North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from June 2003

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from June 2003

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: June 2, 2003.
June 2, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Licenses & Permits - DWI - Intoxilyzer Refusal - Willfulness Even though the petitioner testified that she was throwing up so much she could not provide a second breath...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: June 2, 2003.
June 2, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Retention Bonuses - Key Employees - Continued Employment - Reorganization or Sale Where the debtor has eliminated most of its executive staff, retaining the most qualified and...

N.C. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: June 2, 2003.
June 2, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Property Seizures - Shooting Loose Dogs - Qualified Immunity Even though the privately owned dogs belonging to four separate sets of plaintiffs are property protected by the...

U.S. District Court Eastern Case Summaries: June 2, 2003.
June 2, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Venue - Remand or Dismissal - Transfer - Labor & Employment - Contract - Forum Selection Clause Where this case was originally filed in this court by virtue of original...

N.C. Lawyers In The News: June 2, 2003.
June 2, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff B. Andrew Pickens Jr. has joined the Charlotte office of McGuireWoods as a partner in the financial services department, where he heads the capital markets practice section. After law school, he...

N.C. Industrial Commission Sanctions Law Firm $20K For Discovery Order Violation.
June 2, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Industrial Commission has slapped a defendant's law firm with a $20,000 sanction for violating a discovery order in an asbestos case. Commissioner Christopher Scott said the sanction,...

N.C. Appeals Court Rule Letter From Comp Lawyer Did Not End Job Refusal.
June 2, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Even though a plaintiff's attorney sent her employer a letter stating she would try a light-duty job, that didn't end her unjustified refusal to work, the Appeals Court has ruled. The reason:...

N.C. Appeals Court Rules Florida Woman Who Phoned N.C. Lover Facing Heart-Balm Suit.
June 2, 2003... Byline: Michael Dayton, Editor A Florida woman who called her North Carolina lover a dozen times and switched planes at a North Carolina airport now faces trial in Buncombe County for alienation of affections. The woman had sufficient...

N.C Business Court Awards Company $15M Over Raid On Employees.
June 2, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff An equipment leasing company that bought a scaffold rental business -- only to see it crippled when former officers lured scores of employees to a competitor -- has won treble damages of $15...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: June 2, 2003.
June 2, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers Compensation Discovery - Production of Documents - Expert's Deposition - Photographs - Sanction Where, a month before the deposition of expert witness Dr. Dyson, the defendant...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: June 2, 2003.
June 2, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort/Negligence Unfair Trade Practices - Corporate - Employee Raid - Confidential Information - Equipment Rental Even though the employees of BPS Equipment Rental & Sales (BPS) were not...

N.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: June 2, 2003.
June 2, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Kidnapping & Murder - Evidence - Death Penalty - Heinous & Cruel - Prosecutor's Argument Where N.C. R. Evid. 404(b) addresses the admissibility of evidence and is not a...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: June 2, 2003.
June 2, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Late Filing - Extension Denied - Sanctions - Prejudgment Interest - Post- Judgment Interest Where the defendant's motion for an extension of time to respond to the...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: June 9, 2003.
June 9, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Venue - Municipal Airport - Public Officers - Transfer Even though the plaintiff contends the defendants were negligent in performing a proprietary--not...

N.C. Lawyers In The News: June 9, 2003.
June 9, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff In Durham, Thomas E. Fulghum has joined the law practice of his wife, Caitlin T. Fulghum, and the firm has changed its name to the Fulghum Law Firm. Formerly with the Orange County Public...

U.S. Middle District Court Sanctions Attorneys For Frivolous Rule 11 Motion.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Michael Dayton Attorneys for the plaintiff in a federal case have been hit with sanctions for filing a frivolous Rule 11 motion over discovery disputes with the defendant. The federal version of Rule 11 specifically exempted...

N.C. Appeals Court Allows Medmal Refiling Despite Rule 9(j) Defect.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Michael Dayton Even though a plaintiff received a 120-day extension to file her medical malpractice suit -- but failed to include a Rule 9(j) certification -- she could take a voluntary dismissal under Rule 41(a) and later refile...

Parent's Opinion On Coaches' Conduct Sinks Heat Stroke Case.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Ertel Berry A split decision from the Appeals Court sheds light on a issue for summary judgment motions: how much evidence must a defendant initially submit to force the plaintiff to come forward with her own supporting proof? ...

