North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from September 2006

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from September 2006

Commentary: The practical litigator: Surviving wrongful death Part I: An overview.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Mark McGrath As statutes go, North Carolina's wrongful death statute is a seemingly benign piece of legislation. Under common law, all tort claims were extinguished or "abated" by the death of their holder, regardless of the degree...

Wake County Clerk of Superior Court Janet I. Pueschel honored for victim assistance.(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The National Organization for Victim Assistance has awarded Wake County Clerk of Superior Court Janet I. Pueschel with the 2006 Morton Bard Award. The award, presented Aug. 22 in Orlando,...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: September 4, 2006.(Kimberly Bartman joins Maupin Taylor)(Heather N. Johnson joins Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier)(Caroline V. Barbee joins Ragsdale Liggett PLLC )
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Kimberly Bartman has joined Maupin Taylor's labor and employment section. Bartman previously worked with a large international law firm in Philadelphia. Her practice focuses primarily on...

Bray selected chair of NCBA Sports & Entertainment Section.(William Bray joins North Carolina Bar Association )(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff William Bray, a principal of The Bray Law Firm in Huntersville, has been selected as chairman of the sports and entertainment law section of the North Carolina Bar Association for the 2006-2007...

Tech roundup: Helpful products for lawyers.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Dick Dahl In an effort to keep lawyers up-to-date on the ever-changing world of legal technology, Lawyers USA periodically reviews some of the latest gadgets, software programs and services of interest to attorneys and support...

Driver recovers $6 M for injuries from temporary highway patch.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A contractor's alleged failure to properly patch a hole it cut in a highway for a gas line has resulted in a $6 million recovery for a driver who crashed after encountering the hazard. The plaintiff, who was 19 when...

Federal suit challenges N.C. Medicaid lien laws.(North Carolina)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry Medicaid liens on PI recoveries in North Carolina could be significantly limited -- attaching only to payments for a plaintiff's medical expenses -- if a constitutional challenge filed last month in federal court is...

Revised NC Bar ethics proposal: Litigation funding costs could be passed to client.(North Carolina)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton Personal injury lawyers would be allowed to pass along the costs of litigation funding to the client, under a proposed State Bar ethics opinion released last month. According to proposed 2006 FEO 12, approved for...

642 applicants successful on July NC Bar exam.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton Next time, leave the cell phones at home. Those electronic devices and several other items are banned from Bar exam test sites. Apparently, several test takers at the July exam forgot and carried them in. ...

List of successful applicants to July 2006 North Carolina Bar Examination.
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff This list shows successful applicants to the July 2006 North Carolina Bar Examination who have met all requirements for licensure as of August 30, 2006. Requirements include (but are not...

NC Bar's Proposed 2006 Formal Ethics Opinion 12.
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Proposed opinion explores the circumstances under which a lawyer may obtain litigation funding from a financing company. Inquiry #1: ABC Litigation Funding (hereinafter "ABC") is a company...

