North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from December 2007

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from December 2007

Wrong name in death lawsuit leads to dismissal for plaintiff in North Carolina Court of Appeals.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Fred Horlbeck A woman whose wrongful death action was dismissed after she sued a medical clinic under the wrong name could not amend the complaint and save her lawsuit, even though the clinic had once been owned under that name and...

The eyes (and nose and chin) have it: Consultant chooses jurors by their faces.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Dick Dahl Dolan Media Newswires BOSTON, Mass. Most lawyers view jury selection as an inexact science, but Mac Fulfer, a lawyer and jury consultant in Fort Worth, Texas, claims to have found a sure-fire way to pick the men and women...

North Carolina plaintiff, lawyer sanctioned for pushing suit.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Guy Loranger A plaintiff and attorney who pursued an anti-discrimination lawsuit despite physical evidence that contradicted the claim have been ordered by a federal judge to pay more than $19,000 in attorney fees and sanctions....

N.C. woman wins benefits as U.S. Supreme Court denies cert.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Fred Horlbeck The U.S Supreme Court has denied cert in a North Carolina ERISA case, leaving intact a Fourth Circuit decision affirming long-term disability for a woman whose quest for benefits began seven years ago. The high...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: December 3, 2007.
December 3, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Venue - Change Motion - Court's Inherent Authority - Sheriff's Department Myers v. Bryant. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-16-1362, 7 pp.) (James A. Wynn Jr., J.) Appealed from Lee...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 3, 2007.
December 3, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Antitrust Limitations - Fraudulent Concealment - Inquiry Notice GO Computer Inc. v. Microsoft Corp. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-01-1367, 15 pp.) (Wilkinson, J.) No. 06-2278, Nov. 19, 2007;...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: December 3, 2007.
December 3, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Sanction - Frivolous Lawsuit - Labor & Employment - Termination - DNA Evidence Dalton v. Premier Behavioral Solutions, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-02-1382, 15 pp.)...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: December 3, 2007.
December 3, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Real Property Title Insurance - Survey - Boundaries - Waste Dumps Shea Homes, LLC v. Old Republic National Title Insurance Co. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-04-1378, 23 pp.) (Martin Reidinger,...

Verdicts & Settlements December 3, 2007: Jury awards $1.1M to 74-year-old hit by motor vehicle.(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff,pedestrian, stood at a bus stop near an intersection in Winston-Salem on Aug. 18, 2005. The defendant's car entered the intersection without stopping for a red light, collided...

Verdicts & Settlements December 3, 2007: Dog's swipe at 5-year-old results in $115K settlement.(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A five-year-old girl was playing with another child on the defendant's premises in October 2005. According to the plaintiff's report, the defendants had left a 14-year-old Rottweiler dog...

When is it time to leave your law firm?
December 3, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll Dolan Media Newswires The members of a successful law firm need a fundamental basis for working together. Lawyers who physically share the same office environment should share an outlook that shapes the development of...

Former chief justices Frye, Mitchell win North Carolina's highest honor.(Henry E. Frye and Burley B. Mitchell Jr. receive the North Carolina Award)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Former chief justices Henry E. Frye and Burley B. Mitchell Jr. have been presented the North Carolina Award, the highest honor that the state bestows on a civilian. Both were recognized for public...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: December 3, 2007.
December 3, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Smith Anderson partner Merrill Mason recently participated in the annual undergraduate business symposium hosted by the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler business school. Mason...

Law salaries are looking bullish for state, nation.(higher compensation for lawyers)
December 3, 2007... Byline: From staff reports A little extra holiday cheer is in the offing for lawyers looking for more lucrative jobs especially first-year associates aiming at positions with big firms as a new study highlights prospects for more...

North Carolina Court of Appeals says non-attorney could file petition with OAH.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Guy Loranger A company president could petition for an administrative hearing on behalf of his corporate client, even though the president was not a licensed attorney, the Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 20. An administrative law...

Fourth Circuit: Fair Labor Standards Act preempts workers' state claims.
December 3, 2007... Byline: From Staff reports Bakery workers who demanded to be on the clock while changing into mandatory work uniforms can seek relief only through the Fair Labor Standards Act since their claims were based on the federal law, the Fourth...

Commentary: Holiday tips for religion in the workplace.
December 10, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The end of the year and the accompanying holidays often bring requests by employees for time off for religious observances and requests to display religious symbols at work. Religion in the...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: December 10, 2007.(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff In Greensboro, Jennifer Fountain has been added to the title of the firm now named Isaacson Isaacson Sheridan and Fountain. Her practice areas include business litigation and employment law. ...

North Carolina law firm collects food for Second Harvest.(Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo's food collection for Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo collected 1,438 pounds of food during its annual participation in the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina drive. The firm's staff broke into two teams...

Campbell University's moot court team takes top honors at regional competition.(national moot court competition )(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Campbell University's Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law's moot court team took first place, best brief honors and the outstanding oralist award at the national moot court regional championship...