N.C. Appeals Court Rules Worker's Mopping Mistakes Supported Slip & Fall Claim.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Ertel Berry A Wal-Mart shopper who never saw cleaning personnel near the area where he fell -- but did notice water and wax on his jacket after the accident -- can go to trial on a slip-and-fall claim, the Appeals Court held June...

U.S. District Court Eastern Case Summaries: June 9, 2003.
June 9, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Venue - Transfer Motion - Choice of Forum - Similar Cases Where a transfer of this case to the District of Columbia would simply shift the inconvenience and expense to the...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: June 9, 2003.
June 9, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Subject- Matter Jurisdiction - Rooker-Feldman Doctrine - Debt Collection - State Court Action Where two state court actions determined that the plaintiff owed valid debts...

North Carolina Legal Obituaries: June 9, 2003.
June 9, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff James D. Burroughs Sr. James Dillard Burroughs Sr. of Chapel Hill died June 1 at age 70. A native of Guilford County, he received his law degree at the University of North Carolina in...

N.C. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: June 9, 2003.
June 9, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Shipper Payment - Cargo Consolidator - Aluminum Shipment In a case of first impression in admiralty law, the 4th Circuit holds that where a shipper chooses to remit payment by...

N.C. Court of Appeals Rules 'As-Is' Truck Buyer Stuck When Engine Cracks After Inspection.
June 16, 2003... Byline: Michael Dayton An "as-is" warranty on a used Ford truck meant just that, the Court of Appeals has ruled, even if cold weather caused the engine block to crack in the two weeks between the buyer's inspection and the sale. The...

N.C. Appeals Court Sanctions Defendant For Failure To Decode DAT Tapes.
June 16, 2003... Byline: Ertel Berry The operator of several home health care companies was properly hit with a default judgment because he wouldn't help state officials copy and decipher business records on old DAT tapes, the Appeals Court has held. ...

N.C. Appeals Court Rules Insurance Coverage Hinged On Punctuation.
June 16, 2003... Byline: Ertel Berry An unpublished Appeals Court ruling is a reminder that poor punctuation can make an insurance policy ambiguous -- opening the door to coverage for the insured. That's what happened in a June 3 decision, Great...

North Carolina Legal Obituaries: June 16, 2003.
June 16, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Lucius M. Cheshire Lucius M. Cheshire of Hillsborough died June 5. He was 78 years of age. A native of Hillsborough, he practiced law with Cheshire and Parker until his retirement. ...

N.C. Lawyers In The News: June 16, 2003.
June 16, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Newsom, Graham, Hedrick and Kennon, Durham's oldest law firm, has spawned two new firms in the city. A. William Kennon, G. Rhodes Craver, Robert O. Belo, Joel M. Craig and Katherine McKee left to...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: June 16, 2003.
June 16, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Dischargeability - Domestic Relations - Separation Agreement - Marital Home - Mortgages - Real Property Sale - Proceeds - Equity Even though the defendant-debtor has proven...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Sumaries: June 16, 2003.
June 16, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Reference - Motion to Withdraw - Jury Trial - Equitable Matter - Nondischargability - First Impression Where the plaintiff-creditor seeks to have the debt owed it by the...

Raleigh Office Of Kennedy Covington Opens Life Sciences Group.
June 16, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman has formed a life sciences practice group in its Raleigh office, to serve clients in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, bio and pharmaceutical manufacturing,...

N.C. Appeals Court Rules School Board Trust Fund Didn't Waive Immunity.
June 16, 2003... Byline: Ertel Berry Even though a school board participated in a statewide trust fund to cover civil claims, that didn't waive its immunity to a teacher's suit for negligence and emotional distress, the Appeals Court has held. ...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: June 16, 2003.
June 16, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Discovery - Sanctions - Default - Old Medium - DAT Tapes - Access - Labor & Employment - Wage & Hour Act Even though information requested by the plaintiff was stored on an...

N.C. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: June 16, 2003.
June 16, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Pre- Filing Injunction - Multiple Frivolous Lawsuits - Rule 11 - Sanctions Denied - Labor & Employment Where this is the fifth lawsuit filed by the plaintiff against the...