N.C. Industrial Comm. Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.(North Carolina )
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Termination - Release to Full Duty - Falsehood - Pain & Medications Even though the plaintiff's doctor released her to return to full duty, and even though the...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Real Property - Resulting Trust - Parol Evidence Rule - Bona Fide Purchaser for Value Where the debtor's parents deeded property to her via a general warranty deed without...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Mandamus - Removal Jurisdiction - State Court Remand In this lawsuit by the estates of four security guards killed in Iraq, against a company hired to provide private...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Lawsuit - Vacatur - Notice to Defendants - Untimely Even though, within three months of the arbitration award's issuance, the plaintiffs filed suit seeking vacatur of the...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Driver injured by patched utility hole recovers $6M.(Zachary H. Alberts, by his guardians, Page Alberts and Wachovia Bank v. Piedmont Natural Gas Co. and Distribution Construction Co.)(personal injury case)(Case overview)
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Description: The plaintiff was a 19-year-old driver who was injured on Sunday, July 14, 2004, when his car hit a construction hole in U.S. Highway 70. That caused him to lose control of his car,...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Jury awards $990,000 for land.(City of Charlotte v. Myers)(condemnation case )(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Description: Total taking of husband and wife's 1.6 acres of income-producing property used for commercial rental purposes. Type of action: Condemnation Injuries alleged: City took 1.6...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Accident reconstruction keys $840,000 settlement.(wrongful death case)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Wrongful death Injuries alleged: Death Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Wayne Case no.: Confidential Tried before: Mediation Name of judge: n/a...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Wrong Coumadin dose results in $330,000 medmal settlement.(medical malpractice case)(Case overview)
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Medical malpractice Injuries alleged: Coumadin overdose Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Confidential Case no.: Confidential Tried before: Mediation...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Nursing home claimant recovers $1M for e. coli infection.(medical malpractice, punitive damages and negligence case)(Case overview)
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Nursing home neglect, medical malpractice, and punitive damages alleged Injuries alleged: Osteomyelitic sternum requiring sternectomy and pectoral flap surgery stemming from...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Wrongful death claim after wreck settled for $1.25M.(Best v. Scott Banks Trucking, Inc)(traffic accident case)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Motor vehicle accident Injuries alleged: Wrongful death Name of case: Best v. Scott Banks Trucking, Inc. et al Court/county: Henderson County Superior Court Case...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Tow truck driver's death brings $3.62M settlement.(wrongful death case)(Baity v. Hungaro Transportation, Inc)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Tractor trailer/vehicle collision; wrongful death Injuries alleged: Death Name of case: Baity v. Hungaro Transportation, Inc. et al Court/county: U.S. Middle District;...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Wake jury returns $652,904 condemnation verdict.(The Trustees of Wake Technical Community College v. Beverly Ann Sorrell )(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Land condemnation Injuries alleged: Total taking of 3.96 acres by community college Name of case: The Trustees of Wake Technical Community College v. Beverly Ann Sorrell...

Commentary: Book Review: Lawyers' Poker: 52 Lessons that Lawyers Can Learn from Card Players.(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers' Poker: 52 Lessons that Lawyers Can Learn from Card Players Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: May 2006 By Steven Lubet Reviewed by Press Millen ...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: September 18, 2006.(Tacker LeCarpentier, Joseph Krolikowski, Mack Paul)
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Tacker LeCarpentier, a former partner at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog in Raleigh and a former law clerk to Chief Justice James G. Exum Jr. of the North Carolina Supreme Court, has been named director...

Faculty member James C. Drennan to direct new Judicial College in N.C.(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Longtime UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government Professor James C. Drennan is directing the formation of a new Judicial College for North Carolina courts officials at the school. Drennan, who...

Legal Aid of NC selected for 2006 Balanced Life Workplace Award.(North Carolina)
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Legal Aid of North Carolina has been named the recipient of the 2006 Large Firm Balanced Life Workplace Award, presented annually by the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys. "We...

Havelock Lawyer Raises Concerns About ED Ruling.(Letter to the editor)
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff [Editor's Note: the following e-mail was received in response to the Lawyers Weekly article on the 2-1 decision in Estate of Nelson v. Nelson (NCLW 06-07-0919, 15 pages). In that case, the...

Case in N. C. to decide on statutory fee award for pro bono lawyer.(North Carolina)(Patronelli v. Patronelli )(Case overview)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton A case argued last week at the state Supreme Court could resolve whether attorneys who handle domestic cases pro bono are entitled to a statutory award of legal fees. At issue are the fee-shifting provisions of...

N.C. Business Court rules junk fax recipients can't bring class action suit.(North Carolina)(Case overview)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry The state's Business Court has denied class action status to a suit alleging federal law was broken when a company sent out 4,000 unsolicited junk faxes on a single day last year. In a first-impression ruling, Judge...

N.C. Court of Appeals holds faded memories require jury to say whether settlement reached.(North Carolina)(Thaxton v. Stevens )(Case overview)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry An Alamance jury must decide whether a wreck plaintiff's attorney and the defendant's insurance adjuster settled the case before suit was filed -- and even if they did, whether the lawyer had authority to do that, the...

Charlotte lawyer presses tort claim against N.C. State Bar over 'disbarment'.(North Carolina )
September 18, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton A Charlotte lawyer who was disbarred in 2000 for sloppy bookkeeping -- only to have that sanction thrown out on appeal -- is seeking $500,000 in damages from the State Bar, Lawyers Weekly has learned. Robert M....

N.C. Business Court Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.(North Carolina)
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Class Action - Certification Denial - Individual Issues - Unsolicited Faxes Where each plaintiff must show that he did not give the defendant permission to send an...

N.C. Industrial Commission Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.(North Carolina )
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers Compensation Occupational Disease - Settlement Agreement - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - Different Episodes - Causation Even though the parties' settlement of the plaintiff's original...

