Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Tag Archives: Rule 11 Sanctions

Sanctions of $270K upheld

  The North Carolina Court of Appeals has affirmed a trial judge’s order imposing nearly $270,000 in Rule 11 sanctions on a multi-state corporate defense firm, the lawyer in charge of the firm’s Winston-Salem office, and their client. The court’s ...

Read More »

Real Property – Municipal – Subdivision Plat – Street Depiction – Easement Appurtenant – Town Development – Rule 11 Sanctions

Seidner v. Town of Oak Island Plaintiffs’ deed refers to a recorded subdivision plat that shows a street adjacent to their lot, which street ends at the Intracoastal Waterway. Without exercising its power of eminent domain, the defendant-town may not interfere with plaintiffs’ easement in the street by building park-like structures at the end of the street and thereby encouraging increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic. We affirm summary judgment for plaintiffs. We affirm most of the sanctions imposed under N.C. R. Civ. P. 11; however, we vacate the trial court’s imposition of a gatekeeper restriction on the town.

Read More »

Civil Practice – Rule 11 Sanctions – Improper Purpose – Insufficient Showing – Municipal – Zoning – Notice

Coventry Woods Neighborhood Association, Inc. v. City of Charlotte Contrary to the trial court’s finding, plaintiffs refuted evidence that their primary purposes in filing their lawsuits were to delay and harass the defendant-developer. Plaintiffs showed that resort to the courts was their only avenue to contest the defendant-city’s decision to allow the developer to increase the density of homes on property adjacent to plaintiffs’.

Read More »

Sanctions upheld in two cases with false abuse claims

The Court of Appeals tackled the issue of unsubstantiated claims of sexual abuse in the context of child-custody cases in two March 1 opinions - and upheld sanctions in both disputes. In one case, Lamm v. Lamm, the court sanctioned Pamela R. Lamm after she filed an emergency motion alleging that her son would be "exposed to a substantial risk of bodily injury or sexual abuse" if an immediate order curtailing Kenneth R. Lamm's visitation was not issued. Manteo attorney W. Mark Spence, who represented Mr. Lamm, said the timing of the motion contributed to the court's finding that it had been brought for an improper purpose.

Read More »

Domestic Relations – Child Custody – Visitation – Costs – Interest – Rule 11 – Sanctions

Peters v. Pennington. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-07-0215, 42 pp.) (Robert N. Hunter Jr., J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County District Court. (Rebecca T. Tin, J.) N.C. App. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding:  Where there was evidence ...

Read More »

Real Property – Non-Exclusive Easement – Res Judicata – Attorney’s Fees – Sanctions – Rule 11 – Administrative

Barris v. Town of Long Beach. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-1211, 9 pp.) (Barbara Jackson, J.) Appealed from Brunswick County Superior Court. (Ola M. Lewis, J.) N.C. App. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: The plaintiffs failed ...

Read More »