Appellate Law

Today at the Court of Appeals (3/9/11)

Posted on March 09, 2011
Today, Wednesday, March 9, 2011, a panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals comprised of Judges Bryant, Elmore, and Geer will hear oral argument in the following case:Marion Partners, LLC v. Weatherspoon & Voltz, LLP - This matter involves a claim of legal malpractice where the plaintiffs allege that their attorney failed to properly advise them of material changes in a commercial lease...

Today at the Court of Appeals (3/8/11)

Posted on March 08, 2011
Today, Tuesday, March 8, 2011, a panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals comprised of Judges Robert C. Hunter, Stephens, and Ervin will hear oral arguments in the following cases:State v. Carter - This appeal, which arises out of the fatal shooting of Winston-Salem Police Sergeant Howard Plouff, raises questions regarding whether the trial court should have suppressed statements made by Carter before he was given Miranda warnings; whether African-American jurors were wrongly excluded from the jury; whether the trial court erred in denying Carter's motion to dismiss the indictment; and whether the trial court erred by overruling Carter's objection to the submission of aggravating factors to the jury...

Today at the Court of Appeals (3/7/11)

Posted on March 07, 2011
Today, March 7, 2011, beginning at 1:00 pm, a panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals comprised of Chief Judge Martin and Judges McGee and McCullough is scheduled to hear oral argument in the following cases:State v. Goode - The Court of Appeals will consider whether a trial court had jurisdiction to impose consecutive life sentences without parole against a criminal defendant after the defendant's death sentence was vacated by a federal court on the basis of constitutionally inadequate counsel...

Web Page Printout Deemed Unauthenticated Hearsay

Posted on March 02, 2011
In Rankin v. Food Lion, a unanimous panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals determined that a trial court cannot consider printouts of web pages when deciding a motion for summary judgment.Rankin filed a complaint in Mecklenburg County Superior Court alleging that she sustained serious injuries after slipping and falling at a Food Lion in Charlotte, North Carolina...

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Busy Day at the COA

Posted on March 01, 2011
The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued 36 opinions today.  We will review them and post on any cases of interest later.

COA: Order Requiring Foreign Party to Appear for Jurisdictional Discovery Deposition Does Not Affect Substantial Right

Posted on March 01, 2011
Today the Court of Appeals held that an interlocutory order compelling a party who resides in another country to appear in North Carolina for a jurisdictional deposition does not affect a substantial right and is not immediately appealable. The case is K2 Asia Ventures v...

Today at the Court of Appeals

Posted on February 24, 2011
Today, a panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals comprised of Judges Stroud, Robert N. Hunter, Jr., and Thigpen will hear oral argument in the following cases:McKinnon v. CV Industries - This case involves a question of whether there was a genuine issue of material fact that precluded a finding of summary judgment...

Today at the Court of Appeals

Posted on February 23, 2011
Today, Wednesday, February 22, 2011, a panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals comprised of judges Calabria, Steelman, or Beasley will hear oral argument in the following case:RS&M Appraisal Services, Inc. v. Alamance County, et al.In May 2009, RS&M Appraisal Services, Inc, instituted suit in Lincoln County Superior Court against Alamance County alleging that the County failed to pay for services provided during the County's 2009 Reappraisal Project...

Today at the Court of Appeals

Posted on February 22, 2011
Today, Tuesday, February 22, 2011, the a three-judge panel of North Carolina Court of Appeals comprised of Judges Robert C. Hunter, Linda Stephens, and Sam J. Ervin, IV will hear oral argument in the following cases:Wachovia Bank National v. Superior Construction Corp...

COA Opinions

Posted on February 15, 2011
This morning the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued eleven opinions.  We will have more on any cases of interest later.

Appeal of Motion to Compel Arbitration Halts District Court Proceeding

Posted on February 11, 2011
Yesterday, in an opinion drafted by Judge Duncan and joined by Judges Niemeyer and Keenan, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an appeal of a denial of a motion seeking to require a party to arbitrate its claims divests the district court of jurisdiction to proceed with the case unless the district court finds that the appeal is frivolous...

February 10, 2011 at the Court of Appeals

Posted on February 10, 2011
Today, Judges Geer, Stephens, and McCullough will hear oral argument in L & S Water Power v. Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority. This case arises out of an inverse condemnation action connected to the development of a public water supply for the Piedmont Triad...

