North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from December 2006

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from December 2006

Commentary: establishing agency in medical malpractice cases: Part II: The law.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Mark McGrath [Editor's note: Part I of this column ran in the September 4, 2006 issue of Lawyers Weekly.] While the basic principles of agency are straightforward under North Carolina law, their application by the North...

What is the best marketing plan for your law firm?
December 4, 2006... Byline: David Swanner I write about practice management and marketing a goodly amount and get a decent number of e-mails and questions about marketing and what is the best plan of action for their firm. There's no right or wrong, but...

N.C. law offices of Michael A. DeMayo competes in food drive.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff By splitting its staff into teams, the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo LLP, a regional firm with offices in Charlotte, Hickory and Monroe, collected 2,242 pounds of food during its annual...

Charlotte office of Wishart Norris adds attorney with commercial real estate emphasis.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Alyson Grossman, an attorney who concentrates on commercial real estate, has joined the Charlotte office of Wishart Norris Henninger & Pittman, a firm that serves closely held businesses. ...

Cranfill, Sumner & Hartzog, LLP in Raleigh is on the move.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The civil defense firm of Cranfill, Sumner & Hartzog, LLP and commercial developer Lichtin Corporation have announced the law firm will be the first anchor tenant of a development project under...

Rocky Mount attorney inducted into International Assn. of Defense Counsel.(Nick Ellis)
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Nick Ellis, a litigator in the Rocky Mount office of Poyner & Spruill LLP, has been voted in as a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel. The Chicago-based IADC is a...

New Web site available to N.C. pro bono attorneys.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A new Web tool that will enable lawyers to substantially increase their volunteer assistance to low-income North Carolinians has been launched at www.probono.net/NC. The Web site was...

Raleigh lawyer elected to American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.(E. William Kratt,)
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Raleigh lawyer E. William Kratt, a board-certified specialist in estate planning and probate law, has been elected to membership in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. The...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Long- Term Disability - ERISA Plan - Medical Evidence - Back Problems - Ophthalmologist Where scheduling problems prevented the plaintiff from seeing her treating neurosurgeon...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Discovery - Motion to Compel - Settlement Agreement - Confidentiality Clause Even though the defendants' settlement agreement from a separate lawsuit contains a...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Party guest awarded for injuries in 'elevator' collapse.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Personal injury; premises liability Injuries alleged: Comminuted trimalleolar fracture/dislocation of the right ankle, non-displaced left ankle fracture, spiral fracture of...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Birth injury lawsuit settles for $4M.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Medical negligence Injuries alleged: Spastic quadriplegia Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Confidential Case no.: Confidential Tried before:...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Employee's wreck in employer vehicle gets $1M UIM recoveryi.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Auto accident Injuries alleged: Herniated disk C5-6, rotator cuff tear, abdominal hernia Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Moore County Superior Court ...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Judge enters $8M award.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Teacher's sexual assault of his 13-year-old student Injuries alleged: Assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress Name of case:...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Commercial vehicle accident results in $1.32M recovery.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Commercial vehicle wreck Injuries alleged: Personal injury Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Confidential Case no.: Confidential Tried before:...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Pedestrian recovers $400K after hit by tow truck.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Motor vehicle negligence Injuries alleged: Brain injury, pelvis and hip fractures, facial nerve injury and palsy, injury to face, skull, knees, hands, pelvis, hip, eyes, jaws,...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Claims over post-surgical care bring $1.9M settlement.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Medical malpractice claim arising out of post-surgical care Injuries alleged: Death Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Confidential Case no.: Confidential...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff James S. Schenck of Conner Gwyn Schenck PLLC in Raleigh has been appointed to the governing committee of the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry, a national association of construction lawyers....

Lewis & Daggett office in Winston-Salem wins award for prom night ad.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Winston-Salem law firm of Lewis & Daggett won two Silver International Davey Awards for its television commercial promoting the firm's Safe Sober Prom Night program, a release says. ...

Federal Court rules defendant's confidential settlement in different case subject to discovery.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry Confidential settlements may stop information from being disclosed to the public -- but for parties in a lawsuit, they're proving to be fair game for discovery. Last May, a Business Court judge ruled that the...

Party guest recovers $377,500 in home elevator collapse.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry Many homes in the Little Washington area are built in the classic coastal style on top of high pilings. That trend brings with it another classic element -- steps, and lots of them. To spare themselves and guests...

CLE rules, trust account audits in N.C. affected by rules amendment.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton Lawyers will have greater leeway to sell their law practices and get new ways to earn CLE credit under rules amendments approved by the state Supreme Court. The high court on Nov. 16 signed off on a dozen rules...

N.C. Court of Appeals denies case for second time over proof of service.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry After withdrawing an earlier opinion, the Appeals Court has again tossed out a case because a certificate of service wasn't in the record. The latest decision in Ribble v. Ribble (North Carolina Lawyers Weekly No....

