North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from November 2008

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from November 2008

N.C. Lawyers in the News: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: N.C. Lawyers Weekly Staff Kilpatrick Stockton attorney John Livingston recently received Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design accreditation. Livingston is one of only nine attorneys in the state to receive LEED...

Appraisal Institute head defends regulatory board.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2008... Byline: HECTOR INGRAM, Letter to the Editor Dear Editor: My name is Hector Ingram, and I am currently serving as president of the North Carolina Chapter of the Appraisal Institute, the largest professional appraisal organization in the...

New N.C. State Bar president outlines agenda.(John B. McMillan)
November 3, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger In the coming year, the N.C. State Bar will move closer to finding a new home for its headquarters, possibly implementing comparability IOLTA and adopting a version of the ABA's model rule on pro bono services, the...

Plaintiff wins breach of promise to marry claim in New Hanover County Court.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger Heart-balm actions often are viewed with skepticism. Critics claim that they are 19th-century causes of action that stem from an archaic concept of legally assigning fault in a relationship that's gone awry. But...

The N.C.Bar Assn's Young Lawyers Division drafts wills for those who put their lives on the line.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger Despite all of the city streets he'd raced down and burning buildings he'd climbed into over the years, Alan Farrar never thought about having a will in case tragedy struck. "It was kind of an oversight," said...

University of N.C.'s law school ranks No. 9 for public interest law programs.(University of North Carolina School of Law)
November 3, 2008... Byline: N.C.Lawyers Weekly Staff The University of North Carolina School of Law was named No. 9 on the list of best law schools for public interest law by preLaw Magazine. The ranking was announced in the fall 2008 issue. This is the...

First-ever CLE examines ups, downs of N.C. animal laws.(continuing legal education)
November 3, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith Raleigh attorney Calley Gerber jumped into the unknown when she started her animal law practice earlier this year. The new firm was a trial operation the first of its kind in North Carolina with no guarantees that...

Verdicts & Settlements November 3, 2008: Nursing home negligence claim settles for $525,000.
November 3, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The patient was a 90-year-old long-time resident of the defendant-nursing home with a history of stroke, constipation and urinary tract infections and other conditions, including right-sided...

Verdicts & Settlements November 3, 2008: Circumstantial evidence showed dryer defect caused fire.
November 3, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff This case arose from a June 5, 2000, fire, which resulted in the total loss of the structure and contents of a seafood restaurant built on pilings on a waterfront along the Intercoastal Waterway...

Verdicts & Settlements November 3, 2008: Decedent's daughters settle estate-planning dispute.
November 3, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Pursuant to estate-planning documents signed in 2003, a decedent's three daughters were to receive $2 million at his death. At the same time he executed his will and trust, the decedent also...

Verdicts & Settlements November 3, 2008: Medmal claim results in $1.25M settlement.(medical malpractice)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Medical malpractice Injuries alleged: Wrongful death Case name: Confidential Case number: Confidential Court: Confidential Verdict or settlement: Settlement...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports The law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton recently added associates Matt Chambers, Kristin Garris, Jennifer Giordano-Coltart, Leslie Grab, Dustin Greene, Andrew Sachs and Richard Sieg to its...

N.C.'s first public defender receives the 2008 Chief Justice's Professionalism Award.(Wallace C. Harrelson of North Carolina)(Brief article)
November 10, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports The state's first public defender, Wallace C. "Wally" Harrelson of Greensboro, is the recipient of the 2008 Chief Justice's Professionalism Award. Harrelson received his law degree...

Banks, lawyers in U.S. brace for wave of new regs.
November 10, 2008... Byline: FRED TANNENBAUM, Dolan Media Newswires CHARLOTTE -- Banks here and elsewhere can expect to grapple with a surge of new regulations once the smoke clears from the current financial crisis and a new Congress and administration takes...

Campbell Law School alums hold N.C. Court of Appeals session at alma mater.
November 10, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports Three members of the Court of Appeals returned home to their alma mater, Campbell Law School, on Oct. 30 to hold a special session of court on the school's campus. Judges John M....

Supreme Court denies challenge of N.C. public financing scheme.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger On the day before the Nov. 4 elections, North Carolina's judicial campaign reform measures scored a victory in the nation's highest court. The U.S. Supreme Court denied review in a case, Duke v. Leake, that had...

