North Carolina Lawyers Weekly

On a previous appeal, this court vacated and remanded an award of attorney’s fees for further findings as to the reasonableness and amount of the award. On remand, the trial court found (1) the number of hours defense counsel spent ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice

Defendant appeals from his superior court conviction of misdemeanor impaired driving. Original jurisdiction over this matter lay in the district court, but the record on appeal does not indicate how this misdemeanor case came before the superior court for trial. ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

Although the late Richard Siskey, perpetrator of an alleged Ponzi scheme, was a MetLife independent contractor, and although his office displayed a sign reading, “Wall Street Capitol an office of MetLife”, MetLife had no relationship with or even knowledge of ...

Tagged with: Tort/Negligence

When the parties asked the administrative law judge to enter a consent order settling their dispute, the ALJ instead lifted a partial sentence from the proposed order and – without hearing argument on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment – ...

Tagged with: Administrative

Plaintiff’s decedent filed a divorce action and then learned that the officiant at his wedding had been unqualified. The filing of the divorce action did not estop the decedent – judicially or equitably – from filing this subsequent action for ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

Where the respondent-father had not had contact with “David” since 2012, shared no parental bond with David, had made only sporadic child support payments since 2010 with multiple years of non-payment, and was $60,456 in arrears, the trial court could ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

Despite diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder, amphetamine use disorder, opioid use disorder and cannabis use disorder, the respondent-mother failed to participate in a parenting/psychological assessment, a substance abuse program or mental health services. In the ten months after entering her ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

Before terminating the respondent-mother’s parental rights, the trial court denied respondent’s motion to continue. In its order denying the motion to continue, the trial court found this was the second time respondent had requested a continuance for reported illness without ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

Even though the respondent-mother made progress on her case plan – including going to parenting classes, completing domestic violence education, and participating in therapy – since she also continued to allow her abuser to remain in her life and to ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

Even though the trial court concluded that there was “no compelling basis or reason for the Court to go against the recommendations of the PCDSS and the GAL,” the trial court did not impose an evidentiary burden on the respondent-father. ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations