The notion of a bypass around U.S. 74 from Charlotte into Union County had been kicking around for years before the newly formed Turnpike Authority in 2007 proposed the construction of a 20-mile toll road that would run parallel to U.S. 74, skirt Monroe and connect to the I-485 beltway southeast of Charlotte. Under the supervision of the Federal Highway Administration, the state Department of Transportation moved ahead with the project, the Monroe Connector, and appeared to be on track to begin construction — until May 3.
In politics, it’s known as the non-apology apology.
Political strategist Ed Rapp offered one in the wake of an accusation he posted on his blog about Brunswick County Superior Court Judge Ola M. Lewis. But it didn’t help: The Court of Appeals ruled that while Rapp couldn’t be sued for his initial mistake, he committed libel per se when he stuck to his accusation in the apology, even knowing he was wrong.
The difference between plain old hardheadedness and refusing to back down on principle is often illusory. Luckily, the courts are around to help clear the fog of subjective righteousness and settle disputes when both sides of an argument are unwilling to bend, no matter the cost.
In one such case, the stakes are high for a pair of homeowners who are going up against a neighborhood association in an affluent area of North Carolina’s coast. They built an $800 fence to hide some garbage cans in their backyard without first seeking the association’s approval and then refused to take the fence down, choosing instead to sue.
A Senate subcommittee has finished studying a bill that would make it virtually impossible for North Carolinians injured by federally approved medications to sue pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The pharmaceutical liability subcommittee tossed the proposed law back to a Senate judiciary committee without suggesting changes. Now, the question of whether the bill will be introduced to the General Assembly when it convenes May 16 hinges on the pending recommendation of subcommittee chair Sen. Thom Goolsby.
Making a defense theory work for your plaintiff is sound strategy, especially when it helps your client hang on to a bigger chunk of a $480,000 settlement award.
Attorney David Ventura negotiated a settlement with Flowe Grading Co.’s insurance company, Cincinnati Insurance Co., after his client was injured in an accident involving one of Flowe’s drivers. The plaintiff, a herbicide technician with the N.C. Department of Transportation, suffered back injuries that required a spinal implant and lumbar fusion surgery.
The recent ruling from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission holding that transgendered workers can bring employment bias claims under Title VII is a “game changer” in employment discrimination law, and could lead to claims under the Act based on sexual orientation.
John Mynhardt and three friends made a tragic decision when they dropped into an off-campus fraternity house party near Elon University in the wee hours of a Friday night in 2007.
While there, Mynhardt got into a dispute with one of the fraternity members, and two men started physically forcing him toward the exit. He claims one of them pushed him to the floor, after which he found he could no longer move his limbs. The two men then dragged a paralyzed Mynhardt by his legs out of the house, compounding the injuries. The paralysis was permanent.
Quick investigative work lead to a pretrial settlement and payment of the policy limits of $2 million in a Duplin County wrongful death case.
In June 2011, the defendant was driving 63 mph in a 55 mph zone on Highway 117 in Duplin County. He crossed a double yellow line to pass a car stopped in front of him at an intersection and collided head-on with a car approaching from the opposite direction, killing the 21-year-old driver, and injuring his 20-year-old wife and three-year-old daughter.
The past year saw some of the highest Top Ten Jury Verdicts in recent years, exceeding the previous two years. Are jury verdicts trending higher? How is the prolonged economic downturn affecting juror attitudes, and has any of the public frustration displayed in anti-corporate protests like the Occupy Wall Street movement seeped into jury deliberations?
The overall size of the Top Ten Jury Verdicts increased substantially in 2011. The average increased by $27 million, rising from nearly $157 million to just under $184 million. By contrast, the average for 2010 increased by around $12 million over 2009.
