North Carolina Lawyers Weekly

The trial court had a duty to instruct the jury on defense of accident where a substantive feature of defendant’s case was that his spitting upon of a law enforcement officer was unintentionally caused by a coughing fit, but its ...

Contrary to defendant’s argument, plaintiff was not required to file her motion to renew her domestic violence protective order within one year of receiving an ex parte DVPO; rather, she correctly moved to renew within one year of receiving a ...

Although the plaintiff-father may be liable to the defendant-mother for wrongfully claiming all four of the parties’ children as his dependents for a tax deduction, the mother’s child support arrears obligation is not for the benefit of the father, but ...

Since the prior order adjudicating “Nancy” neglected applied the same standard of proof – clear, cogent and convincing evidence – as a termination of parental rights determination, the trial court could incorporate findings from its prior neglect adjudication order into ...

The respondent-mother’s stipulation to the legal conclusion that newborn “Kevin” was neglected was ineffective to support the trial court’s adjudication of neglect. Nevertheless, cord blood test indicating that Kevin had been exposed to amphetamine, methamphetamine, Oxycodone, and Hydrocodone, along with ...

Where respondents’ own children witnessed respondents abuse a four-year-old child, “Ryan,” who was left in respondents’ care for several months, respondents’ abuse of Ryan was relevant to whether or not respondents’ children were neglected. We affirm the adjudication of neglect. ...

While some of the trial court’s findings were not supported by the evidence, the findings that were supported by the evidence show that, during the 24-month period during which the child, “Asa,” was placed in foster care, the respondent-mother did ...

Although the defendant-husband challenges the trial court’s determination that he acted in bad faith, the only specific finding that defendant challenges is Finding of Fact 31, which states, “Defendant testified he quit his last employment.” Even if Finding of Fact ...

The parties presented conflicting evidence, yet the trial court’s findings merely recite what declarants said. The trial court then failed to make ultimate findings of fact resolving the conflicts in the evidence as to three of respondent’s children, so its ...

Domestic–Relations Equitable Distribution – Appeals – Cross-Appeal – Additional Issue – Prison Time – Distributive Award The husband’s appeal did not raise the issue of whether the trial court erred in reducing the coverture fraction applied to a Local Governmental ...