North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from March 2006

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from March 2006

N.C. Lawyers in the News: March 6, 2006.(North Carolina)(Jonathan Wall joins Robertson Medlin & Troutman)(Aaron N. Bailey of Smith Debnam Narron Wyche Saintsing & Myers, L.L.P. been honored)(Christine C. Lehr and Bradford R. Lenox joins DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP)
March 6, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Jonathan Wall has joined the law firm of Robertson Medlin & Troutman, PLLC, in Greensboro. A Washington & Lee University law school graduate, he was previously at the Greensboro firm of Clark...

Construction lawyers open debate with N.C. State Bar on specialty certification.(North Carolina )
March 6, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry Construction law attorneys are debating whether they should ask the State Bar to give specialty status to their practice area. A recent survey of the NCBA's 530-member construction law section showed a majority of...

Q&A with construction lawyers in N.C. and S.C. about business and legal trends.(North Carolina and South Carolina )(Interview)
March 6, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers Weekly talked to construction lawyers in North Carolina and South Carolina about business and legal trends in their practice area. In this first segment from those interviews, the lawyers...

Guilford County jury rules for nursing home in retention suit.(Stokes v. Retirement Care Associates, Inc.)(sexual abuse case)
March 6, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A Guilford County jury has rejected claims that a Reidsville nursing home negligently retained a housekeeper despite evidence that he molested a resident. The threshold issue to the retention claim was whether or...

N.C. Appeals Court rules 'contractual duty' exception applies in workers' comp claim.(North Carolina)
March 6, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry Even though a comp plaintiff was driving home when he had a wreck, the coming and going rule didn't bar an award of injury benefits, the Appeals Court has ruled. The reason: at the time of the accident, the...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: March 6, 2006.(North Carolina )
March 6, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Disqualification - Partnership Split - Same Lawsuit - Opposing Party Where (1) the attorney for one of the defendants in these lawsuits worked for the firm representing the...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: March 6, 2006.(Equitable distribution case)(Perez v. Perez)(Tort and negligence case)(T-WOL Acquisition Co. v. Housing Authority of Durham)(Workers compensation case)(Hughes v. Frito Lay, Inc)
March 6, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Appeals - Interlocutory - Church Funds - Misappropriation Allegation - Dismissal Where the only property right at issue in this case belongs to the plaintiffs rather than...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: March 6, 2006.
March 6, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Chapter 7 - Abuse - Dismissal - Excess Income Where the debtor's excess income (after her move from a house with a mortgage to a rented apartment) would allow her to repay...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: March 6, 2006.
March 6, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Sentencing - Cocaine Convictions - '100:1 Ratio' Despite longstanding criticism of the federal sentencing guidelines' "100:1 ratio," whereby a defendant who deals five...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: March 6, 2006.
March 6, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Social Security Disability Benefits - New Evidence - Consideration - Appeals Council Even though the plaintiff submitted new evidence for consideration by the Appeals...

Commentary: The Economic Espionage Act - Is It Finally Catching On?
March 13, 2006... Byline: Press Millen and Todd Sullivan The drumbeat is still faint, but might be getting steadier.In Ohio, a former employee of a hydraulic gear pump manufacturer pleads guilty to selling his former employer's trade secrets to a South...

N.C. Lawyers In The News: March 13, 2006.(Wyatt Early Harris and Wheeler appoints Jason M. Goins )(Brinkley Walser appoints April D. Craft )
March 13, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff After becoming the first female associate at Brinkley Walser in Lexington, April D. Craft is now the firm's first female partner. The Wake Forest law graduate, who was a teacher before going to...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules 'Continuous Treatment' rule avoided medmal dismissal.(North Carolina, medical malpractice)
March 13, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry Even though a three-year deadline normally applies, a Robeson County woman who claimed injuries from a 1997 colonoscopy can go forward with a lawsuit filed in 2002, the Appeals Court has held.The panel reversed a Rule...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules no duty after last drink to stop customer driving.(North Carolina)
March 13, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A Durham restaurant wasn't obligated to stop an intoxicated customer from getting behind the wheel and endangering other drivers, the Court of Appeals held March 7.So long as the customer wasn't intoxicated when he was...

