North Carolina Lawyers Weekly

In an issue of first impression that has divided other circuits, the court held that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act does not give private plaintiffs a right to sue for injunctive relief. Background The named plaintiffs ...

Where a prison guard was beaten to death by an inmate, her father’s suit failed to plead facts showing how individuals who managed the prison or worked there created or enhanced the danger that resulted in her death. Background Sergeant ...

The text, structure and the legal landscape in which the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, or ADEA, was passed law do not support a finding that the statute’s federal-sector provision encompasses disparate-impact liability. Background Dr. Jane DiCocco brought Title VII ...

Where a panel of the circuit court previously held that the district court applied the wrong standard when it vacated the defendant’s death sentence for the murder of a police officer, but the case was then heard by an en ...

Where the record showed the public defender failed to communicate to the defendant a plea offer of 20 years’ incarceration, there was no prejudice because there was also support for findings that the defendant was unwilling to accept a substantial ...

Where the defendant was previously charged in state court with capital murder of a police officer after a traffic stop, a later federal prosecution for possession of a firearm by a felon was not barred by Double Jeopardy. An offense ...

G.S. § 1-17(e) allows a person who was a victim of sexual abuse when she was a minor to bring an action for claims “related to [the] sexual abuse” “within two years of the date of a criminal conviction” of ...

Where (1) plaintiff purchased an already-burned chicken processing plant, (2) the seller assigned to plaintiff its right to recover under various commercial liability policies, and (3) plaintiff seeks to recover from the defendant-excess insurers (after recovering from the seller’s primary ...

The trial court found that the respondent-mother had (1) tested positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine on the day of the hearing on the petition to terminate her parental rights to “Kate”; (2) failed to make necessary medical appointments for Kate, ...

Even though the respondent-father was incarcerated, he (1) was aware that his son, “Aiden,” was in DSS custody; (2) had the ability to communicate by telephone; and (3) had the contact information for the foster family with whom Aiden was ...