North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from March 2007

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from March 2007

N.C. Lawyers in the News: March 5, 2007.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Charles J. Vaughan III, an associate at Ragsdale Liggett in Raleigh, served as a volunteer for the 2007 Wild, Wonderful, Wacky Ball in Raleigh. Vaughan was available for the event's annual...

Fed judge rules ob-gyn expert can testify despite lack of local community standard knowledge.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton Even though an Ohio medical school professor said he was not familiar with the standard of care in the Murphy community where a malpractice lawsuit arose, he still qualified as an expert witness, a U.S. magistrate...

Fed judge shuts down N.C. corporations over use of trade secrets from German tool company.(James Beaty Jr.)(Arminius Schleifmittel GmbH v. Design Industrial, Inc.)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton U.S. Middle District Chief Judge James Beaty Jr. has officially shut down two North Carolina corporations for allegedly stealing trade secrets from a German tool company. The Feb. 15 preliminary injunction...

U.S. Western District upholds 90-day ban on telemarketing by chiropractors.(Walraven v. Cooper)(Walraven v. Cooper )
March 5, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton A federal judge has upheld a regulatory scheme that bars chiropractors from telephoning potential patients within 90 days of an accident. In a Feb. 27 order, U.S. Western District Judge Frank D. Whitney said the...

American Arbitration Assn. to administer N.C. disaster mediation program.(American Arbitration Association)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The American Arbitration Association has been selected to serve as administrator of the North Carolina Department of Insurance's disaster mediation program, a release says. The program is...

Charlotte law office holding outreach program on underage drinking, driving program to high schools.(Michael A. DeMayo LLP)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff For the fifth consecutive year, the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo LLP is presenting its "Arrive Alive! Don't Drink and Drive" community outreach program to area high schools to help reduce...

New Womble Carlyle office headed by former Md. Gov. Ehrlich.(Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. joined Womble Carlyle Sandridge and Rice)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Former Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and a group of his top advisers have joined Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC, a firm release says. Ehrlich is anchoring a new Maryland...

N.C. Legal Community Obituaries: March 5, 2007.(Winford R. Deaton Jr.)(James L. Newsom)(Carroll W. Weathers Jr.)(Obituary)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Winford R. "Rob" Deaton Jr. Shelby lawyer Winford Robinson "Rob" Deaton Jr. died Feb. 25 at age 55. Born in Shelby, he spent his early childhood in Bristol, Tenn. and moved to Valdese in...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(North Carolina)(D.A.N. Joint Venture, III, L.P. v. Fenner)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Credit Line Agreement - Domestic Relations - Separation Agreement - Bankruptcy - New Trial Even though a couple's subsequent separation agreement made the husband liable for...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Prior Filings - Real Property - Mortgages Where the debtor's prior bankruptcy case was pending within the 180 days preceding the filing of this case, and where the debtor...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Perez-Vargas v. Gonzales)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Immigration - IJ Jurisdiction - Visa Petition - Job Change The Board of Immigration Appeals erred in holding that an immigration judge lacks jurisdiction to determine...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Inc. v. Gutierrez)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Administrative - Fishing Permits - Vessel Foreclosure - Leased Permits - Appeals - Stay Where the fishing permits were merely leased to the vessel that the defendant bought at...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Sweeney v. Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co.)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Venue - Labor & Employment - ADEA Claim - Corporate Office Where the defendant-employer has its largest claims office in this district, one plaintiff both worked for the...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Walraven v. Cooper)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional First Amendment - Commercial Speech - Chiropractor - Telephone Solicitation - Post- Accident Even though North Carolina's regulation of post-accident telephone...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Closed head injury case awarded $2M.
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action: Personal injury, auto tort Brief statement of claim: On Dec. 20, 2004, the driver of a commercial dump truck and trailer lost control of his vehicle as he entered an...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: $2.5 M settlement in fiduciary breach claim.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Business torts including breach of fiduciary duty Name of case: Stephen Gray, Chapter 11 Trustee for Texfi Industries, Inc. v. Mentmore Holdings Corp., et al. ...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: $2.375M settlement when commercial diver crushed by water flow.(Andrea M. Brown, Administratrix of the Estate of Jeremy Michael Brown v. Confidential)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Wrongful death; commercial diver crushed by water flow Injuries alleged: Victim's chest was crushed over the course of two hours while trapped in a dam gate by the force of...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Death from toxic levels of anesthetic, settled for $2.075M.
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Wrongful death of 23-year-old woman who died after treatment with anesthetic gel for laser hair removal Injuries alleged: Severe brain injury resulting in death Name of...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Father's death in stoplight violation brings $1.750M verdict.(Melissa M. Byrum, Administratrix of the Estate of Franklin Tracy Byrum Jr. vs. Chonbrey Torneeka Armstrong d/b/a Armstrong Transport)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Personal injury, wrongful death, auto Injuries alleged: Death Name of case: Melissa M. Byrum, Administratrix of the Estate of Franklin Tracy Byrum Jr. vs. Chonbrey...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Death by fire in tractor-trailer collision settles for $2.850M.(Thomas Billings, Administrator of the Estate of Susan Billings v. Terminal Trucking Company, Inc., et al.)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Tort; tractor-trailer vehicle collision; wrongful death Name of case: Thomas Billings, Administrator of the Estate of Susan Billings v. Terminal Trucking Company, Inc., et al....