Punitives Affirmed In Record Heart Balm Verdict Compensatories Remanded Over Speculative Testimony.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Michael Dayton The state Court of Appeals has reversed part of a record $1.4 million alienation of affections verdict from Mecklenburg County but left intact $500,000 in punitive damages. Last week, the Appeals Court in a 2-1...

Campbell University School of Law In N.C. Wins ABA Professionalism Award.
June 23, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Campbell University School of Law has won the American Bar Association's E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award, to be presented at the association's annual meeting in San Francisco on Aug. 8....

N.C. Lawyers In The News: June 23, 2003.
June 23, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Douglas W. Kenyon, a partner in Hunton & Williams' Raleigh office, has been named head of the firm's litigation practice in Raleigh, and co-chair of litigation practice throughout the state....

N.C. Supreme Court Strikes 'Possible' Cause Opinion In Workers' Comp Claim.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Ertel Berry Two rulings from the Supreme Court have clarified a key test for determining whether a doctor's testimony is admissible -- and sufficient by itself -- to prove an accident caused a plaintiff's medical condition. In...

Raeford Attorney Charles A. Hostetler Sr. Dies At 78.
June 23, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Charles Anderson Hostetler Sr. of Raeford died June 10 at age 78 Born in Raleigh, he attained his law degree at Wake Forest, and also attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: June 23, 2003.
June 23, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Antitrust Statutory Exemption - Tobacco Cooperative - Marketing Where defendant Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corp. (Stabilization) created commission-free market centers...

N.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: June 23, 2003.
June 23, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Public Employees - Sexual Harassment - Demotion & Transfer - Crude Remarks Where our Court of Appeals held that the superior court did not err when it determined that the...

N.C. Appeals Court Barrs Daubert Test Testimony From Experts In Helmet Case.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Ertel Berry An Orange County trial judge properly excluded four experts from testifying in a design defect case because they hadn't tested their theories or subjected them to peer review, the Appeals Court ruled June 17. The...

Lawyers Weekly Announces New Tool For Attracting Clients To Law Firm Web Sites.
June 23, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers Weekly is announcing the launch of a new product that law firms will use to attract clients to their websites: Legal NewsLinks. The new Legal NewsLinks Service automatically sends...

N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers Elect Officers, Make Awards At Convention.
June 23, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Mark Sumwalt, of the Mark T. Sumwalt law firm in Charlotte, has been elected president of the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers at the annual convention in Sunset Beach. He has served...

N.C. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: June 23, 2003.
June 23, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Immigration - Asylum - Deportation Suspension The Board of Immigration Appeals did not err in affirming without opinion an immigration judge's order denying petitioner's...

N.C. Supreme Court Denies Review Of Synthetic Stucco Ruling.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Ertel Berry The Supreme Court will not review a case that barred a couple who failed to inspect their home's synthetic stucco from bringing negligence claims against the builders that applied the product. That decision, which...

Allyson Duncan Sworn In As President During North Carolina Bar Association Annual Meeting.
June 23, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Allyson Duncan of Raleigh was installed as president of the North Carolina Bar Association Saturday night, highlighting the organization's 105th annual meeting which was held at the Grove Park...

Wilson Named North Carolina Bar Association President-Elect.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Gray Wilson of Winston-Salem has been named president-elect of the North Carolina Bar Association. Announcement of Wilson's selection was made June 21 during the 105th NCBA annual meeting at...

N.C Appeals Court Denies Comp Claim For Report To Supervisor, Not Employer.
June 30, 2003... Byline: Ertel Berry Comp claimants must not only report job injuries promptly -- they also have to report them to the right person, according to an unpublished ruling from the state Appeals Court. A physician's assistant who failed to...

Fourth Circuit Rules Race, Sex Harassment Basis For Wrongful Discharge.
June 30, 2003... Byline: Ertel Berry .paragraphBreaker {font-weight:bold;text-align:center;} Even though a Sanford receptionist couldn't bring state law claims for race discrimination or sex harassment, those grounds could support a suit for wrongful...

