North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Plaintiffs alleged that their mother, who died in 2016, had bought savings bonds for her children (holding each bond jointly in the name of the mother and one child). The defendant-daughter and the mother cashed in the savings bonds ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Conversion – Statute of Limitations – Trusts & Estates – Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Criminal Practice – Common Law Robbery – Continuous Transaction – Car Keys & Title 
The state’s evidence showed that defendant’s assault on the victim caused her to flee, leaving the keys in the ignition of her car, thus allowing defendant to take the keys, as well as the vehicle title from the passenger ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Rape – ‘Victim’ References – Witnesses & Jury Instructions
The state’s evidence against defendant—which included officers’ real-time communication with and pursuit of defendant and his estranged wife, Crystal; injuries to Crystal consistent with her account of her abduction; immediate seizure of incriminating evidence from multiple locations; and contemporaneous ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Jury Instructions – Burglary & Breaking or Entering – Constructive Possession – Sentencing Change
Even though the trial court did not include the words “wrongful” or “without claim of right” in its jury instruction on the lesser-included offense of breaking or entering, (1) the trial court’s instruction was correct in law and was ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Confession – Family Meeting – No Inducement
After learning that he would only see his family through a computer monitor while in jail, defendant asked to see his family face to face in exchange for his confession. A detective said he could not “promise” anything but ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Search & Seizure – Felony Possession of Cocaine – Terry Frisk – Flight
Where two officers were present at a traffic stop (for a broken taillight and a seatbelt violation), the presence of a folded pocketknife on the car’s console did not give the officers reasonable suspicion to frisk defendant. Moreover, when an ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Accessory after the Fact & Obstruction of Justice – Notice of Shooting – Lying to Police
Even if defendant did not know that Quavios Clyde had shot and killed Shawn Borders when defendant drove Clyde from Shelby to Forest City and back again, police told defendant that Clyde was wanted for murder before she drove him ...
Read More »Constitutional – Full Faith & Credit – Real Property – Mortgages – Deficiency Judgment – S.C. Settlement Agreement
In this action to enforce a South Carolina judgment, the underlying mortgages and promissory notes (for the purchase of South Carolina land) said they were to be governed by North Carolina law, which includes our anti-deficiency statute. Nevertheless, the ...
Read More »Domestic Relations – Child Support – Contempt Motion – Burden of Proof – Due Process
Where plaintiff filed a contempt motion, but where the trial court did not enter an order to show cause, plaintiff had the burden of proving defendant had willfully failed to comply with the trial court’s child support order. Because ...
Read More »Contract – Unfair Trade Practices – Capital-Raising Device – Promissory Note – Statute of Limitations – Missing Seal
Where plaintiff’s claim arises from defendants’ failure to make payments on a promissory note, and where plaintiff lent money to the defendant-limited liability company in order to provide the LLC with capital, defendants’ unfair acts were not “in or ...
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