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Condemnation of four golf holes mediated at $2.050M.(DOT v. Oak Hills, Inc.)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Land condemnation Injuries alleged: Taking of four holes of an 18-hole golf course Name of case: DOT v. Oak Hills, Inc. Court: Mecklenburg County Superior Court ...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: $1.8M settlement in investment management loss.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Investment management Injuries alleged: Loss of investment Name of case: Confidential Court: Wake Superior Case no.: Confidential Tried before: Mediation ...

Commentary: Ask the Risk Man: March 12, 2007.(Column)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff I recently became reacquainted with the magical doctrine of nunc pro tunc. It happened in district traffic court, in a motion for appropriate relief that I was presenting to one of our local...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: March 12, 2007.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Jerry H. Walters, Jr. with Littler Mendelson in the Charlotte office, has been promoted to shareholder. With 600 attorneys and 41 offices nationwide, the firm exclusively represents management in...

NC Court of Appeals finds party seeking to invalidate liquidated damages clause has burden of proof.(North Carolina)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton A group that backed out of a five-year contract for rooms at the Adams Mark Hotel in Charlotte had the burden of proving a liquidated damages provision was unenforceable, the Appeals Court ruled March 6. Since...

Contributory negligence doctrine could get review by NC study commission.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton Lawmakers may never get rid of contributory negligence, but they'll at least talk about that prospect if a bill pending in the state House is passed. House Bill 446, introduced on March 1, would authorize the...

NC Court of Appeals says police could not collect DNA from discarded cigarette butt.(State v. Reed)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton Even though a suspect in a sexual assault case flicked his cigarette butt into a pile of trash on his concrete patio, police officers could not retrieve it for DNA testing, the Court of Appeals has ruled. The...

USC grant for water research renewed by national agency.(University of South Carolina)(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A team of University of South Carolina researchers has been awarded a $1.1 million grant to continue its work investigating the effects of climate change on water resources, the school has...

Asheville data center will play role in warming debate.
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A federal data center in North Carolina's mountains expects to provide information as the debate over global warming and what to do about it moves forward. "There's a lot of things we know....

Future uncertain for S.C. nuclear waste landfill.(South Carolina)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff In this rural county beset by high unemployment, the soon-to-arrive day when the local nuclear-waste landfill closes its doors to nearly all debris is no cause for celebration. Chem-Nuclear,...

City of Greenville sues rental owners over occupancy.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The city of Greenville has sued landlords of seven rental units accused of violating zoning rules by having more than three unrelated tenants in a unit. "It's a quality of life issue," said...

Ft. Bragg getting $4 million courthouse.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A $4 million courthouse will be built at Fort Bragg to replace a courtroom now located on the third floor of a former barracks. Officials recently broke ground for the 12,000-square-foot...

N.C. regulators OK 1 of 2 generator sought at Duke Energy plant.(North Carolina)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Duke Energy Corp. may build only one 800-megawatt coal-fired generator at its aging facility in western North Carolina, not the two the utility has sought for nearly two years, the state Utilities...

North Carolina mountain park to survey for cougars.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Wildlife officials are trying to determine if any wild Eastern cougars are roaming the western North Carolina mountains. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has started its first review of the...

6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gives environmentalists another chance at TVA lawsuit.(Tennessee Valley Authority)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A divided federal appeals court has revived an environmental lawsuit against the nation's largest public utility for failing to add pollution controls when it overhauled a coal-fired power plant...

New guide shows increase in N.C. wineries.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The second annual guide to state wineries is already out of date because four more have opened since it was published. The guide first was published in 2006 and there are six new ones in the...

Poyner & Spruill LLP receives Gold Star Award from Rocky Mount Area United Way.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Poyner & Spruill LLP recently received the Gold Star Award from the Rocky Mount Area United Way, and presented the organization with over $6,000 raised through the firm's worksite campaign. The...

Smith Moore LLP opens Charlotte office.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Smith Moore LLP has opened a new office in uptown Charlotte, a firm release says. It will be located temporarily at 201 S. College St., Suite 110, while negotiations are completed for a permanent...

North Carolina Legal Obituaries: March 12, 2007.(Walter W. Baker)(Evander M. Britt III)(Obituary)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Walter W. Baker High Point lawyer Walter W. "Walt" Baker Jr. died March 4 at age 64. Born in Raleigh, he received his law degree at the University of North Carolina in 1966. After...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(North Carolina)(Puckett v. KPMG, LLP. )
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Discovery - Depositions - Scheduling - Motion for Protective Order - NY Trial Even though the defendants are also being sued in New York in a trial scheduled to begin in...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(North Carolina)(State v. Rogers)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Appeals - Criminal Practice - False Pretenses - Mall Gift Cards Where the defendant's statement of facts is both argumentative and incomplete, and where defense counsel's firm...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Peterson v. National Telecommunications and Information Administration)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Agency Rule - Internet Domain Names - Public Disclosure An Illinois lawyer who operates a Web site for discussion of current events under a ".us" domain name does not have...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Yanke v. Mueller Die Cut Solutions, Inc.)(Clontz v. IHS Long Term Care, Inc.)
March 12, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Sex Discrimination - Title VII - FMLA - Termination - Tort/Negligence - Slander Where the plaintiff testified that she could not work in manufacturing and that she is...

Commentary: Virtual Visitation: Technology hits home.
March 19, 2007... Byline: Lee Rosen "Virtual visitation," also called Internet visitation or computer visitation, is a way for parents to have "face time" with their children via electronic means. The various methods that parents can use for virtual...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: March 19, 2007.(law firm appointments)
March 19, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Several lawyers at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog's Raleigh office have been in the news recently. Donna Rascoe was selected by the UNC School of Law to move this year's law school group for admission...

Justice Willis Whichard joins North Carolina law firm of Moore & Van Allen.(Brief article)
March 19, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff After 26 years of public service, writing, teaching and wearing a jurist's robe, Justice Willis Whichard has returned to private practice at Moore & Van Allen. The former jurist is the only person...

Divided N.C. Supreme Court leaves domestic violence ruling undisturbed.(Wornstaff v. Wornstaff )
March 19, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton An evenly divided Supreme Court has split on whether a Dare County woman was entitled to a domestic violence protective order after a 2005 confrontation with her estranged husband. The justices split 3-3 in...

U.S. Western District jury denies homeowners coverage for Peeks Creek residents.
March 19, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton A federal jury has denied the insurance claims of Franklin residents whose homes were destroyed when a tropical storm passed over western North Carolina in 2004. A U.S. Western District jury on March 6 determined...

Marketing out, disaster planning in under N.C. State Bar's new CLE course rules.(continuing legal education)
March 19, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton Programs on "purchasing office equipment" and "client cultivation" may help your law practice, but they won't earn you any CLE hours under a new State Bar rule. Amendments approved March 8 by the state Supreme...

N.C. Administrative Hearings Case Summaries: March 19, 2007.
March 19, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Public Employees - Whistleblower Act - Retaliation - Transfer Where the respondent transferred the petitioner in retaliation for the petitioner's repeated complaints...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: March 19, 2007.(Cameron M. Harris and Co.)(Wachovia Insurance Services)
March 19, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Motion to Disqualify - Corporate Buy- Out - Shareholder/Employee - Covenant Not to Compete - Contract Where plaintiff's counsel only represented the individual defendant as one...