Durham-based Browne Flebotte, Wilson & Webb, former partners settle lawsuit.
March 13, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton A dispute between Durham-based Browne, Flebotte, Wilson & Webb and two of its former partners has been settled confidentially, a lawyer in the case told Lawyers Weekly.The settlement, finalized March 3, wraps up a...

N.C. Supreme Court Roundup: March 13, 2006.(North Carolina)
March 13, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry The Supreme Court has struck the testimony of experts in a Haywood County condemnation because their opinions were based on professional experience rather than specific methodologies.The unanimous decision echoes a...

A look at housing prices.
March 13, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Median prices for existing homes rose 13.6 percent during 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors, but trends varied widely among metropolitan areas.The real estate group said 72...

Interview with Andy Penry: Raleigh lawyer lecturing on N.C.'s construction policies.(Interview)
March 13, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff In 2001, the General Assembly approved a landmark, major overhaul to the state's construction policies. The law, effective Jan. 1, 2002, gave public bodies the option to use any of several...

Immigration policies under review by Charlotte commission.
March 13, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton Sure, Superman is faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive.But he'd be no match for U.S. immigration laws, says Charlotte lawyer Alan Gordon, a board-certified specialist.Gordon uses the...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 13, 2006.
March 13, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal PracticeLarceny & Possession - Murder - Accident Defense - Victim's HealthEven though the defendant could be charged with and tried for stealing and possessing the same property, he...

N.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 13, 2006.(North Carolina )
March 13, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff AttorneysAttorney- Client Privilege - Insurance - Dual Representation - WaiverWhere our Court of Appeals held, Where the plaintiff-insurance company retained counsel for the benefit of the...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: March 13, 2006.
March 13, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff AdministrativeHealth Data - Information Quality Act - Salt IntakeThe Salt Institute and the Chamber of Commerce do not have Article III standing to sue the Department of Health and Human Services...

Commentary: Familiarity breeds success: Bullet-proofing the medical expert in malpractice cases.
March 20, 2006... Byline: Mark R. McGrath Familiarity may breed contempt, but it can also serve as a touchstone for success when it comes to qualifying expert witnesses in medical malpractice cases.In Wiggins v. Piver, 276 N.C. 134, 171 S.E.2d 393 (1970),...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: March 20, 2006.(D. Ross Hamilton joins Tuggle Duggins and Meschan)(Amy L. Elliott joins Baker, Jones, Daly and Carter)
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff D. Ross Hamilton has joined the Greensboro firm of Tuggle Duggins & Meschan, P.A. as a director. He practices employment law with an emphasis on counseling employers on how to proactively manage...

Appeals Court says insured's guilty plea blocked coverage for accidental shooting.
March 20, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton A Carteret County man who alleged he was accidentally shot by a lifelong friend after a night of drinking could not collect from the friend's homeowner's policy, the Appeals Court has ruled in an unpublished...

New Bern homeowners get award against mining company for cracked foundations.(Renny's Creek mine)
March 20, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry Nine New Bern homeowners who claimed their houses were damaged by an adjacent limestone mine have won a $272,951 arbitration award.The arbitrator, Superior Court Judge Giles Clark, found the Renny's Creek mine...

Court of Appeals says lawyer's compromise offer didn't bar collecting full fee.
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff An attorney who told a disgruntled client she could pay any amount she felt was owed on a $17,256 bill could still sue for the full amount, the Court of Appeals has ruled.The client paid nothing....

North Carolina launches online legislative search service.
March 20, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton Searching for a bill's legislative history just got a lot easier.Last week, the Institute of Government announced it would offer online digests of bills filed in the General Assembly. Previously those were only...

