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 ...

Tagged with: Rule 11 Sanctions

A judge in Orange County has delivered a nearly $270,000 bench slap by way of relatively rare Rule 11 sanctions against a multi-state corporate defense firm, one of its members in charge of the Winston-Salem office and his client. Superior ...

Tagged with: 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.

Tagged with: Municipal Real Property Rule 11 Sanctions

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’.

Tagged with: Civil Practice insufficient showing Municipal notice Rule 11 Sanctions Zoning

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.

Tagged with: Rule 11 Sanctions

Lamm v. Lamm. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-07-0213, 17 pp.) (Rick Elmore, J.) Appealed from Pasquotank County District Court. (C. Christopher Bean, J.) N.C. App. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: Since the evidence indicated that the ...

Tagged with: Child Custody Domestic Relations Pasquotank County 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 ...

Tagged with: Child Custody Costs Domestic Relations Interest Mecklenburg County rule 11 Rule 11 Sanctions sanctions Visitation

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 ...

Tagged with: Administrative attorney's fees Brunswick County Real Property res judicata rule 11 Rule 11 Sanctions sanctions

Brown v. Staten. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-16-1185, 16 pp.) (Martha A. Geer, J.) Appealed from Lenoir County Superior Court. (Paul L. Jones, J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: When a plaintiff alleges ...

Tagged with: motion to compel personal injury Rule 11 Sanctions Tort/Negligence