuit has ruled in affirming a U.S....

N.C. Appeals Court affirms DWI conviction for stand-up scooter rider.(State v. Crow)(North Carolina)
December 26, 2005... Byline: Michael Dayton The Appeals Court has affirmed the September 2004 DWI conviction of an Ocracoke vacationer who was pulled over on a Currie "Phat Flyer" electric scooter. The ruling shoots down the defendant's attempt to put the...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 26, 2005.
December 26, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Final Agency Decision - Judicial Review - De Novo Where the trial court reviewed the final agency decision using the whole record test, and not de novo, we must remand for...

N.C. Supreme Court tosses out injury suit against speeding officer.
December 26, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A pedestrian who was run over by a Durham police officer speeding to answer another officer's calls for backup failed to prove gross negligence, the Supreme Court has ruled. The 5-2 decision...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: December 26, 2005.(Marcia Stewart resigns)(Alison Ashe-Card appointed as president of the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers)(Terry L. Wallace appointed at Poyner and Spruill)
December 26, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff District Judge Marcia Stewart of Clayton has resigned her seat effective Dec. 31 after winning reelection to a second term last year. The mother of two young children, Stewart said when she ran...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 26, 2005.(Collier v. U.S.)
December 26, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Priority Claims - IRS Lien - Ch. 7 Where a judgment debtor obtained her judgment before the IRS recorded a tax lien, but recorded the judgment in West Virginia after the tax...

N.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 26, 2005.(Mooresville Hospital Management Associates, Inc. v. North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services)(Eastway Wrecker Service, Inc. v. City of Charlotte)(Young v. Prancing Horse, Inc.)
December 26, 2005... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Hospitals - Certificate of Need - Mootness Where the respondent-intervenor completed construction of its approved hospital and obtained its operating license while the...