A parent’s failure to visit with their child, their history of domestic violence towards the child’s other biological parent, and their failure to comply with substance abuse treatment or other court-ordered services provided grounds for the termination of parental rights. ...
Read More »Domestic Relations — Termination of Parental Rights – Willful Abandonment – Abuse or Neglect – Failure to Make Reasonable Progress
Domestic Relations — Juvenile Delinquency – Possession of Drugs and Firearms – Motion to Suppress 
Officers who stopped a vehicle for expired tag could perform protective frisk on an occupant that the officers knew had a history of firearms offenses and was making furtive movements during the traffic stop. Defendant, a 17-year-old, was with a ...
Read More »Administrative — Involuntary Civil Commitment – Failure of State to Appear – Due Process 
A respondent subject to involuntary mental health commitment does not have their due process rights to an impartial tribunal violated where the trial court, in the absence of counsel for the state, calls a state witness and asks open-ended questions. ...
Read More »Attorneys — Malpractice – Statute of Limitations – Timeliness of Summons 
The trial court could not retroactively extend time for issuance of an alias and pluries summons once an action had been discontinued for failure to perfect service. On July 31, 2020, plaintiff filed a legal malpractice complaint against defendants, arising ...
Read More »Real Property — Neighbor Disputes – Sanctions – Rule 11 Violations 
Because a lawsuit challenging law that converted district court judicial elections from countywide into district-based elections was mooted when the legislature repealed the law, and the claims were not capable of repetition yet evading review, we affirm the dismissal of ...
Read More »Contract — Business Brokerage Agreement – Breach of Contract – Failure to Pay Broker Fee – Validity of Agreement 
Summary judgment had to be affirmed where the trial court did not specify which of the prevailing parties’ theories it was relying on in granting summary judgment, and the party appealing summary judgment did not address in its appellate brief ...
Read More »Real Property — Land Use – Special Use Permit – Award of Legal Fees 
The trial court erred in awarding legal fees and costs to petitioners challenging the issuance of a special use permit where there had been no judicial determination that the permit could not be issued under the facts of the case ...
Read More »Real Property — Residential Development – Gated Community – Site Development Agreement – Use of Collected Assessments 
Although site development agreement allowed property owners’ association to collect assessments from the owners of an adjoining community in exchange for access to the larger community’s facilities, the agreement also obligated the larger community to use some portion of the ...
Read More »Workers’ Compensation — Guaranty Association – Truck Driver – Association’s Insurance Program – Statutory Employer 
Plaintiff, an owner-operator truck driver, paid for workers’ compensation insurance through a program operated by America Emerald Transportation Services, Inc. (AETS), and AETS’s insurer, Guarantee Insurance Co. (GIC), paid plaintiff’s compensable claim until GIC was liquidated. However, since AETS was ...
Read More »Criminal Practice — Rule of Completeness – Still from Video – Witness Testimony 
Even if defendant did not waive his objection when he failed to object to witness testimony about a no-longer-available surveillance video, his argument that the trial court erred in admitting the testimony still fails. The rule of completeness, N.C. R. ...
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