Greenville lawyer Marvin Key Blount Jr. dies at 67.(Obituary)
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Marvin K. Blount Jr. Greenville lawyer Marvin Key Blount Jr., 67, died Nov. 24. Born in Greenville, he attended Woodberry Forest School and the University of North Carolina. He received his...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers Compensation Back Injury - Causation - Pre- Existing Condition - Disability Where the plaintiff's pre-existing back condition allowed him to work until he re- injured his back at...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative CON - Dialysis Transfer - In- Center Patients Only Where the petitioners' application for a certificate of need to transfer dialysis beds only complied with the applicable...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Bankruptcy - Rules Violations - Perjury - Suspension - Fees Where the debtor's attorney has committed perjury, knowingly allowed his client to commit perjury, and obstructed the...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Black Lung Benefits - Pneumoconiosis - Causation Testimony from the pathologist who performed an autopsy on claimant's husband and found complicated pneumoconiosis was...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment FLSA - Overtime - Fluctuating Schedule - EMTs - Clear Understanding Where the plaintiff-emergency medical technicians' schedules fluctuate, and where they have been...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Kit Anderson has joined the Charlotte office of Chicago Title Insurance Company as local underwriting counsel. He was formerly an associate attorney with Homesley, Goodman & Wingo, PLLC in...

Lawyers Weekly wants verdicts and settlements over $1.5M for Top 25 list.
December 11, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The next Lawyers Weekly Top 25 Large Verdict and Settlement list will be published on Jan. 22, 2006. If you've obtained a verdict or settlement of $1.5 million or more since Jan. 1, 2006, please...

4th Circuit's Chief Judge To Step Down On July 1 Chief Judge William W. Wilkins Will Take Senior Status When The Current Court Term Ends.(Interview)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Cynthia Di Pasquale - Dolan Media News Wire The top judge of the federal Appeals Court for North Carolina plans to step down next summer. Chief Judge William W. Wilkins, 64, informed President Bush last week that he intends to...

North Carolina Attorney Obituaries: December 11, 2006.(Karl N. Hill Jr., Harold C. Mahler)(Obituary)
December 11, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Karl N. Hill Jr. Greensboro lawyer Karl Neimann Hill Jr. died Dec. 2 at age 76. He finished undergraduate school at the University of North Carolina in 1952, and attained his law degree,...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Unconscionability Finding - Nursing Home - Standard Contract - Enforceable Where the arbitration clause in the parties' contract binds both parties, and where it appeared in...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Employment Application - False Representations - Prior Injury - Unrelated - Disability - Job Search Even though the plaintiff falsely said on a medical questionnaire...

Judge Henry W. Hight Jr. heading Conference of Superior Court Judges of NC.(North Carolina)(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Judge Henry W. Hight Jr. of Henderson has been elected to succeed Judge Quentin T. Sumner of Rocky Mount as president of the Conference of Superior Court Judges of North Carolina for 2006-2007, a...

Dave Clement appointed committee chair and treasurer of Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina.(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Smith Anderson partner Dave Clement has been appointed as chair of the operations committee and treasurer of Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina, effective on Jan. 1. Clement, who practices in...

Letter To The Editor.
December 11, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I read with some amusement the quote from Stanford law professor Alan B. Morrison concerning the unlikelihood that North Carolina would revert to requiring all attorneys to...

NC Court of Appeals rules man who strayed from sidewalk and fell was negligent.(North Carolina )
December 11, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton A man who slipped and fell while taking a shortcut to a newspaper stand at a DOT rest stop was contributorily negligent because he didn't stick to the sidewalk, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled December 5. This...

NC Court of Appeals rules police officer injured on lunch break gets workers' comp benefits.(North Carolina)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton Even though a Rocky Mount police officer was on a lunch break in her own car when she was hit and injured by a drunk driver, she is entitled to workers' comp coverage, the Court of Appeals has ruled. The city...

Despite dead rodent in discovery boxes, sanction short of dismissal had to be considered.(discovery documents)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton The plaintiff's lawyer thought she smelled a rat when a pro se defendant delivered 13 boxes of disorganized discovery documents. Actually, it was a dead mouse. A trial judge eventually lowered the sanctions...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Immigration - U.S. National - Army Reserve - Criminal Convictions A Haitian national who entered the U.S. as an 18-year-old in 1996 to join his father who lived in New...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Disability Discrimination Claim - Qualification - Administrative - DOT Regulations - Commercial Driver's License Where the plaintiff did not pass the DOT physical, he...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Joint Venture - Control - Commission Contract - Statute of Limitations Where the defendant-employer could direct the conduct of the plaintiff-employee, but where the...