Philosophy, not party politics, steers North Carolina Supreme Court judges.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger One could view Associate Justice Robert H. Edmunds' win over Suzanne Reynolds as giving Republicans a 4-3 edge on Democrats in the state's highest court even though the race was labeled as nonpartisan. But in...

North Carolina State Bar opinions focus on billing, employment contracts.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger The State Bar Council has adopted an ethics opinion that prohibits law firms from using employment agreements that penalize departing lawyers for taking clients with them or deter future representation of those...

North Carolina Court of Appeals rejects Woodson claim.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger The estate of an employee who died from a carbon monoxide leak at a Hendersonville manufacturing plant won't be allowed to bring its Woodson claim to a jury, the Court of Appeals has ruled. The decision in the...

Final Results 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: FROM STAFF REPORTS FINAL RESULTS 2008 Results from the state's contested judicial elections with total votes received and percentage of votes. Information from the N.C. Board of Elections Web site. SUPREME COURT ...

Verdicts & Settlements November 10, 2008: Landowner to be compensated for power line.
November 10, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc. filed a petition to condemn an easement across the landowner's property in Columbus County for a 230-kilovolt electric transmission line to connect a North Carolina...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort/Negligence Invasion of Privacy - Identity Theft Protection Act - Unfair Trade Practices - First Impression Fisher v. Communication Workers of America. (Lawyers Weekly No....

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Criminal Contempt - No Willfulness - Cell Phone Ring - Improper Question State v. Phair. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-07-1242, 7 pp.) (Rick Elmore, J.) Appealed from Lee County...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Habeas Corpus - Death Penalty - Brady Claim Moseley v. Branker. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-01-1244, 27 pp.) (Traxler, J.) No. 07-17, Nov. 3, 2008; USDC at Durham, N.C....

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment Severance Pay - ERISA - Breach of Contract Claim - Defendant-Employer Parker v. Kraft Foods Global, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-04-1227, 21 pp.) (Martin Reidinger, J.)...

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: November 17, 2008.
November 17, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Expedited Proceedings - Preliminary Injunction - Banks & Banking - Proposed Merger Ehrenhaus v. Baker. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-15-1253, 12 pp.) (Albert Diaz, J.) N.C. Bus....

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: November 17, 2008.
November 17, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Supervised Release Revocation - Mootness U.S. v. Hardy. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-01-1252, 8 pp.) (Williams, J.) No. 7-4685, Nov. 6, 2008; USDC at Richmond, Va. (Payne, J.)...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: November 17, 2008.
November 17, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Staff Reports Charlotte attorney Deborah Fletcher recently co-authored the second edition of Bankruptcy: A Survival Guide For Lenders. The handbook addresses bankruptcy issues, procedures and strategies for lenders...

Richmond County jury awards $27.5M to couple hit by drunk driver.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger Reflecting the public's growing hostility towards drunk driving, a Richmond County jury has awarded $27.5 million to a couple who was hit head on by an intoxicated driver in 2005. The couple's severe injuries and...

North Carolina lawyers react to ethics opinion on fee divisions.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger Lawyers from personal injury firms have expressed concern about a recently adopted State Bar ethics opinion that prohibits certain departure clauses from being used in employment agreements. The clauses, commonly...

Columbia seminar explores how Obama's election could affect labor and employment law.(President-elect Barack Obama)
November 17, 2008... Byline: Fred Horlbeck With Barack Obama about to take the reigns of presidential power, employers in the Carolinas are eyeing potentially sweeping changes in federal laws affecting their businesses. So are their labor and employment...

The need for speed: Asheville litigator enjoys taking part in endurance road races.(car racer and lawyer Harold Seagle)(Interview)
November 17, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith "Run with endurance the race that God has set before you." That biblical citation is a motto that Asheville litigator Harold Seagle lives by. It's also the sticker affixed to the hood of his Porsche 911SC, the...

New N.C. Conference of Superior Court Judges' president outlines his goals.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith As a new feature in North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, we will occasionally ask various individuals to answer questions concerning their roles in the legal community. This week, we caught up with Judge Beverly Beal, the...