North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
During litigation in which plaintiff ultimately won a large judgment against a real estate developer, that developer surreptitiously sold real property to defendants – the developer’s partner in a joint venture to build a mixed-use development on the developer’s land ...
Read More »Civil Practice — UVTA – Agency – Partnerships – Real Property – Defrauding a Creditor
Civil Practice — Motion to Dismiss – Summary Judgment Conversion – Memoranda & Arguments of Counsel – Tort/Negligence – Medical Malpractice – Statute of Limitations 
In this medical malpractice case, on defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint as time-barred, the trial court considered only the “arguments of parties and counsel for the parties and . . . reviewed the court file, pleading[ ], and memorand[a] ...
Read More »Civil Practice — Special Proceedings – Public Records Act – DHHS – District Attorney
When a media coalition asked the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to release records related to the death of a jail inmate, the local district attorney filed an objection and request for a temporary protective order. However, ...
Read More »Civil Practice — Statute of Limitations – Counterclaim – Conflicting Holdings – No Relation Back
Before our Rules of Civil Procedure were adopted, our Supreme Court held that a counterclaim filed after the expiration of a limitations period related back to the filing of the plaintiff’s complaint, and this court held the same shortly after ...
Read More »Civil Practice — Appeals – Law of the Case – Reversal – Zoning – Asphalt Plant
On a prior appeal on the issue of whether a proposed asphalt plant would be too close to an educational facility, this court reversed the trial court’s order, which had upheld the defendant-county’s denial of a permit to build the ...
Read More »Civil Practice — Late-Served Summons – Corporate – Derivative Action
The only service the defendant-limited liability company has received came in the form of an expired summons, meaning the action was discontinued as to the LLC. However, the LLC is a necessary party in this derivative action. To avoid more ...
Read More »Civil Practice — Involuntary Commitment – Evidence – Hearsay – Expert Opinion
Although respondent argues on appeal that the trial court erred by crediting the hearsay-based opinion of Dr. Zarzar, respondent did not object to Dr. Zarzar’s testimony at his hearing. In any event, Dr. Zarzar testified as an expert witness and ...
Read More »Civil Practice — Discovery – Depositions – Remote-Only Order – Constitutional – Due Process – First Impression
A civil litigant’s due process right to the assistance of retained counsel extends to depositions, and the trial court violated that right when it ordered that all depositions in this case be taken by “remote videoconferencing in separate locations from ...
Read More »Civil Practice — Res Judicata – Gatekeeping Order – Attorney’s Fees – Appeals
After his father’s death, plaintiff filed multiple unsuccessful lawsuits against his father’s estate, all arising from his father’s conveyance of real property from a trust to himself and plaintiff’s claims in the parcels. Not only is the current action barred ...
Read More »Civil Practice — Voluntary Dismissal & Refiling – Statutes of Limitation – Corporate – Tort/Negligence
Where plaintiff’s refiled 2021 complaint alleges facts in support of the breach of fiduciary duty claim that were not included in its 2015 voluntarily dismissed complaint, the expanded allegations are not subject to the savings provision of N.C. R. Civ. ...
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