N.C. Bar Association panel opts for more study.(North Carolina Bar Association weighs decision on legal assistants' voting rights)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Fred Horlbeck Paralegals are seeing how much leverage they have and how much they might get in the power structure of the N.C. Bar Association. Lawyers who run the organization are studying a proposal that would give legal...

Defense lawyers discuss lessons from Duke lacrosse case.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Guy Loranger Eight months after Attorney General Roy Cooper declared their clients "innocent," the defense lawyers from the Duke lacrosse case are sharing their insights with the state's legal community. Attorneys Joseph...

Buyers did not directly rely on sellers' agent's MLS, rules N.C. Court of Appeals.(Multiple Listing Service)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Guy Loranger Home buyers who saw an MLS listing that was different from one prepared by the sellers' agent could not recover on a claim of negligent misrepresentation against that agent, the Court of Appeals has ruled. The...

N.C. Supreme Court's docket includes case on appellate rules.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Guy Loranger The state Supreme Court will hear arguments this week on whether the Court of Appeals properly dismissed a case for violations of the rules of appellate procedure. The arguments in Jones v. Harrelson & Smith...

Gun fails test for adverse possession, rules N.C. Court of Appeals.
December 10, 2007... Byline: N.C. Lawyers Weekly Staff Report An heir could not prove adverse possession even though there was evidence that his father used a shotgun 42 years ago to run off someone who claimed to own the Orange County land at issue, the Court...

North Carolina legal obituaries: December 10, 2007.(Obituary)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff John W. Liles Jr. Former Raleigh lawyer John Wall "Jack" Liles Jr. died Nov. 26 at age 73. Born in Raleigh, he graduated from Davidson College in l956 and from the UNC School of Law. He...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 10, 2007.
December 10, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Subject Matter Jurisdiction - Standing - Environmental - Municipal - Zoning - Subdivision Development Marriott v. Chatham County. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-07-1384, 8 pp.)...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 10, 2007.
December 10, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Miranda Warning - Custody - Hospital Emergency Room U.S. v. Jamison. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-01-1407, 15 pp.) (Duncan, J.) No. 07-4101, Dec. 4, 2007; USDC at Baltimore,...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: December 10, 2007.(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Jones Act - Wrongful Death - Damages - Evidence - Coast Guard Report In re Complaint of Cozy Cove Marina, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-02-1374, 5 pp.) (James C. Dever III, J. -...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: December 10, 2007.(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Federal Jurisdiction - Diversity - Amount in Controversy - Collection Expenses Auto-Owners Insurance Co. v. Komatsu America Corp. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-03-1376, 4 pp.)...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: December 10, 2007.(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Voluntary Dismissal - Stipulation Burgess v. Eforce Media, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-04-1379, 11 pp.) (Lacy H. Thornburg, J. - Memorandum & Order) W.D.N.C. Even...

Verdicts & Settlements December 10, 2007: Estate settles with hospital over death of patient.(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Wrongful death Hospital fall Injuries alleged: Subdural hematoma Case name: Confidential Case number: Confidential Court: Confidential Verdict or...

Verdicts & Settlements December 10, 2007: $4.1M settlement goes to estate of former executive.(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Wrongful death Motor vehicle Case name: Confidential Case number: Confidential Court: Confidential Settlement or verdict: Settlement (mediation) Mediator's...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: December 17, 2007.
December 17, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A. Michael Edwards of Marion recently completed a term as president of the newly-created District 29A Bar Association, comprised of McDowell and Rutherford counties. He served as chief assistant...

Judge W. Erwin Spainhour leads Superior Court Judges of North Carolina.(Conference of Superior Court Judges of North Carolina)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Judge W. Erwin Spainhour of Concord has been elected president of the Conference of Superior Court Judges of North Carolina for 2007-2008. He succeeds Judge Henry W. Hight Jr. of Henderson. ...

N.C. Supreme Court to review reasonable suspicion in DWI case.(North Carolina)(driving while intoxicated)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Guy Loranger The state Supreme Court will decide whether a Rowan County police officer violated the Constitution when he stopped a car in May 2004 solely because a computer check showed the car's owner had a revoked license. ...

Search inman's pants was beyond general consent, rules N.C. Supreme Court.(North Carolina)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Guy Loranger A police officer exceeded a suspect's general consent to search him during a traffic stop when the officer pulled the man's sweatpants away from his body and shined a flashlight down his underwear, the Supreme Court...

Hitting the holiday 'brakes'.(lawyers seek postponement of bankruptcy case hearings)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Guy Loranger Lawyers in a New York firm recently filed a motion in federal court, seeking a delay to a series of bankruptcy case hearings slated for late December. "These dates are smack in the middle of our children's winter...

Human resources promise enough for N.C. Supreme Court to estop comp defense.(North Carolina)(estoppel)(compensation)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Fred Horlbeck A furniture manufacturer could not assert a statutory time limit on a worker's accident report as a defense against a comp claim where its own human resources employee helped fill it out and then lost it, the Supreme...