Today at the Court of Appeals

Posted on February 09, 2011
Today, Wednesday, February 9, 2011, oral argument will take place before two panels of the Court of Appeals.Beginning at 9:30 a.m., Judges Calabria, Stroud, and Robert N. Hunter, Jr. will hear oral argument in Ehrenhaus v. Baker. Ehrenhaus is a somewhat unusual appeal because the plaintiff and defendants have no problems with the decisions issued by former North Carolina Business Court Judge Albert Diaz (Judge Diaz has since joined the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit)...

Supreme Court Opinions

Posted on February 04, 2011
Today, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued opinions in five cases.Notably, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in Munger v. State - a case that challenged the constitutionality of economic incentives provided by State and local governments to convince companies to locate in North Carolina...

Today at the Court of Appeals

Posted on February 04, 2011
Today, Tuesday, February 8, 2011, a panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals comprised of Judges McGee, Bryant, and Beasley is scheduled to hear oral argument in the following cases:State v. CastilloThis case arises out of the defendant's conviction on charges related to the shooting of his father and two students at Orange County High School in 2006...

COA Opinions

Posted on February 01, 2011
This morning the Court of Appeals issued 12 opinions. We will have more on any cases of interest later.

Fourth Circuit Notes

Posted on January 27, 2011
A couple of quick notes on developments from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals:On Wednesday, President Obama nominated Judge Henry F. Floyd to the Fourth Circuit. For the past seven years, Judge Floyd has served as a United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina...

COA: Decision Upholding Punitive Damages Award Requires Written Rationale; No Award of Costs for Expert Witness Prep

Posted on January 19, 2011
Today the COA held that a trial court's decision upholding an award for punitive damages must include the reasons for the same, and that the trial court improperly awarded costs for expert witness preparation time. The case is Springs v. City of Charlotte...

COA Opinions

Posted on January 18, 2011
The Court of Appeals released 14 opinions today. We will have more on any cases of interest later.

NC Case Before US Supreme Court

Posted on January 12, 2011
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Goodyear Luxembourg Tires v. Brown. The question before the Court was: "Whether a foreign corporation is subject to general personal jurisdiction, on causes of action not arising out of or related to any contacts between it and the forum state, merely because other entities distribute in the forum state products initially placed in the stream of commerce by the corporation...

Thigpen Reappointed to COA

Posted on January 04, 2011
Various news outlets are reporting that Governor Perdue has appointed Judge Cressie Thigpen to the North Carolina Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy left by Barbara Jackson's election to the North Carolina's Supreme Court. Judge Thigpen was appointed in August to fill the seat vacated by Judge James A...

COA Opinions

Posted on January 04, 2011
The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued 19 opinions this morning. We will have more on any cases of interest later.

COA Opinions

Posted on December 23, 2010
On Tuesday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued 27 opinions. We'll have more on any cases of interest after the holiday.

McCullough Wins Instant Runoff

Posted on December 21, 2010
After a statewide recount, Doug McCullough was declared the winner of the race to replace Judge James A. Wynn on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. McCullough defeated incumbent Judge Cressie Thigpen, who was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Governor Perdue in August, by 6,655 votes.

COA Declines to Enforce Arbitration Clause in Nursing Home Admission Agreement

Posted on December 21, 2010
Today, in a very interesting opinion, the Court of Appeals held that the mother of a nursing home patient did not bind the patient or her estate to arbitration by signing an agreement to admit daughter to the nursing home that contained an arbitration clause...

Supreme Court Opinions

Posted on December 20, 2010
Today, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued six opinions. We will have more on any cases of interest later.

Supreme Court: Partner Executes Contract On Behalf of Partnership Unless There's No Authority or Ratification

Posted on December 20, 2010
Today the Supreme Court held that a partner in a licensed partnership signs contracts as an agent of the partnership unless the partner was not authorized to act on behalf of the partnership and the contract was not ratified by the partnership. The case is Medlin Construction v...

Final Court of Appeals Race is Almost Over (Maybe)

Posted on December 07, 2010
Various news sources are reporting that former North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Doug McCullough has a 6,700 vote lead over incumbent Court of Appeals Judge Cressie Thigpen in the race to fill the seat vacated by Judge James A. Wynn. It is highly likely that McCullough will be declared the winner because the only county left to report ? Warren County ? had less than 6,700 votes cast in this race...

Court of Appeals Opinions

Posted on December 07, 2010
This morning the Court of Appeals published 29 opinions on its newly revised web site. We will have more on any cases of interest later. The next potential opinion release date is December 21, 2010.

Language of Forum Selection Clause Impacts Federal Jurisdiction

Posted on November 29, 2010
In FindWhere Holdings, Inc. v. System Environment Optimization, LLC, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the use of the word "of" in a forum selection clause instead of the word "in" can deprive federal courts of jurisdiction to hear a case...

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