Mark W. Merritt reelected to State Bar Council.(Brief article)
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Mark W. Merritt of Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson PA has been re-elected by the Mecklenburg County Bar to serve as a State Bar councilor for a three-year term. The State Bar Council is composed of 55...

Ken Hardison, Ben Cochran form new North Carolina law firm.(Hardison & Cochran, PLLC)(Brief article)
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Ken Hardison, formerly managing partner of Hardison & Leone, has formed a new partnership under the name Hardison & Associates. Ben Cochran has been promoted to partner in the new firm....

Mark J. Prak on American Judicature Society's national advisory council.(Brief article)
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Raleigh lawyer Mark J. Prak, a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP, has been appointed to serve as a member of the American Judicature Society's national advisory...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: December 18, 2006.(Brief article)
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff R. Bradley Van Laningham was recently inducted into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, comprised of lawyers who have obtained a settlement or verdict in excess of $1,000,000. A 1996 Wake Forest...

Greensboro garden named in honor of Charles E. Melvin Jr.(Brief article)
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A garden in Greensboro's new Center City Park has been named in honor of an attorney whose 50-year practice has included distinguished service to the city and to the downtown area, a firm release...

Realty company stiffed on listing recovers commission, legal fees.(Capital Realty, Inc. v. Jones)(Case overview)
December 18, 2006... Byline: Michael Daygon A Wake County real estate company that sued to collect a $110,000 commission was also entitled to $16,500 in attorney's fees, the Court of Appeals has ruled in an unpublished decision. The unpaid 10 percent...

Default set aside after corporate mix-up on service papers.(Villa v. Mediware Information Systems, Inc.)
December 18, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton First the summons and complaint were sent to an employee who no longer worked at the corporation. Then the corporation failed to pass along the documents to its lawyer. That scenario might end with a default...

Prosecutors, defense lawyers square off over new DWI law.(driving while intoxicated)
December 18, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton A new DWI law that makes it easier to prosecute and convict drunk drivers is shaping up as a legal battleground, with prosecutors and defense lawyers debating key provisions. House Bill 1048, signed into law in...

Charlotte atty. E. Fitzgerald Parnell III elected fellow of American Bar Foundation.(Brief article)
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Charlotte attorney E. Fitzgerald "Jerry" Parnell III, has been elected a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Established in 1955, membership in the organization is limited to one third of one...

Republicans push tax and trade bill through Congress as they exit.
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff In its last hours of Republican control, the U.S. Congress passed a raft of legislation big and small, most significantly a sweeping bill extending trade benefits for developing countries,...

New senate energy leader questions plan to repeal tax breaks for big oil.(Sen. Jeff Bingaman)
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi's plan to repeal tax breaks for oil companies in the first 100 hours of the new Congress could face roadblocks in the Senate. Trying to do it in the first...

Second homes provide new economy for mountain communities.
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff For many western North Carolina communities, manufacturing is history, a once vibrant industry that's moved overseas and left locals searching for new ways to earn a living. Some are finding...

State Treasurer Richard Moore, others back N.C. earned income tax credit.
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Buoyed by the Legislature's approval of a minimum wage increase, proponents of a state earned income tax credit urged legislators last week to support the refund as a way to help lift more...

N.C. Legal Community Obituaries: December 18, 2006.(John M. Barnhardt)(John V. Blackwell Jr.)(Obituary)
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff John M. Barnhardt John MacFarland Barnhardt of Concord died Dec. 4 at the age of 69. A lifelong resident of Concord, he received his undergraduate degree from the University of North...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: December 18, 2006.
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Tobacco Settlement - Payment Decrease - Non- Participating Manufacturers - Statute's Enforcement - 50 States Where the parties' Master Settlement Agreement includes a broad...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: December 18, 2006.
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Discovery - Motions to Compel & Strike - Expert Designation - Appeals Where the plaintiff-appellant failed to include the transcript in the record on appeal, this court...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: December 18, 2006.
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Presumption of Abuse - Transportation Expense - Debt- Free Vehicles - Ownership Allowance Even though the debtor and her husband own their vehicles outright, they are still...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 18, 2006.
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Drug Distribution - Prescription Pain Drugs - Physician Defendant The 4th Circuit upholds the conspiracy and unlawful distribution convictions of an osteopath who...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: December 18, 2006.
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Subject Matter Jurisdiction - Rooker- Feldman Doctrine - State Court Judgment - Real Property Lien Where, in order for the plaintiff to prevail in this court, this court...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: December 18, 2006.(Angell v. Kelly)(Case overview)
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort/Negligence Fraud - Contract - Corporate Sale - Unreasonable Reliance - SEC Documents Where the defendants' representations on which the plaintiffs relied could have been rebutted or...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: December 18, 2006.
December 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Entry of Default - Set Aside - Excusable Neglect - Corporate Procedures Even though the defendant and defense counsel had in-house procedures designed to avoid default,...