Henry, Shirley Frye to receive American Judicature Society's 2006 Justice Award.(Henry E. Frye, Shirley Frye )
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Former North Carolina Chief Justice Henry E. Frye and Shirley Frye have been selected as joint recipients of the 2006 Justice Award, the American Judicature Society's highest distinction.The...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: March 20, 2006.(Egelhof v. Szulik.)
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff CorporateShareholder Derivative Claim - Demand Futility - Insufficient Showing - Delaware LawWhere the plaintiff failed to allege with particularity why demanding action from the...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: March 20, 2006.(North Carolina )
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff AttorneysContract - Fee Claim - Accord & Satisfaction Defense - No Payment - Tort/Negligence - Legal Malpractice - Election of RemediesWhere the attorney agreed to accept whatever the...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: March 20, 2006.(North Carolina. Workers' Compensation Act)
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff BankruptcyChapter 13 - Plan Modification - Anticipated Income - Exempt - Early PaymentWhere the debtors' list of exemptions included anticipated but unquantified workers' compensation benefits,...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: March 20, 2006.
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff AdministrativeImmigration - Asylum - 'Mixed Motive' - Ethiopian Security OfficerEven though the Ethiopian government wanted to prosecute petitioner, a former security officer, for "obstruction...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: March 20, 2006.
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal PracticeCheck Cashing - Fee - Licensing Requirement - Scienter - USA PATRIOT ActWhere, before the enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act, 18 U.S.C. 1960 required the government to prove the...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: March 20, 2006.
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Banks & BankingCredit Card Debt - Tort/Negligence - FCRA - Late Husband's CardWhere there is an issue of fact as to whether the defendant negligently investigated the plaintiff's contention that...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: March 20, 2006.
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil PracticeSubject Matter Jurisdiction - Labor & Employment - Public Employees - Title VII - Attorneys Fees OnlyWhere the plaintiff won her claim of race and age discrimination in state...

Verdicts & Settlements March 20, 2006: Craven jury awards $197,600 for neck injuries in wreck case.
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Motor vehicle negligenceInjuries alleged: Soft tissue cervical injury, myofacial pain syndromeName of case: Jones v. ColucciCourt/county: Craven County Superior CourtCase no.: 04...

Verdicts & Settlements March 20, 2006: DOT pays $1.52 million for Wake County I-540 Loop taking.(condemnation petition)(Brief article)
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: CondemnationInjuries alleged: Taking of 14.67 acres in new right of way for the construction of the I-540 LoopName of case: DOT v. PendergraftCourt/county: Wake County Superior...

Verdicts & Settlements March 20, 2006) Raleigh Warehouse District landowner gets $2.65M.(Brief article)
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Land condemnationInjuries alleged: Taking of .3 acre lot improved with renovated, mixed use building in Raleigh Warehouse DistrictName of case: Research Triangle Regional...

Verdicts & Settlements March 20, 2006: Bowel injury during laparoscopy brings $1.15M settlement.(medical malpractice petition)(Brief article)
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Medical malpracticeInjuries alleged: Perforated bowel, sepsis, ARDSName of case: ConfidentialCourt/county: ConfidentialCase no.: ConfidentialTried before: MediationName of...

Verdicts & Settlements March 20, 2006: Tire failure leads to $960,000 recovery for injured passenger.
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: College student injured when a tire failed allegedly due to gross under-inflation caused by a crack in the tire rim.Injuries alleged: Trauma to left leg; compartment syndrome;...

Verdicts & Settlements March 20, 2006 New Bern homeowners get $272,951 over mine's water dumping.(negligence, trespass, nuisance petition)
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Mining negligence/trespass/nuisanceInjuries alleged: Damages to real propertyName of case: Lewis et al v. Renny's Creek Mine, Inc.Court/county: New Hanover County Superior...

Verdicts & Settlements March 20, 2006: Employee recovers $165,000 on FMLA, wrongful termination.
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: EmploymentInjuries alleged: Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, tremors, memory loss, diabetes, sleep apnea, back/knee painName of case: ConfidentialCourt/county:...

Verdicts & Settlements March 20, 2006: Client recovers $750,000 on legal malpractice claim.(Brief article)
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Legal malpracticeInjuries alleged: Dismissal of wrongful death claimName of case: Estate of Doe v. Law FirmCourt/county: Pre-suit settlementCase no.: n/aTried before: Settled at...