N.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 19, 2007.(Bio-Medical Applications of North Carolina, Inc. v. North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services)
March 19, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Certificate of Need - Dialysis Beds - Incorrect Data - Sovereign Immunity Where the plaintiff sought injunctive and declaratory relief challenging the data on which the...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: March 19, 2007.(North Carolina)(Britt v. May Davis Group, Inc.)(Westwood Industries v. Aesthetic, Inc.)
March 19, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Faxed Contract - Reverse Side - Finding of Fact Where the plaintiff's affidavit said he had never before seen the Customer Agreement that the defendants contend was printed on...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: March 19, 2007.
March 19, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Automatic Stay - Motion for Relief - State Court Action - Attachments & Lien - Partial Summary Judgment - Standing Where the creditors had only received partial summary...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: March 19, 2007.
March 19, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Black Lung Benefits - Medical Evidence - Evidence- Limiting Rules - Lawyer's Draft Reports In this case involving an award of black lung benefits to a retired coal miner,...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: March 19, 2007.(Dodd v. Automobile Insurance Co. of Hartford)
March 19, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Homeowners - Exclusion - Contributing Cause - Appeals - Per Curiam Opinion Even though the insurance policy at issue in Magnolia Mfg. of North Carolina, Inc. v. Erie Ins....

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: March 26, 2007.(Jefferson Smurfit Corp. Winston-Salem Div. appoints Chrystal N. DeHart)(Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart appoints Robert M. Bisanar)(Michael A. DeMayo L.L.P. appoints William Holman)
March 26, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Chrystal N. DeHart has joined the Winston-Salem firm of Blanco Tackabery Combs & Matamoros, P.A. as an associate in the firm's transactional group. She is past-president of the Catawba County Bar...

Another Lawyer Objects To Proposed Ethics Ruling On Business Cards.(Letter to the editor)
March 26, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I read with great interest the article in the Feb. 19, 2007 edition of North Carolina Lawyers Weekly about the proposed ethics rule 2007-FE04 (see "Holding The Cards"). I am...

Real Property Bill draws scrutiny from notaries, FTC.(North Carolina Consumer Real Estate Settlement Protection Act)
March 26, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton The ink is not yet dry on a bill that would require attorney participation in residential closings, but it's already drawing fire as an attempt by the legal profession to corner the market on residential closings....

NC Court of Appeals says lot owner can sue when county revokes permit after perk test.(Watts v. N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources)
March 26, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton Where the Montgomery County health department issued an improvement permit for a lake-front lot but later retested the site and revoked the permit -- acknowledging the prior approval had been a mistake -- the...

No contract formed where seller signature missing from land deal, NC Court of Appeals rules.(Parker v. Glosson)(Burgin v. Owen)(Locklear v. Lanuti)
March 26, 2007... Byline: Michael Dayton For the second time in two months, the Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a real estate purchase contract because a vital component was missing: the signature of a seller. At issue in Parker v. Glosson...

Establishing the special duty exception.(Watts v. N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources)(Brief article)
March 26, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff How does a plaintiff go about establishing a special duty exception to the general rule that government agencies can't be sued for doing their public duties? The key is showing that the...

North Carolina Legal Obituaries: March 26, 2007.(Lee C. Biggar, Martin Fitzgerald Broadway)(Obituary)(Brief article)
March 26, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Lee C. Biggar Lee Craig Biggar of Surf City died March 16. A UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate, he attained his law degree from North Carolina Central University. As a general contractor, he...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: March 26, 2007.(AARP v. American Family Prepaid Legal Corp.)
March 26, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Discovery - Jurisdiction - Subpoena Power - Non- Party Corporation - N.C. License Even though a non-party corporation's license to sell insurance in North Carolina gives...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 26, 2007.(Person Earth Movers Inc. v. Thomas)(Revels v. Miss America Organization)(Nello L. Teer Co. v. Jones Bros. Inc.)
March 26, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Appeals - Rules Violations - Dismissal Where (1) the defendant-appellant has not included a statement of the grounds for appellate review in his brief in accordance with...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: March 26, 2007.
March 26, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy BAPCPA - 'Hanging Paragraph' - Car Loan - Purchase Money Security Interest - Negative Equity & Gap Insurance - Strip Down Where the debtors traded in their old Nissan when they...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: March 26, 2007.(Daniels Co. v. Mitchell.)(U.S. v. Seldon)(U.S. v. Elston)
March 26, 2007... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Black Lung Benefits - Responsible Operator A coal mine operator at whose fabricating shop in Bluefield, W.Va. claimant worked performing maintenance and repair on coal...

Commentary: The Practical Litigator: Don't forget about the common law standards.
March 26, 2007... Byline: Mark McGrath You are sitting in your star expert's deposition. Despite five hours of wood-shedding, your expert has just testified that a national standard of care governs the removal of gangrenous limbs. "If the left leg is...