Violation of regulation wasn't 'per se' unfair trade practice, rules N.C. Supreme Court.(North Carolina)
December 17, 2007... Byline: N.C. Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Even though a manufacturer's failure to repair a defective mobile home may have violated a state licensing regulation, that did not make it a per se unfair and deceptive trade practice, the Supreme...

Commentary: Is remote deposit right for your firm?
December 17, 2007... Byline: DeAnn Pangburn Some have called remote deposit "the most important development the U.S. banking industry has seen in years." More importantly, its impact on your firm has already occurred in ways you might not have noticed the...

Robert Henry "Bob" Camp of Raleigh dies at 74 years of age.(Obituary)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Robert H. Camp Robert Henry "Bob" Camp of Raleigh, 74, died Dec. 5. Born in Bronxville, NY, prior to college he served in the United States Army. After graduating from law school at the...

N.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 17, 2007.(North Carolina)
December 17, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Class Action Certification - Taxation - Bond Interest - Constitutional - Interstate Commerce Dunn v. North Carolina. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-06-1414, 1 p.) (PER CURIAM)...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: December 17, 2007.(North Carolina)
December 17, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Licenses & Permits - Car Salesman License - Revocation - Fraud Edwards v. State ex rel Department of Motor Vehicles. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-16-1426, 10 pp.) (Wanda G....

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 17, 2007.
December 17, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Medicaid Reimbursement - Provider's Claim - Forum- Selection Clause Pee Dee Health Care P.A. v. Sanford. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-01-1435, 14 pp.) (Duncan, J.) No. 06-2108,...

Verdicts & Settlements December 17, 2007: Deceased resident's estate settles with care home, county.(Primrose Villa Inc., Harnett County)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Wrongful death Family care home Injuries alleged: Pressure sores, sepsis Case name: Gibbs v. Primrose Villa Inc., et al. Case number: 07 CVS 79 Court: Harnett...

How to select office software by looking at the big picture.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Bruce L. Dorner Dolan Media Newswires I'm flooded with questions about case management and practice management software for the solo and small firm attorney. Everyone wants to know which product is best for their office. Some have...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: December 24, 2007.(Brief article)
December 24, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff In Charlotte, Womble Carlyle attorney Ted Claypoole has been named to the board of directors of the Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Councils, a non-profit organization that supports...

Campbell University's juvenile justice program recognized by N.C. crime commission.(Brief article)
December 24, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Campbell University's Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law was recognized for its juvenile justice mediation program. Prof. Jon Powell, coordinator of the program, accepted an award on behalf of...

N.C. Industrial Commission says injured football player can sue school.
December 24, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A student-athlete who was paralyzed while playing in a pick-up football game at N.C. Central University's stadium can proceed with his negligence claim against the school, a full panel of the N.C....

'No harm, no foul' where condo developers left out time limit term, rules N.C. Court of Appeals.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Guy Loranger Condominium developers can place a second building on their lot, even though they did not spell out when construction would begin in the declaration they gave to the first building's unit owners five years earlier, the...

Incorporeal hereditament defense bars easement case, rules N.C. Court of Appeals.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Fred Horlbeck In case anyone had any doubts, it's now official: Incorporeal hereditaments, descended from English law, are alive and well in 21st-century North Carolina, and the use of them has just expanded, thanks to the Court of...

Employee who blacked out on job entitled to medical expenses, rules N.C. Court of Appeals.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Guy Loranger An employer must pay medical expenses and disability benefits to an employee who was injured after he blacked out and struck a light pole while driving a company truck, the Court of Appeals has ruled. Although the...

Property taxes go with club membership included in home purchase, N.C.Court of Appeals rules.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Fred Horlbeck A Durham County couple who bought a retirement community condo and paid $45,600 for a club membership as a required part of the transaction must pay property taxes on the membership as well as the home, the Court of...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 24, 2007.
December 24, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Interest Award - Modification - Attorneys - Associate's Departure Faison & Gillespie v. Lorant. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-07-1453, 19 pp.) (John C. Martin, Ch.J.) Appealed from...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 24, 2007.
December 24, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Airline Bankruptcy - Pension Termination - Proof of Claim Bosiger v. US Airways Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-01-1480, 15 pp.) (Wilkinson, J.) No. 06-2085, Dec. 14, 2007; USDC at...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: December 24, 2007.
December 24, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Contract - Forum Selection Clause - FAA - Motion to Transfer Aspen Spa Properties, LLC v. International Design Concepts, LLC. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-02-1439, 9 pp.) (James C....

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: Decemeber 24, 2007.
December 24, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Civil Practice - Class Action - Certification - Foreign Workers - Sex Discrimination Olvera-Morales v. International Labor Management Corp. (Lawyers Weekly No....

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: December 24, 2007.(Brief article)
December 24, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Intellectual Property Civil Practice - First-to-File Rule -Declaratory Judgment Action -Patent Infringement Action Belk, Inc. v. Meyer Corp., U.S. (Lawyers Weekly No. 07-04-1381, 7 pp.)...