N.C. Safety & Health Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor & Employment OSHA Violations - Willful & Serious - Trench Collapse - Fatality Where two safety-trained supervisor/foremen were on-site and knew that safe trenching procedures were...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.(North Carolina )
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Pleadings - Small Claims - Factual Basis - Workers Compensation - Exclusivity Provision - Attorney's Fees Even though small claims pleadings are not subject to the Rules of...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Monthly Net Income - Secured Debts - Collateral Sale - Plan Payment Amounts & Duration Where the debtors have sold or plan to surrender the collateral securing four of their...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Va. Alcohol Act - Commerce Clause - Personal Import Exception - ABC Store Sales In this facial challenge under the dormant Commerce Clause to the three-tier regulatory...

Verdicts & Settlements September 18, 2006: Alleged misdiagnosis of cardiac symptoms brings $700K.
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Medical malpractice; wrongful death Injuries alleged: Death Special damages: n/a Name of case: In the Matter Of the Estate Of Jane Doe, Deceased (pre-suit) ...

Verdicts & Settlements September 18, 2006: Heart attack wrongly diagnosed results in $625K award.
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Medical malpractice Injuries alleged: Heart attack -- permanent heart damage Special damages: There were no lost wages as plaintiff was not working prior to the heart...

Verdicts & Settlements September 18, 2006: $2.075M awarded in death of mother, fetus.
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Medical malpractice; wrongful death Injuries alleged: Death of mother and 27.5-week-old fetus Special damages: n/a Name of case: Confidential Court: Confidential...

Verdicts & Settlements September 18, 2006: Outpatient back surgery results in $3M settlement.
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Medical negligence Injuries alleged: Amputation of right S1 nerve root; injuries to S2, S3 and S4; cauda equina syndrome; arachnoiditis; vaginal and rectal numbness; inability...

Verdicts & Settlements September 18, 2006: Nursing home settles negligent security claim for $425K.
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Nursing home negligence Injuries alleged: Bruising and lacerations Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Confidential Case no.: Confidential Tried before:...

Verdicts & Settlements September 18, 2006: $357K award for compensation under pre-incorp. agreement.(Gandhi v. Santoni et al)
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Breach of employment contract Injuries alleged: Failure to pay wages and benefits Name of case: Gandhi v. Santoni et al Court: Referred to arbitration by Wake County...

Verdicts & Settlements September 18, 2006: Jurors return $125K verdict in McDonald's slip-and-fall.(Harris v. Britt Enterprises, Inc.)
September 18, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Slip and fall; personal injury Injuries alleged: Ankle sprain; impingement shoulder syndrome Special damages: Medicals of $18,006; no lost income -- plaintiff was disabled...

Commentary: Part II: Surviving wrongful death: Shall it be survival or death?(Alston v. Britthaven, Inc., 628 S.E.2d 824 (2006))(Column)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Mark McGrath 'One can survive everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation.' -- Oscar Wilde From the perspective of a trial attorney, few things spawn greater desperation than a...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Jeff Dunham, who concentrates in residential and commercial real estate, has joined Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier as a special counsel in the firm's Greensboro office. Previously, a partner with...

Hutchison patent attorney elected president of international licensing society.(Allen Baum joins Licensing Executives Society (U.S.A. & Canada), Inc.)(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Allen Baum, a patent attorney with Hutchison Law Group PLLC, has been elected president of the Licensing Executives Society (U.S.A. & Canada), Inc. Baum assumed his role as president at the...

Wall named general counsel for the Secretary of State Broun will direct lobbying compliance.(Ann Bennett Wall appointed as general counsel)(Joal Hall Broun)(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall has named Ann Bennett Wall of Raleigh as general counsel. Wall will serve as the agency's chief legal officer and advisor. Wall was...

NC Assn. of Defense Attys. offers judicial candidates forum on Friday.(North Carolina)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys will hold a Judicial Candidates' Forum on Friday in Greensboro. The forum will be held at the Grandover Resort & Conference Center in...

Michael Chertoff to speak at Meckbar Law & Society Luncheon.(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff will be the keynote speaker at the Mecklenburg County Bar and the Mecklenburg Bar Foundation's Law & Society Luncheon to be held...

Divided appeals panel affirms domestic violence order.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry The Appeals Court has split over whether a Dare County woman was entitled to a domestic violence protective order after a 2005 confrontation with her estranged husband. In a 2-1 decision, Wornstaff v. Wornstaff...

