North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from May 2006

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from May 2006

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Rule 11 - No Sanctions - Factual Inconsistencies - Labor & Employment - Covenant Not to Compete Even though the plaintiff-employer made certain factual misrepresentations...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Immigration - Asylum - Alien Credibility - Ethiopian Native Where an immigration judge did not provide "specific and cogent reasons" for discrediting the testimony of...

Verdicts & Settlements: May 8, 2006: Wreck victim recovers $390K settlement for broken hip.
May 8, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Personal injury -- car accident Injuries alleged: Right hip artroplasty, right acetabular fracture, closed head injury, fractured ribs, scarring, L4-L5 disc protrusion ...

Verdicts & Settlements May 8, 2006: $6M default judgment for plaintiff's paraplegia after fall.
May 8, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Personal injury Injuries alleged: Paraplegia from L1 down; wheelchair-bound Name of case: Autwell v. Mickey et al Court/county: Guilford County Superior Court ...

Verdicts & Settlements May 8, 2006: Landowner who paid $95K for property awarded $652,904.
May 8, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of Action: Land condemnation Name of Case: The Trustees of Wake Technical Community College v. Beverly Ann Sorrell Court/county: Wake County Superior Court Case no.: 03 CVS...

Verdicts & Settlements May 8, 2006: IBM manager recovers $3.91M after hit-and-run accident.
May 8, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Negligence/commercial tractor trailer Injuries alleged: Plaintiff suffered polytrauma - left both bone forearm fracture, left intertrochanteric and femur shaft fractures, open...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: May 5, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Brian Becker has joined the Greenville firm of Gaylord, McNally, Strickland, Snyder & Holscher. A 13-year practitioner, his areas include litigation/dispute resolution and real estate matters. ...

Proposed 100-Mile Rule in N.C. could apply to sale of solo law practice.(North Carolina)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton Solo practitioners would be allowed to sell their law practices, then open up shop elsewhere in North Carolina, provided they were at least 100 miles away from their former location, under a proposed State Bar rule...

N.C. Appeals Court rules jury issue on pre-death injuries required in nursing home case.(North Carolina)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry The family of an Alzheimer's patient who had infected pressure sores for months before he died could bring two separate claims against a nursing home, the Appeals Court has ruled -- one for wrongful death, the other for...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules ED order didn't bar judgment lien on husband's interest.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Etel Berry A May 2 Appeals Court ruling addresses a novel fact pattern in a case involving the enforcement of a judgment lien against a defendant who was in the middle of a divorce. The $64,000 question in Martin v. Roberts...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules Forsyth Hospital subject to apparent agency over anesthesia.(North Carolina)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry Forsyth Medical Center may be liable for the alleged negligence of an independent contractor anesthesiologist under the doctrine of apparent agency, the Appeals Court ruled May 2. The Winston-Salem hospital's...

N.C. State Bar's Board of Specialization application period open.
May 8, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The State Bar's Board of Legal Specialization has announced it is accepting applications for board certification through June 30. Certification is granted in the following areas: bankruptcy,...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: May 15, 2006.(Tasha E. Agruso and Elizabeth A. Brewer joined Lewis & Daggett)(John Babcock joined Wall Law Firm)(Nina Shor joined Kennedy Covington's Charlotte)(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tasha E. Agruso and Elizabeth A. Brewer have joined the Winston-Salem firm of Lewis & Daggett. A UNC law grad, Agruso worked for more than three years as an associate in a Tampa law firm....

Supreme Court: Public duty rule shielded forest ranger's conduct.(Myers v. McGrady)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry The state Division of Forest Resources could raise the public duty doctrine against claims that a forest ranger's failure to put out a fire or warn motorists about smoke triggered a fatal chain collision, the Supreme...

High court denies review in 'generic' assignments case.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry The Supreme Court will not review a ruling that tossed out an appeal over a separation agreement because the assignments of error were either too "generic" or didn't match the arguments in the brief. The high...

Demand required in derivative suit despite general partners' removal.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A recent Business Court decision addresses a first-impression issue under North Carolina and Delaware law for bringing derivative suits on behalf of a limited partnership. The question: What is the scope of a...

'Diligent inquiry' clause dropped from proposed ethics discovery rule.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton The latest rewrite of an ethics rule governing disclosure in civil cases appears to have won over lawyers who complained an earlier proposal might become a "tactical weapon" in discovery disputes. At issue is a...

CSX Transportation withdraws review petition in asbestos case.(Williams v. CSX Transportation, Inc. )(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The high court has granted the defendant's motion to withdraw its petition for discretionary review in Williams v. CSX Transportation, Inc. (North Carolina Lawyers Weekly No. 06-07-0318, 18...

Per curiam rulings on medical bill presumption, grocery store's trip-and-fall liability.(Herring v. Food Lion, L.L.C.)
May 15, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff In other action, the Supreme Court issued these per curiam decisions: Medicals presumption lost when charges challenged. In one per curiam ruling (North Carolina Lawyers Weekly No....

