North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from May 2008

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from May 2008

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Adversary Proceeding - Proposed Compromise - Payment for Discharge In re Lanier. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-05-0498, 9 pp.) (Randy D. Doub, J.) E.B.N.C. Holding:Where several...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Black Lung Benefits - Subsequent Claim - Limitations Sewell Coal Co. v. Director, OWCP. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-01-0509, 5 pp.) (O'Grady, J.) No. 06-1592, April 22, 2008; On...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Service of Process - Municipal - Police Department - Officers - Fax Cherry v. Spence. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-02-0475, 6 pp.) (James C. Dever III, J.) E.D.N.C. ...

U.S. District Court Middle District Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Service of Process - By Mail - Corporate Defendant - No Individual Designated Shaver v. Cooleemee Volunteer Fire Department. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-03-0493, 7 pp.) (Thomas...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Subject Matter Jurisdiction - Federal Question - TILA & RESPA - Remand Coleman v. Beazer Homes Corp. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-04-0487, 18 pp.) (Martin Reidinger, J.)...

Patrick Massey Sharpe, Mount Airy attorney, dies.(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Staff Reports Patrick Massey Sharpe, 73, a longtime estate-planning attorney in Mount Airy, died unexpectedly on April 20 at his home. Sharpe was born Oct. 30, 1934, in Greensboro, and attended the Georgia...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: May 5, 2008.(Robert B. Smith, Jr. and Ryan V. McNeill to join Brinkley Walser )(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Staff Reports Attorney Robert B. Smith, Jr. has joined Brinkley Walser of counsel. The firm has also added Ryan V. McNeill as an associate attorney. Smith has practiced law in Davidson County since 1964. He...

Keen on green: Firms in the Carolinas are adopting environmentally friendly practices.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith It's easier to be green than one might think. That's what some attorneys in the Carolinas are learning as the nationwide call for the adoption of environmentally friendly business practices reaches their office...

North Carolina tobacco farmers settle claims stemming from insecticide.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger Bayer CropScience has settled with a group of North Carolina farmers who had claimed the Research Triangle Park-based agrochemical company sold them an insecticide that killed a chunk of their 2006 tobacco crops. ...

North Carolina's big firms grew in 2007, but 2008 more challenging.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Fred Horlbeck Uncertainty over the U.S. economy may be on the rise, but North Carolina's 25 biggest law firms aren't without a record of solid growth in 2007 to buoy their spirits, if not their performance, amid the continuing...

Guilford County court says shopper banished from mall can proceed with his claims.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger A shopper could sue a Greensboro mall for banishing him for one year after he was accused of concealing dolls at one of its department stores, a Guilford County court has ruled. Nat Stewart Jr., a 64-year-old...

CLE for the Busy Lawyer.(Continuing Legal Education )
May 5, 2008... Byline: TERESA BRUNO, Opinions editor In the Courts of North Carolina The complete text of these opinions is available from North Carolina Lawyers Weekly. Livingston v. Wyeth Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-01-0369, 35 pp.) A training...

LLC member's aid-of-breach claim deemed 'derivative', Business Court holds.(limited liability company)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger A commercial bank could not be held liable for selling a limited liability company's loan to three of the LLC's members while a fourth member was left in the dark about it, the Business Court has held. The fourth...

Verdicts & Settlements May 5, 2008: Parties settle claims stemming from motorcycle accident.
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was operating a motorcycle on Aug. 11, 2004, when the defendant made a left turn in front of the oncoming motorcycle, resulting in a collision that threw the plaintiff to the...

Verdicts & Settlements May 5, 2008: Monroe attorney reports three medical malpractice settlements.(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was under the care of the defendant-family physician. The defendant was managing the plaintiff's Coumadin therapy. In April 2003, the plaintiff's Coumadin dosages were changed,...

