Civil Practice — Appeals – Interlocutory – Service of Process – Personal Jurisdiction
Crite v. Bussey (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-07-0080, 5 pp.) (Richard Dietz, J.) Appealed from Forsyth County Superior Court (A. Robinson Hassell, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Defendant’s motion to dismiss for […]
Despite similarities, no conflict on COA foreclosure rulings
The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently issued two rulings on cases involving foreclosure notice that, at first glance, might appear to conflict one another. But a closer look reveals […]
No more service on a handshake
Until recently, many attorneys and the process servers they depend on have done business based solely on handshakes, making it one of the few aspects of modern life untouched by contracts.That once casual relationship has become increasingly complicated and strained in the wake of a federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau bulletin that announced new policies and procedures for debt collection[...]
You’ve been FedExed: COA loosens rules on service of process
A unanimous North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled that FedEx properly served papers on a group of defendants even though they or their agents did not personally accept the deliveries.
Administrative – Civil Practice – Service of Process – Time Enlargement
Schermerhorn v. North Carolina State Highway Patrol Even though petitioner served his petition for judicial review on the respondent-agency’s counsel, an assistant attorney general, such service was inadequate to meet G.S. § 150B-46’s requirement that copies of the petition be served “upon all who were parties of record to the administrative proceedings.”
Civil Practice – Personal Jurisdiction — Service of Process – Delaware Corporation – Entry of Default & Default Judgment – Airplane Leases
TradeWinds Airlines, Inc. v. C-S Aviation Services The third-party plaintiffs sufficiently alleged fraud when they alleged, among other things, that the third-party defendant promised them “most favored nation” lease prices but then leased aircraft to a competitor at a lower price.
Domestic Relations – Parent & Child – Termination of Parental Rights – Civil Practice – Service of Process – Publication
In re C.A.C. When the petitioner-mother sought to serve the respondent-father by publication, she was required to comply with the notice provisions of both N.C. R. Civ. P. 4(j1) and G.S. § 7B-1106(b). Since the notice that the mother placed in the newspaper completely omitted any reference to the father’s right to counsel, she failed to comply with § 7B-1106(b)(4).
Attorneys – Tort/Negligence – Legal Malpractice Claim – Case Within a Case – Snowy Road Fishtail – Arbitration — Civil Practice – Service of Process
Tarrant v. Hudson (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-16-0847, 22 pp.) (Martha A. Geer, J.) Appealed from Wake County Superior Court. (Abraham Penn Jones & Paul G. Gessner, JJ.) N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: Even though the defendant-attorneys failed to file a personal injury action on behalf of plaintiff before the statute of limitations expired, and even though plaintiff later obtained a default judgment agai[...]
Civil Practice – Service of Process – State Agency & Employees – Abatement – Prior Pending Action – Different Parties & Claims – Failure to State a Claim
Thomas v. State Where plaintiff attempted to serve copies of her summonses and complaint on all defendants by certified mail to the attorney general, she failed to properly serve the defendant-university (which has an appointed process agent) and the individual defendants.
Civil Practice – Service of Process – Virginia Server – Affidavit – Domestic Relations – Paternity & Child Support
New Hanover County Child Support Enforcement ex rel. Beatty v. Greenfield Where the process server’s affidavit showed that he was authorized to serve process in Virginia and that he left copies of the summons and complaint with defendant himself, service of process was sufficient.
Tort/Negligence – Contribution & Indemnity – Accepted Work Doctrine — Civil Practice – Service of Process
New Bern Riverfront Development, LLC v. Weaver Cooke Construction, LLC Where this court has found that the plaintiff-debtor sufficiently pled claims for professional negligence and common-law negligence against defendant National Erectors Rebar, Inc., the debtor’s claims subject National to potential tort liability. Therefore, based upon the debtor’s allegations, National may allege c[...]
Civil Practice – Service of Process – FedEx – Presumption of Proper Service – Receptionist’s Signature
Dougherty Equipment Co. v. M.C. Precast Concrete, Inc. Plaintiff served process on the defendant-corporation by using Federal Express to overnight the summons and complaint to the address of defendant's registered agent. Even though the receptionist - and not the registered agent himself - signed the FedEx receipt, plaintiff was entitled to a rebuttable presumption that the receptionist w[...]
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