North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
G.S. § 54C-165 allows a savings bank to safely pay either of the two persons who are listed as joint owners of an account. The statute is for the protection of the bank only and, absent any other evidence, is ...
Read More »Criminal Practice — Embezzlement – Joint & Linked Bank Accounts – Overdraft Fees – Fiduciary Relationship
Criminal Practice — Jury Instructions – Second-Degree Murder – Lesser-Included Offense – Involuntary Manslaughter 
A combination of the facial fractures caused by defendant, the narrowing of a coronary artery, and the fentanyl in the victim’s system contributed to cause the victim’s death. Where (1) defendant’s expert testified that defendant’s assault did not cause the ...
Read More »Criminal Practice — Sex Offenses with a Child – Indictment Sufficiency – SBM
Where (1) defendant’s indictments for first-degree sexual offenses with a child, first-degree rape, and incest tracked the language of the applicable statutes and a reasonable person of common understanding would know the intent of each indictment and (2) the record ...
Read More »Criminal Practice — MAR – Post-Conviction Discovery – Appellate Court Mandate
On defendant’s prior appeal from the denial of his motion for appropriate relief, we remanded for the trial court to conduct an in camera review of DSS records regarding prior accusations made by the complainant that other men had sexually ...
Read More »Criminal Practice — Search & Seizure – Consent – Conflicting Evidence
The trial court found that, when asked by the deputy who stopped her car for consent to search the vehicle, defendant did not consent to a search of her vehicle, yet the trial court concluded that defendant did consent to ...
Read More »Criminal Practice — Probation Revocation – Waiver of Right to Counsel – No Judge’s Colloquy – Subject Matter Jurisdiction
At a 2016 hearing on alleged probation violations, the trial judge failed to conduct the inquiry required by G.S. § 15A-1242 before allowing defendant to proceed pro se and then extending the term of his probation. Because the 2016 hearing ...
Read More »Criminal Practice — Dogfighting – Specific Intent – Restitution – Civil Judgments
The property on which defendant’s 30 pit bulls were found contained (1) equipment designed to increase the dogs’ strength and endurance, (2) medication commonly used in dogfighting operations that could be used for wound care without involving a veterinarian, (3) ...
Read More »Public Utilities — Solar Energy – Grid Upgrade Costs – Existing PPA – First Impression
On a matter of first impression, the court holds that the existence of a purchase power agreement between the petitioner-power generator and power distributors does not prohibit the Utilities Commission from declining to find a need for petitioner’s proposed facility. ...
Read More »Real Property — Planned Community Act – 1913 Development
Plaintiff’s lot is in a planned community, but, since that community was started in 1913, the Planned Community Act does not apply to the community’s rules. We affirm summary judgment for defendant. Plaintiff filed an action alleging that (1) the ...
Read More »Domestic Relations — Parent & Child – Permanency Planning Order – ADA – Visitation Discretion
Because the trial court concluded, “DSS has made reasonable efforts to reunify and to eliminate the need for placement of the juvenile,” the court necessarily complied with the directive of the Americans with Disabilities Act that a parent – like ...
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