U.S. District Court Eastern Case Summaries: June 30, 2003.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Jurisdiction - Long Arm Statute - West Virginia Accident - No N.C. Contact Where the plaintiff, allegedly injured by the negligence of a driver in a West Virginia...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Sumaries: June 30, 2003.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Jurisdiction - Real Property In Being - Contract Disputes Act Where this action is for breach of contract by the Postal Service to purchase real property, this dispute is...

Verdicts & Settlements June 30, 2003: Compression Fracture -- Kyphosis, Arthritis.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Brief statement of claim: Auto negligence/personal injury Principal injuries (in order of severity): Mild to moderate T9 compression fracture with resulting kyphosis/lordosis and...

Verdicts & Settlements June 30, 2003: Medical Malpractice.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Brief statement of claim: According to plaintiff's counsel, this was a medical malpractice claim involving a birth injury; all other facts of the case are confidential Principal injuries (in...

N.C. Lawyers In The News: June 30, 2003.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Brent Jeffcoat has joined the Charlotte office of McGuireWoods as a member of the financial services department, where he will focus on public finance and local government. Before joining...

Officers, Board Inducted At 26th Annual N.C. Association of Defense Attorneys Meeting.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Raleigh attorney Gary S. Parsons was inducted as president of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys at the 26th annual meeting, June 12-15, at Wild Dunes Resort, Isle of Palms, S.C....

North Carolina Legal Obituaries: June 30, 2003.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Warren S. Perry Warren Seipp Perry of Kinston died June 16. He was 79. Born in Kinston, Perry attained his law degree at the University of North Carolina in 1950 after serving in the U.S....

Company Hit With Default For Not Moving On Litigation Could Not Use Rule 60 As Grounds For Relief.
June 30, 2003... Byline: Michael Dayton A New Jersey company that failed to associate local counsel in a Nags Head construction dispute and did not respond to discovery requests must now live with a default judgment, a U.S. Eastern District judge has...

Verdicts & Settlements June 30, 2003: Motorist Awarded $2.25M For Headaches After Accident.
June 30, 2003... Byline: Ertel Berry Wake County jurors have awarded $2.25 million to a woman who faces debilitating headaches for the rest of her life as a result of an auto accident in Cary. VERDICT REPORT The June 5 verdict appears to be the...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: June 30, 2003.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Chapter 11 - Debtor- In-Possession - Post-Petition Hiring - Accounting Firm - Professional Person - Fees Disgorged Where the debtor, without seeking authorization from the...

Verdicts & Settlements June 30, 2003: 'Land Rocket' -- Eye Injuries To Child.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Brief statement of claim: This was a products liability claim for personal injury to a nine-year-old boy (now age 14) who was injured when playing with a land rocket toy (designed to travel along...

Verdicts & Settlements June 30, 2003: Misdiagnosed Chest Pain -- Misread EKG -- Heart Attack.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Brief statement of claim: According to the plaintiff's allegations, the plaintiff was a 62-year-old male who went to a doctor's office complaining of chest pain and congestion. He was diagnosed...

Commentary: Ask The Risk Man.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Some people are born liars. Others have to practice. But most of us have a tendency to stretch, bend and mutilate the truth, according to new research. In a University of...

Law Enforcement Officials Blow Cover On N.C. Judge's Retirement Gift.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Who needs John Grisham for legal fiction or Bill Bryson for humor when you have something as bizarre as Chief District Judge Sam Cathey trying to retire from the bench? According to the...

N.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: June 26, 2003.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Contracts - Telephone Agreement - Letter Memorialized Agreement - Plain And Unambiguous Where the plaintiff and defendant agreed to a settlement over the telephone, and...

N.C. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: June 30, 2003.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Voting Rights - Congressional Redistricting - Md. Law - 'Bizarre' Shape In this case of first impression before the 4th Circuit, the court holds that a Maryland plaintiff...

Verdicts & Settlements June 30, 2003: Birth Injury -- Structured Settlement Following Hung Jury.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Brief statement of claim: According to plaintiff's counsel, this was a medical malpractice claim involving a birth injury; all other facts of the case are confidential Principal injuries (in...

Verdicts & Settlements June 30, 2003: Man Pinned By Fire Truck When Hose Not Disconnected.
June 30, 2003... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Brief statement of claim: Plaintiff was pinned against a fire truck when a fireman drove a second truck away from the scene without disconnecting a fire hose connected to another fire engine. ...