North Carolina Lawyers Weekly

News July 8, 2011

Surviving the downturn – Part 3

Jeremy White is a 2009 graduate of Elon University School of Law. He planned to open a solo real estate practice, and did – in the Macon County town of Highlands. But with the real estate market tanking, White was forced to widen his practice. White says, "I’ve definitely modified my expectations. I understand that a six-figure income is still a long way off, but I am optimistic that the real [...]

News July 1, 2011

New Jersey man thwarted in attempt to sue UK-based machinery maker

A U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down the same day as Goodyear suggests that the high court is seeking to clarify some blurry lines of jurisdiction. New Jersey attorney Jonathan W. Miller of the Philadelphia, Pa.-based Locks Law Firm, told Lawyers Weekly that the high court had not visited the jurisdictional issues raised in J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-17[...]

News July 1, 2011

Supreme Court clarifies jurisdiction

In a ruling sure to reverberate far beyond North Carolina’s borders, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 27 that parents of two 13-year-old boys killed in a 2004 bus crash outside Paris cannot subject the foreign makers of a tire that failed to a wrongful death lawsuit brought in Onslow County Superior Court. The high court rejected what it called a “sprawling view of general jurisdiction… [...]

News June 24, 2011

Legislature attacks unauthorized practice of law

It isn’t every day a new cause of action comes along, but June 16 was one of them. That was the day both chambers of the North Carolina Legislature voted unanimously to pass Senate Bill 349, which provides a private cause of action to consumers who can show they were harmed by the unauthorized practice of law. As of press time, the bill had not been signed into law by Gov. Bev Perdue, but [...]

News June 17, 2011

Foreclosure stories range from absurd to serious

Many of the problems uncovered in cases involving loan servicing and foreclosures feature mortgage loans that were bundled into securitized trusts. And the hatchlings spawned from servicing of securitized trusts have come home to roost in North Carolina. Shelby bankruptcy attorney O. Max Gardner III has seen his share of servicing absurdity, mostly in the form of violations of automatic stay[...]

News June 17, 2011

Setting aside foreclosures raises issues

The business practices of some mortgage loan servicers have led to some absurd results. Last year, Charlotte-based Bank of America foreclosed on Jason Grodensky’s Fort Lauderdale, Fla. home, even though Grodensky paid cash for the property. And this month a Naples, Fla. couple fighting a foreclosure action brought by Bank of America foreclosed on one of its bank branches. But while case[...]

News June 17, 2011

Alleged defective trampoline bungee cord nets $450,000

The plaintiff purchased in the summer of 2009 a Sportspower trampoline (manufactured in China) at BJ’s Wholesale Club in Cary. The plaintiff went underneath the trampoline to attach an accessory called a Flash Litezone, which was designed to be suspended underneath the trampoline by two bungee cords. The accessory was designed to light up when someone jumped on the trampoline.

News June 10, 2011

Where is your office, and why is it there?

Some lawyers like to be close to the courthouse; others like to be as far away as possible from a necktie. Some want the prestige of a tall building in the middle of a city's commercial district; others prefer the practicality of easy parking. A law firm's building and location declare something eloquent about the firm's mission. But they also deliver a less legal message, one of personality[...]

News June 10, 2011

Sex offender gets no reduction in child support

A father said he couldn't afford to pay child support because he lost his job after being convicted of sexually abusing his daughter, but that excuse foundered because he should have foreseen that the abuse would lead to his job loss. The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled that Michael Metz, who once made $18,867 a month as a nurse anesthetist, must pay $2,627 per month for support of hi[...]

News June 10, 2011

House, Senate agree on ER medical malpractice cap

Both chambers of the North Carolina Legislature recently approved legislation that would limit liability for emergency room physician malpractice to $500,000 for a patient's death, disfigurement, permanent injury or loss of use of parts of the body. The bill, S33, does not cap noneconomic damages when a defendant acts "in reckless disregard of the rights of others," with gross negligence, fraud[...]

News June 3, 2011

Foreclosure practices and COA rulings spark debates, lawsuit threats

Home-mortgage lenders' paperwork problems are touching off a series of conflicts, from courtroom challenges over proving who really owns a home to arguments about whether people who took out mortgage loans should suddenly enjoy payment-free shelter. Even the North Carolina Court of Appeals appears conflicted, having issued two recent opinions on different sides in the banks-v.-borrowers dispute[...]

News June 3, 2011

Legal malpractice checkup

Charles Putterman and Tommy Odom disagree on requiring attorneys to report whether they carry malpractice insurance, but both agree that attorneys should carry it. "Absolutely," Putterman, of Raleigh, said. Both lawyers have seen firsthand the harm clients can suffer as a result of malpractice, and both have represented clients suing uninsured lawyers. Dan Zureich, (pictured) president and CE[...]