State ex rel. Cooper v. Western Sky Financial, LLC (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-15-0855, 38 pp.) (Gregory McGuire, J.) 2015 NCBC 84 Holding: Defendant Western Sky Financial, LLC’s loan contract is binding as soon as the borrower signs it, so when ...

Tagged with: Business Court Civil Practice subject-matter jurisdiction

Taylor v. Howard Transportation, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-07-0403, 11 pp.) (Donna Stroud, J.) Appealed from the Industrial Commission. N.C. App. Holding: Plaintiff’s accident occurred in Maryland, neither the defendant-employer’s principal place of business nor plaintiff’s principal place of employment ...

Tagged with: subject-matter jurisdiction

Martinez v. University of North Carolina The complaint alleged that (1) “plaintiff contracted with defendant to receive, upon his return to a full time tenured faculty position, a salary commensurate with salaries paid to other senior tenured faculty members who have retreated from an administrative position” and (2) “defendant breached its contract with plaintiff by failing and refusing to pay plaintiff, upon his return to his full time tenured faculty position, a salary commensurate with comparable salaries of senior faculty….” When viewed as admitted, these allegations state a valid claim for breach of contract. Thus, the trial court erred in dismissing plaintiff’s complaint pursuant to N.C. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).

Tagged with: subject-matter jurisdiction

McCoy v. City of Charlotte A superior court judge is not bound by the ruling of another superior court judge on the question of subject matter jurisdiction.

Tagged with: Administrative appeals Civil Practice Municipal subject-matter jurisdiction

State v. Barnett The indictment against defendant describes an offense applicable only to registered sex offenders but fails to allege facts indicating that defendant is “a person required to register.” The general reference to defendant’s violation of G.S. § 14-208.9, which consists of multiple subsections and describes multiple offenses in addition to the offense for which defendant was charged, is insufficient to cure this defect. The indictment failed to allege all the essential elements of the offense, rendering the indictment facially defective and depriving the trial court of jurisdiction to adjudicate the charge.

Tagged with: Criminal Practice Indictment sex offender registration subject-matter jurisdiction

Hillard v. Hillard After an equitable distribution order awarded the defendant-wife half of the plaintiff-husband’s military pension, the husband unilaterally elected to receive combat-related special compensation (CRSC) instead of his pension. Although federal law preempts state law with regard to CRSC and such payments cannot be classified as marital property subject to equitable distribution, CRSC may be treated as a distributional factor in a property settlement. The trial court had subject matter jurisdiction over the wife’s motion to modify the equitable distribution order.

Tagged with: Civil Practice Domestic Relations equitable distribution first impression Military Pension subject-matter jurisdiction

Time Warner Entertainment Advance/Newhouse Partnership v. Town of Landis Since the defendant-town has merely proposed a pole-attachment rate to which the plaintiff-cable television provider objects, there is no controversy for the court to adjudicate.

Tagged with: Cable TV Civil Practice first impression Municipal Public Utilities subject-matter jurisdiction

Whitworth v. Estate of Whitworth Even though plaintiff’s equitable distribution action is no longer pending, her claims that rest on allegations of intrinsic fraud must be brought in district court; however, her claims of breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud, and RICO violations against her daughter-in-law and the estate of her late son may be brought in superior court.

Tagged with: Civil Practice Corporate Domestic Relations equitable distribution subject-matter jurisdiction Tort/Negligence

Begley v. Begley In their separation agreement and property settlement (agreement), the parties waived their right to equitable distribution. Nevertheless, they later agreed to a consent order that altered their property rights; in effect, they rescinded the agreement. Therefore, the trial court had jurisdiction to rule on their property rights.

Tagged with: Civil Practice Consent Order Domestic Relations subject-matter jurisdiction

Scott v. North Carolina Department of Crime Control & Public Safety The plain language of the Administrative Procedure Act indicates that the 30-day time limit set out in G.S. § 126-38 only applies to the filing of a contested-case petition and not to the payment of the filing fee. Therefore, the superior court erred when it dismissed this case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction based on plaintiff’s failure to pay the filing fee when he filed his petition.

Tagged with: Administrative Civil Practice subject-matter jurisdiction