Verdicts & Settlements (May 5, 2008).(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, a 79-year-old male, was a long-time patient of the defendant ophthalmologist. In November 2005, the plaintiff complained of loss of vision in his left eye. The defendant...

Verdicts & Settlements (May 5, 2008).(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff alleged that during a blood donation in November 2005, the ulnar nerve in her right arm was injured due to improper injection of a needle, resulting in permanent damage. The...

Verdicts & Settlements May 5, 2008: Medical malpractice.(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff suffered a mild heart attack after being discharged from the hospital emergency room with a diagnosis of acid reflux, resulting in a one-week hospitalization and increased risk of...

Verdicts & Settlements May 5, 2008: County resolves eminent domain case for $2.6M.(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The property owner owned approximately 158 acres of land south of N.C. 17 near Holden Beach. Brunswick County condemned the entire tract for the construction of a school and park. The property...

N.C. Administrative Hearings Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(North Carolina)(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Civil Rights - Age & Race Discrimination Claims - Failure to Promote Johnson v. N.C. State University Information Technology Division. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-09-0499,...

N.C. Industrial Commission Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.( North Carolina )
May 5, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Neck Injury - Pre- Existing Condition - Aggravation - Termination White v. Super Service, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-08-0479, 6 pp.) (Laura Kranifeld Mavretic,...

Murder victim's father hurls cane at defendant.(Philip Parker Sr.)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff BEL AIR, Md. -- The father of a man killed, allegedly by another inmate aboard a prison bus, threw his cane at the defendant during the second day of the capital murder trial. "What are you...

North Carolina Court of Appeals says last clear chance doctrine inapplicable in comp case.(workers' compensation case)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Fred Horlbeck Even though a trucker had the last clear chance to avoid a collision that seriously injured a steamroller operator, the state's workers' comp scheme demands that the operator's employer pay a price for contributory...

North Carolina Court of Appeals grants child-custody rights to same-sex partner.
May 12, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports A Durham County court properly granted custody rights to the former same-sex domestic partner of a child's biological mother because the mother had waived her constitutional right to...

North Carolina Court of Appeals says plaintiff can seek punitives from police for negligence.(Vernetta Cockerham-Ellerbee)
May 12, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports The Court of Appeals has given its stamp of approval to a plaintiff's pursuit of punitive damages against police officers accused of negligence in the death of her daughter in 2002. ...

Cell phone-related liability: getting the signal yet?
May 12, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger The shift supervisor was in his truck, driving to work, when he smashed into a woman's car on a Fulton County highway. The woman sued him, but his employer ended up on the hook. During his deposition, the...

Ark. judge disciplined for banishing defendant.(Arkansas judge Elizabeth Wise)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-- A Perry County district judge who banished from her county a defendant she said was wreaking "havoc" was admonished by a state judicial disciplinary panel. Elizabeth...

N.C. Industrial Commission Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(North Carolina)
May 12, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Wrist Conditions - Pre-Existing - Aggravation - Disability - Job Search McEntyre v. Anchor Marine, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-08-0480, 5 pp.) (Danny Lee McDonald,...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(United States)
May 12, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Dischargeability of Debt - Fiduciary Defalcation' - Equipment Dealer - Ch. 7 In re Strack. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-01-0560, 12 pp.) (Duncan, J.) No. 07-1200, March 11, 2008...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(United States)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Pre- Trial Order - Summary Judgment - Supporting Memoranda - Page Limit Superguide Corp. v. DirecTV Enterprises. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-04-0513, 5 pp.) (Martin Reidinger,...

Court grants child-custody rights to same-sex partner.
May 12, 2008... Byline: From STAFF REPORTS A Durham County court properly granted custody rights to the former same-sex domestic partner of a child's biological mother because the mother had waived her constitutional right to exclusive custody, the Court...

Getting the signal yet?(cell-phone related liability)
May 12, 2008... Byline: GUY LORANGER, Staff Writer The shift supervisor was in his truck, driving to work, when he smashed into a woman's car on a Fulton County highway. The woman sued him, but his employer ended up on the hook. During his deposition,...