Amendment cured venue defect in fair petting zoo suit.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry Even though venue was improper in Wake County when a lawsuit was originally filed -- because none of the parties lived there -- that defect was cured by an amendment adding several Wake residents as plaintiffs, the...

Mediation could moot federal challenge to N.C. Medicaid lien laws.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Ertel Berry A challenge in federal court to the state's Medicaid lien laws could become moot, depending on how another round of mediation goes in the underlying accident case. That's the upshot of the latest developments in...

Q&A with Harriett Smalls president-elect of the North Carolina Assn of Women Attorneys.(Interview)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Harriett T. Smalls Firm: Greensboro office, Smith Moore, LLP Focus: Health Care; Certificate of Need and Licensure; Bioethical Issues; Fraud and Abuse; Medical Staff Matters;...

Q&A with Charlotte lawyer Joseph W. Moss Jr.(Interview)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Joseph W. Moss Jr. Firm: Bishop, Capitano & Moss, Charlotte Focus: Commercial litigation; civil litigation; partnership and shareholder disputes; securities law; construction law ...

N.C. Legal Community Obituaries: September 25, 2006.(Frank Crowell Ausband)(Allison Anne Stephens Satterwhite )(Obituary)(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Frank C. Ausband Frank Crowell Ausband, 87, of Sea Level, formerly of Kernersville, died Thursday, Sept. 14. He was born in Albemarle and received his law degree from Wake Forest...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Certificate of Need - Dialysis Beds - Incorrect Data - Sovereign Immunity Sovereign immunity bars the plaintiff's lawsuit, which alleges that the defendant- agency...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Automatic Stay - Reaffirmation Agreement - Creditor's Rejection - Attorneys - Ipso Facto Clause Where the debtor was current on her car payments when she filed her bankruptcy...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: September 25, 2006.(Adkins v. Rumsfeld)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Domestic Relations Divorced Military Spouse - Constitutional - Rooker- Feldman The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a challenge by current and retired members of the armed forces...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: September 25, 2006.(International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology v. North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners.)(Time Warner Entertainment-Advance/Newhouse Partnership v. Carteret-Craven Electric Membership Corp.)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Ripeness - Constitutional - Free Speech - Advertising - Dental Board - Mercury Fillings - Administrative Even though the defendant-board's newsletter indicated that...

Verdicts & Settlements September 25, 2006: Apt. complex owner recovers $1M.
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Construction defect; mold Injuries alleged: Building code violations; building envelope defects; mold Name of case: Withheld Court/county: Withheld Case no.:...

Verdicts & Settlements September 25, 2006: Contractor gets $4M in highway construction dispute.(Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) v. NCDOT)(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Contract Injuries alleged: n/a Name of case: Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) v. NCDOT Court/county: Caldwell County Superior Court Case no.: 05 CvS 262 Tried...

Verdicts & Settlements September 25, 2006: Teacher gets comp settlement after struck by parent's car.(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff >Type of action: Plaintiff, a 26-year-old mother of two, was assisting in the loading of students into vehicles as part of her duties as a part-time teacher at a nursery school. She was walking...

Verdicts & Settlements September 25, 2006: Wrongful death claim over birth asphyxia settled.(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Birth injury/wrongful death Injuries alleged: Severe birth asphyxia; death Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Confidential Case no.: Confidential Tried...

Verdicts & Settlements September 25, 2006: Infection during pregnancy brings $750K settlement.
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Medical malpractice Injuries alleged: Intrauterine infection; premature delivery; bronchopulmonary dysplasia Name of case: Confidential per settlement agreement ...

Verdicts & Settlements September 25, 2006: Vendor recovers $296K for breach of contract.(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Business tort/breach of contract Injuries alleged: Breach of contract Name of case: Confidential Court/county: U.S. Eastern District Case no.: Confidential ...

Verdicts & Settlements September 25, 2006: Failure to use halo device results in $850K settlement.
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Medical malpractice Injuries alleged: Severe weakness in arms and legs Name of case: Confidential Court/county: Confidential Case no.: Confidential Tried...

Verdicts & Settlements September 25, 2006 Man blinded using grease gun recovers $610K.(Doe v. Manufacturer)(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Products liability Injuries alleged: Loss of eye Name of case: Doe v. Manufacturer Court/county: Confidential Case no.: Confidential Tried before: Mediation...