North Carolina Lawyers Weekly

Shareholders must arbitrate their claims over a startup Charlotte advertising company in which they invested hundreds of thousands of dollars, even though they brought suit against its CEO as an individual, the appeals court has ruled. "This case affirms what our position has been all along," said Charlotte attorney Ross R. Fulton (pictured) of Rayburn Cooper & Durham. Fulton represented Alexander in the case. "You cannot sue an individual officer of a company to get around an arbitration agreement with the company."

Tagged with: Arbitration individual capacity Investors

Claimants, attorneys and supporters have long argued that North Carolina's common-law heart-balm torts are designed to protect and preserve the sanctity of marriage. Hogwash, says Winston-Salem attorney John C. Vermitsky of Morrow Alexander Porter & Whitley. He says the torts are "tools used by vindictive spouses to put a scarlet red letter on their exes' [paramours] after a relationship is long over." Vermitsky said he has statistics that show that the few states that retain the heart-balm torts actually have higher divorce rates than states that don't.

Tagged with: Alienation of Affections Constitutional Heart-Balm Tort

Amid increasing calls for reform in judicial selection across the country, the North Carolina Bar Association is putting together a proposal that would fundamentally change the way judges are selected, while keeping elections as part of the equation. Since 1868, North Carolina residents have chosen judges at the polls. But a new layer between the electorate and the ballot box could be put in place under a proposal expected to be introduced when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.

Tagged with: Judicial Elections NCBA

By BEN MOOK, Dolan Media Newswires ben.mook@thedailyrecord.com   The attorneys general of all 50 states and the District of Columbia have banded together to investigate the practice of “robo-signing” and other concerns that have arisen about banks and foreclosure-processing firms. ...

Tagged with: foreclosure mortgage real estate Real Property

Everything is on the table. That is the message from N.C. Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight (pictured) concerning how to deal with the state's projected $3.2 billion budget shortfall. Is a tax on legal services on that table? Maybe.

Tagged with: Business of Law General Assembly Legislature Practice of Law Tax

About 125 people gathered to recognize excellence in the in-house legal community today at the third-annual In-House Leaders in Law award ceremony sponsored by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly. Eleven attorneys were honored. "You are the ones who consistently go above and beyond that which is asked of you," Lawyers Weekly Publisher Tonya Mathis told the crowd at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Charlotte, noting that the recipients not only demonstrated excellence in the practice of law but also in contributing to their communities and balancing work and family life.

Tagged with: In-House Counsel

Pressure on banks and processing firms to suspend foreclosures over concerns of paperwork errors continues to mount as a group of as many as 40 state attorneys general plans to announce a multi-jurisdictional investigation on Wednesday. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper did not return calls for comment on Monday. Cooper last week sent letters and launched an inquiry to 14 lenders, including Bank of America, which is headquartered in Charlotte, asking the companies to suspend foreclosures in North Carolina until they can show that their affidavit procedures have been reviewed and are in compliance with the law.

Tagged with: foreclosure real estate Real Property

Dismissal of charges against a man who scuffled with police outside the Wilkesboro post office have been upheld by the Court of Appeals in an unpublished opinion. Defense attorneys repeatedly asked for a video capturing Paul Douglas Absher's processing at the Wilkes County jail following his arrest. Winston-Salem attorney John C. Vermitsky (pictured) said the opinion is meaningful "because what ends up happening in a lot of district court criminal cases - most often in DWI cases involving dashboard cameras -is that the tape gets wiped over or it isn't preserved."

Tagged with: credibility Criminal Defense Criminal Practice evidence police

LL.M. = Lawyers Losing Money. That's a running joke in the online legal world these days, where bloggers and practitioners puzzle over whether a master of laws degree yields valuable returns for recipients or simply plunges them into another year's worth of law school debt. It's not an easy question to answer. On one hand, the demand is certainly there. The number of LL.M.s granted by American Bar Association-approved schools grew by 65 percent between 1999 and 2009, according to a September article in the National Law Journal. North Carolina schools are trending upwards, too.

Tagged with: Career Education Law Schools

By PAUL THARP, Staff Writer paul.tharp@nc.lawyersweekly.com   Bank of America has suspended foreclosure sales nationwide pending a review of foreclosure documents in all 50 states. Spokesman Richard G. Simon said Friday that the bank would “stop foreclosure sales until our ...

Tagged with: Bank of America foreclosure