BY THE NUMBERS.(on telephone calls)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff 0 hands on the phone may not make any difference. A University of Utah study found hands-free and hand-held cell phones presented equal risks of crashes. 2 laws in North Carolina limit...

Last clear chance doctrine inapplicable in comp case.(workers' compensation case)
May 12, 2008... Byline: FRED HORLBECK, editor Even though a trucker had the last clear chance to avoid a collision that seriously injured a steamroller operator, the state's workers' comp scheme demands that the operator's employer pay a price for...

Plaintiff can seek punitives from police for negligence.(Vernetta Cockerham-Ellerbee)
May 12, 2008... Byline: From STAFF REPORTS The Court of Appeals has given its stamp of approval to a plaintiff's pursuit of punitive damages against police officers accused of negligence in the death of her daughter in 2002. In 2004, Vernetta...

N.C. Industrial Comm.(North Carolina Industrial Commission)
May 12, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Causation - Lung Cancer - Tire Plant - Smoking Habit Morris v. Kelly Springfield Tire Co. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-08-0482, 9 pp.) (Pamela T. Young, Chair) Appealed...

North Carolina Legal Obituaries: May 19, 2008.(Obituary)
May 19, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports Hoyle Brannock Adams Jr. Hendersonville attorney Hoyle Brannock Adams Jr. died May 6. Born Dec. 5, 1921, Adams grew up in Asheville, Henderson County and Canada. He graduated from...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: May 19, 2008.
May 19, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports Kilpatrick Stockton partner Lois Colbert has been named the firm's managing partner in the Charlotte office. She is the first woman to head one of the firm's offices. Colbert, who has been...

Kilpatrick Stockton merges with D.C. firm, keeps name.(Kilpatrick Stockton L.L.P. acquires Muldoon, Murphy & Aguggia L.L.P. of Washington, D.C.)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Fred Horlbeck Kilpatrick Stockton, an international law firm with offices in Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem, has completed a merger with the Washington, D.C., firm of Muldoon Murphy & Aguggia. Effective May 7, the merger...

Striking defenses was too severe for missed deposition, North Carolina Court of Appeals rules.
May 19, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger A Martin County court should not have thrown out a man's affirmative defenses because he missed a pre-trial deposition, the Court of Appeals has ruled. In a 2-1 decision, the majority held that the man's...

N.C. title insurers see growth in 2007.(North Carolina)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Fred Horlbeck A year ago, the North Carolina title insurance industry was looking back on 2006 as a period of robust growth that boosted total premiums by $30 million to just over $170 million up 17.5 percent from 2005. The...

Fourth Circuit's William W. Wilkins reflects on diverse career.
May 19, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith It's summer in 1960s Greenville, S.C., and a young law student spends hours in the courthouse every day, checking titles for his father, a real estate attorney. His eyes, however, closely watch the comings and...

Liability could be based on ether cans.
May 19, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger Up to now, North Carolina negligent entrustment cases have involved motor vehicles or guns. After a recent federal court ruling, a can of ether might be added to that list. Plaintiffs who were injured in a car...

Proposed N.C. Bar ethics opinion would allow behind-the-scenes legal help.(North Carolina)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger A proposed ethics opinion would allow lawyers to draft pleadings and advise pro se litigants without making a court appearance or disclosing their assistance unless required to do so by law or court order. The...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 19, 2008.(North Carolina)
May 19, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Contract - Unconscionability - Payday Lending - Class Action - Civil Practice - Appeals Kucan v. Advance America. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-07-0529, 12 pp.) (Robert Hunter, J.)...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: May 19, 2008.(North Carolina)
May 19, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Occupational Disease - Spine Degeneration - Forklift Driver - Medical Evidence - Insufficient Collins v. Citation Foundry. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-08-0481, 5 pp.)...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: May 19, 2008.(North Carolina )
May 19, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Criminal Practice - DWI - Intoxilyzer - Second Breath Sample - Willful Refusal Potchak v. Tatum. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-16-0575, 7 pp.) (Sanford L. Steelman Jr., J.)...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 19, 2008.
May 19, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Free Speech - Landfill Settlement - Standing Stephens v. County of Albemarle, Va. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-01-0567, 13 pp.) (Williams, J.) No. 07-1478, May 9, 2008; USDC at...

Verdicts & Settlements May 19, 2008: Stepladder fall results in $218,020 jury verdict for plaintiff.(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff alleged that a new Louisville Ladder aluminum stepladder buckled underneath him while he was installing a shade on the skylight in the cathedral ceiling in his living room. He fell...

Verdicts & Settlements May 19, 2008: Woman injured in tractor-trailer collision settles for $600K.(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff This case involved a tractor-trailer that was operated by the defendant's driver. According to the plaintiff, the driver had entered a stretch of Highway 421 and traveled illegally in the...

Commentary: Ask the Risk Man: Here's a simple truth that can help lawyers, maybe even Gamecocks.
May 26, 2008... Byline: Jay Reeves I hope you survived March Madness. Some of my basketball-batty bar brethren barely made it. Their seasons ended in bitter disappointment. Only now, as summer looms, are they able to sit up in bed, eat solid food, meet...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: May 26, 2008.(Nexsen Pruet )
May 26, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports Danielle Thompson Williams, a partner in Kilpatrick Stockton's Winston-Salem office, recently received Salem Academy's Young Alumna Award for her record of professional and community...

Raleigh lawyer William W. 'T' Taylor Jr. dies.(In memoriam)(Brief article)
May 26, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports William W. 'T' Taylor Jr. Raleigh lawyer William Woodruff 'T' Taylor Jr. died on May 14 in Lexington, Va., where he retired in 1993. He was 96. Born in Warrenton, he went to...

Two former Supreme Court justices honored by Greensboro Bar.(James G. Exum and Henry E. Frye)(Brief article)
May 26, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports Former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justices James G. Exum and Henry E. Frye were recently honored with the Greensboro Bar Association's Distinguished Service Awards. The award is the highest...

North Carolina Court of Appeals on the move.
May 26, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger The Court of Appeals will operate at a temporary site for the next 16 months while the Ruffin Building on downtown Raleigh's Morgan Street undergoes an estimated $11 million renovation. The court's two-block move...

DWI conviction tossed by North Carolina Court of Appeals.(driving while intoxicated)
May 26, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger The Court of Appeals has overturned a woman's DWI conviction after ruling that a Concord police officer violated her right to have a witness observe her blood-alcohol test. The arresting officer knew the woman had...

Fashion Court: Dress policies at law firms.
May 26, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith Translated from French, the term pret-a-porter means "ready to wear." But it creates some grumblings among American attorneys: Ready to wear what, exactly? Power suits and dresses are classics that never die,...

Duke Mansion owner deemed a charity entitled to tax refund.
May 26, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger The Duke Mansion is billed on its Web site as a 20-room bed-and-breakfast that features "old Southern charm wrapped in twenty-first century luxury and amenities," with a four-diamond rating from the American Automobile...

N.C. Court of Appeals: Chapel Hill town ordinance trumps covenant.(North Carolina)
May 26, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger A Court of Appeals decision has left a Chapel Hill lot owner trapped between a rock and a hard place or rather, a zoning ordinance and a restrictive covenant. The owner's saga began in 2002, when it applied to the...

Verdicts & Settlements May 26, 2008: Child's family settles medmal claim for $1.065 million.(Brief article)
May 26, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff A one-month-old infant went to the emergency room with a fever. She allegedly was discharged without antibiotics. The defendant claimed the mother left the hospital with the infant against...