Liberty Garden dedicated at North Carolina Bar Center.
May 15, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff North Carolina Bar Association members recently celebrated the official opening of the new Liberty Garden at the N.C. Bar Center in Cary. The project marks the first extensive addition to the NCBA...

Campbell University's Catherine Cowling attends Oxford Roundtable.(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Campbell University's Catherine Cowling, instructor of criminal justice, attended the 2006 Oxford Roundtable at Oxford University, England, in March. The Oxford Roundtable convened in 1989...

North Carolina Legal Community Obituaries: May 15, 2006.(Robert A. Spence, Dean A. Rich)(Obituary)
May 15, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Dean A. Rich Dean A. Rich, who served on the North Carolina Bar Association board of governors in 1989-92, died unexpectedly April 24 in Pinehurst. He was 78 years of age. He had just...

N.C. Administrative Hearings Case Summaries: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative CON - Hospice - Fayetteville Provider - New Greensboro Office Where the respondent-intervenor operated a hospice office in Fayetteville, and where it served only one...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: May 15, 2006.(Ray v. Deloitte & Touche, L.L.P.)
May 15, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Partnerships Limited Partnership - Derivative Suit - Demand Failure - First Impression - Bankruptcy - Accounting - Financial Statement Audits Even though, when this suit was brought, the...

N.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Appeals - Mootness - Dismissal - Municipal - Town Park Ordinance Where our Court of Appeals held, Where the town ordinance that formed the basis of the plaintiffs' lawsuit...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Statute of Limitations - Municipal - Zoning - Prior Lawsuit Where the ordinance under challenge was adopted on Aug. 20, 2003, but where this lawsuit was filed not filed...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Attorney- Client Privilege - Corporate - New Board of Directors - Deed of Trust - Trustee Where attorney Gayle was also a member of the debtor-corporation's board of directors,...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Sentencing - Cocaine Base - Career Offender - Booker The 4th Circuit rejects a drug defendant's challenge to his 156-month sentence for distributing cocaine base,...

Mecklenburg County Bar's annual meeting scheduled.
May 22, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Mecklenburg County Bar's annual meeting will be held at noon on Thursday, May 25 at Marshall Park (corner of 3rd and McDowell St.; rain location at the nearby First Baptist Church). The...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: May 22, 2006.
May 22, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Recently retired High Point City Attorney Fred P. Baggett has joined Smith Moore LLP as counsel, where his practice will focus on municipal zoning, government regulation, land use and government...

Rocky Mount-Raleigh firm of HensonFuerst, P.A. creates community garden.
May 22, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Rocky Mount-Raleigh firm of HensonFuerst, P.A. has joined forces with the American Cancer Society to help plant a seed of hope for cancer patients, cancer survivors and their families by...

N.C. Appeals Court rules receptionist's repeated absences no bar to unemployment benefits.(North Carolina)
May 22, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry Even though a legal receptionist was fired for excessive absences, that didn't disqualify her from getting unemployment benefits, the Appeals Court held May 16. The panel held the employer failed to prove the...

N.C. Appeals Court rules in case involving High Point red light cameras.(North Carolina )
May 22, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry The Appeals Court ruling last week that 90 percent of High Point's red light camera collections must go to local schools could affect scores of similar systems around the state. In a unanimous opinion, the panel...

Industrial Commission rules tire worker gets benefits for finger contractures.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A tire assembly worker who developed a hand condition that made it difficult to extend his fingers can get benefits for an occupational disease, the Industrial Commission has ruled -- despite evidence the man had...

N.C. title companies continue on decade-long growth curve.(North Carolina)
May 22, 2006... Byline: Jay Reeves Triple growth in premium earnings over the last 10 years tells the story of North Carolina's land title insurance industry, according to North Carolina Lawyers Weekly's annual survey. Total premium dollars rose from...

N.C. Appeals Court dismisses 3 cases for assignment of error flaws.(North Carolina)
May 22, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton Three cases on the Appeals Court's May 16 unpublished list are the latest casualties in the crackdown on generic or incomplete assignments of error in appellate briefs. Appellate Procedure Rule 10(c)(1) mandates...

Employer concerns grow with increased employee Internet use.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson (This article originally appeared in Lawyers USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication) If you're at work reading this story on the Internet, you may be in trouble. According to Burstek, a...