Verdicts & Settlements March 20, 2006: Nursing home pays $1.225M over fatal fecal impaction.(medical malpractice petition)
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Nursing home negligence; medical malpracticeInjuries alleged: Severe fecal impaction, resulting in sepsis, multi-organ failure and deathName of case: ConfidentialCourt/county:...

Verdicts & Settlements March 20, 2006: Delay in treatment leads to $1.46M wrongful death recovery.
March 20, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Medical negligenceInjuries alleged: Wrongful deathName of case: ConfidentialCourt/county: ConfidentialCase no.: ConfidentialTried before: n/aName of judge: n/aSpecial damages:...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: March 27, 2006.(North Carolina)(James Crymes Wrenn Jr. joins Hopper, Hicks and Wrenn LLP)(Tammy Johnson joins Rosen Law Firm)(John O'Neal opens new law firm)
March 27, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Galen C. Craun III and Edward B. "Ward" Davis have been named directors at Bell, Davis & Pitt, which has offices in Winston-Salem and Charlotte. Craun, in the Winston-Salem office, is a 1999 Wake...

N.C. COA rules independent adjuster owed no duty to stucco claimants.(Court of Appeals)
March 27, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A Guilford couple who had leaky synthetic stucco on their home couldn't sue an independent insurance adjuster who allegedly pressured them to use the same stucco installer for the repairs, the...

N.C. COA rules time to accept Rule 68 offers can't be extended.
March 27, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A Durham County Superior Court judge did not have authority to extend the deadline for accepting a Rule 68 offer of judgment, the Appeals Court held March 21.The first-impression decision clarifies in fact, cuts off...

New pro hac vice rule puts registration burden on N.C. lawyers.
March 27, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton North Carolina lawyers who associate on cases with out-of-state lawyers should be aware of a new registration requirement.Under rules changes approved March 2, lawyers seeking admission pro hac vice must be reporting...

Divided N. C. Appeals Court injunction vacated on judgment debtor's assets.
March 27, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A divided Appeals Court has tossed out a preliminary injunction that prevented a defendant from transferring assets until a Chapter 75 judgment was satisfied.In a 2-1 holding, the court said that after the judgment was...

Lawyers Weekly's Best Law Firm Web Site Contest winners announced.
March 27, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Law firm Web sites with crisp designs, focused content and in one case, a bulldog named Winston have won top honors in Lawyers Weekly's first annual Best Law Firm Web Site Contest.Judges praised...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 27, 2006.
March 27, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff AdministrativeEnvironmental - Intervention - Stump Sound - Shellfish GrowersWhere the intervenorsan environmental group and a shellfish growers associationhave interests in preventing...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: March 27, 2006.
March 27, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil PracticeClass Certification - Police 'Profiling' - Md. InterstateIn this challenge by the Maryland State Conference of NAACP Branches to alleged "racial profiling" of minority motorists by...

Verdicts & Settlements March 27, 2006: Claims against insurance agents, risky investment wins $695K.
March 27, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Insurance and investment lossesInjuries alleged: $536,000 in investment lossesName of case: In The Matter Of the Estate Of Redding, IncompetentCourt/county: Yadkin County...

Verdicts & Settlements March 27, 2006: Comp claimant with pain syndrome wins $240K.(Greenwood v. Allied Waste Industries, Inc.)(Brief article)
March 27, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Workers' compensationInjuries alleged: Left calcaneous avulsion fracture with accompanying complex regional pain syndromeName of case: Greenwood v. Allied Waste Industries,...

Verdicts & Settlements March 27, 2006: Employee paralyzed after comp treatment gets $600K.
March 27, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: This workers' compensation claim involved a 56-year-old county employee with an 11th grade education who was injured when her desk chair collapsed, causing her to fall to the...

Verdicts & Settlements (March 27, 2006) Nanny recovers $200K for injuries in intersection wreck.
March 27, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: The plaintiff, a nanny, was involved in an intersection accident resulting in moderate damage to her vehicle, and almost no damage to the defendant's commercial van.Injuries...

Law firm Web sites: A marketing, validation tool, says tech expert.
March 27, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Every law firm should have an Internet presence, says technology consultant Sharon D. Nelson."We're now all booking our airlines online, we're making out hotel reservations online, we're buying...