New Jersey case worries employment laywers.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson (The following article was originally published in Lawyers USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication.) Already facing concerns about lost productivity and possible network security risks, employers...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 22, 2006.
May 22, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Summary Judgment - Supporting Affidavits - Personal Knowledge - Business Records - Labor & Employment - Overpayment - On- Call Time Even though the defendant submitted...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: May 22, 2006.
May 22, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort/Negligence STCA - Contributory Negligence - Pothole Where the plaintiff hit a pothole on May 1, 2004 and was not injured, she was contributorily negligent when she made no effort to...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: May 22, 2006.
May 22, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Appeals - Appellate Rules - Assignments of Error - Legal Basis Where the defendant's assignments of error fail to state any legal basis upon which error is assigned, the...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: May 22, 2006.
May 22, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Discharge Denial - Business Records - Failure to Preserve - Fraudulent Accounts Where the debtor was the president and majority owner of a furniture company, and where she...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 22, 2006.
May 22, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Farm Benefits Application - Illegal Wetland Conversion The 4th Circuit upholds the decision of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to deny farm benefits to Holly Hill, a...

North Carolina attorney awards and promotions.
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Kilpatrick Stockton attorney David Broughton, in the firm's Winston-Salem office, has been recognized for co-founding the North Carolina Banking Institute, an annual continuing legal education...

North Carolina law firm names five new equity principals and two new junior principals.
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Asheville's Van Winkle Law Firm recently named five new equity principals and two new junior principals. Also, two existing junior principals have seen their stock in the firm increase, a release...

North Carolina Campbell University dean delivers keynote address at citizenship ceremony.(Whichard, Willis P.)(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Willis P. Whichard, dean of Campbell University's Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, delivered the keynote address at a Naturalization and Granting of U.S. Citizenship ceremony at the United...

N.C. State Bar's Ethics Committee may let attorneys obtain litigation funding from a finance company.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry The State Bar's Ethics Committee is apparently close to recommending a proposed opinion that would let attorneys obtain litigation funding from a financing company -- once committee members finally decide whether the...

North Carolina medical malpractice reform efforts are back in the legislation session.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton Medical malpractice reform efforts are back in the spotlight in the latest legislative session. Last week, lawmakers in the state House introduced a bill that would cap noneconomic damages and limit the amount of...

North Carolina boat slip settlement sunk despite 'cooperation' duty.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A May 16 unpublished ruling shows that when settlement agreements require the parties to cooperate in getting something done, it may be wise to spell out how far that duty goes. That's especially so when the...

North Carolina taxpayers may get legal fees under 'common fund' exception.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry Hyde taxpayers who successfully sued a county commissioner to recover money he was paid to repair the courthouse will get another shot at winning legal fees, the Appeals Court has ruled. The unpublished opinion,...

North Carolina Central University hosts its annual Durham Legal Eagle Law Camp.
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff North Carolina Central University's School of Law will host its annual Durham Legal Eagle Law Camp June 19-23 in the Turner Law Building. The camp will offer 7th-12th grade students exposure...

North Carolina Norman A. Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University graduates 101 students.(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff At ceremonies held May 14, a total of 101 students graduated from the Norman A. Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University, a school release says. In the class, 32 completed requirements...

Eastern North Carolina Inn of Court welcomes General William K. Suter to its annual meeting.
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The Eastern North Carolina Inn of Court welcomed General William K. Suter, the clerk of the United States Supreme Court, to its May 4 annual spring meeting at the New Bern Country Club. The...

North Carolina paralegal Cynthia Vaughn McAlister dies at age 54.(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Cynthia V. McAlister Raleigh lawyer Cynthia Vaughn McAlister died May 21 at age 54. Born in Greensboro and reared in Virginia, she was a paralegal at Poyner & Spruill 13 years before...

North Carolina Administrative Hearings case summaries: May 29, 2006.
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Environmental - Dry- Cleaning Contamination - Clean Up Costs - Reimbursement Fund - Filing Deadline - Website Notice Even though the respondent-agency's website notice...

North Carolina Court of Appeals unpublished case summaries: May 29, 2006.
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Judgments - Interest - Accrual Date - Compensatory Damages - No Designation Where none of the damages awarded to the plaintiffs were designated as compensatory damages,...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court case summaries: May 29, 2006.
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Confirmation - Chapter 13 Plan - Good Faith - Income & Expenses - Unpaid Claims Even though the debtor has the ability to pay more than she proposes in her reorganization...

U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals case summaries: May 29, 2006.
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Sentencing - Vote- Buying - Booker Even though a defendant convicted of vote-buying claims the district court erred under U.S. v. Booker when it sentenced him to 33...

U.S. Eastern District Court case summaries: May 29, 2006.
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Licenses & Permits - Gun Dealer - Record Keeping - Willful Violation Where the petitioners acknowledged that they were instructed on firearms record keeping and...

U.S. Middle District Court case summaries: May 29, 2006.
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Forum Selection Clause - Cruise - Ticket Agreement - Civil Practice - Venue Where the plaintiff signed a boarding pass which acknowledged his receipt and reading of the ticket...

U.S. Western District Court case summaries: May 29, 2006.
May 29, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Civil Rights - Retaliation - Adverse Employment Action - Employer's Knowledge Even if the plaintiff's transfer from night shift to day shift could be considered an...