It’s not every day that the Court of Appeals spends almost 12 pages talking about the appellate rules, including why rules compliance is so important. But that’s exactly what the Court of Appeals did in Harney v. Harney. ...more
Civil lawyers love written notices of appeal. Have you ever heard a civil attorney say, “I wish I could orally notice an appeal”? Me neither. But the criminal trial bar overwhelmingly give oral notices of appeal in state...more
Oral argument in the appellate courts typically last an hour, with 30 minutes allotted to each side to present arguments. But might a shorter oral argument period be more productive if the parties knew ahead of time the...more
In Dicesare v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, 2021 NCBC Order 10 (Apr. 6, 2021), the North Carolina Business Court determined that a trial court loses jurisdiction to rule on a pending Civil Rule 60(b)(6) motion...more
Under Appellate Rule 10, the general rule is that appellate courts only decide issues properly raised, argued, and decided in the trial tribunal. But exceptions to this general rule exist for issues considered so fundamental...more
The recent opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in M.E. v. T.J., No. COA18-1045 has more twists than a Chubby Checker look-alike contest. The opinion is long and the facts and procedure are somewhat convoluted, but...more
Requesting that trial judges modify their judgments or orders is not for the faint of heart. Informing a trial judge that he or she has likely goofed is not fun, but it is often necessary. Indeed, the Appellate Rules usually...more
COVID-19 interrupted the plans of many North Carolina law students. In-person classes (Cancelled). Students (Sent home). Summer internships (Postponed, shortened, or cancelled).
In the midst of these upheavals, the...more
The Court of Appeals has new COVID-19 procedures for its voluntary appellate mediation program. The full document is here, but highlights include:
1.For mediation deadlines that fall between March 27 and April 30, parties...more
Since 2015, this blog has frequently discussed whether the text of Appellate Rule 21 places restrictions on the Court of Appeals’ authority to grant relief by writ of certiorari. The Supreme Court has also written frequently...more
I. You Can’t Have One Without the Other: Notice of Appeal Must Designate Both Final Judgment and Intermediate Order-
Approximately three years ago, I blogged on Majerske v. Majerske, an unpublished Court of Appeals...more
As noted yesterday, the Supreme Court has been busy. Need further proof? How about the fact that the Supreme Court considered 279 “other matters” on Friday— a category that includes rulings on various substantive motions,...more
On Friday, the Supreme Court displayed how busy it has been this summer by releasing 17 authored opinions. Justice Per Curiam (who is fond of affirming/reversing “for the reasons stated in the Court of Appeals”...more
Wouldn’t it be great if an automatic notification was sent out whenever court rules were updated? Wait . . . I hear you! “What self-respecting lawyer doesn’t subscribe to the NCAPB.com blog, which provides updates and...more
Does the statutory right to appellate review of a superior court’s final judgment under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-27(b)(1) apply to a criminal appeal by the State? That is the central question a divided Supreme Court addressed a...more
Finally found time to blog on one of my favorite topics: exceptions and qualifications to the error preservation requirements of Appellate Rule 10! (Um, I heard those groans!). A few weeks ago the North Carolina Supreme...more
A few weeks ago the North Carolina Court of Appeals plowed new ground: issuing the first opinion to cite Appellate Rule 38(b) since the Appellate Rules were adopted in 1975. This long-neglected rule was the catalyst for a...more
In April 2017, the General Assembly surprised appellate stakeholders by adopting legislation shifting a subclass of Rule 3.1 juvenile appeals—Termination of Parental Rights (“TPR”) appeals—to the Supreme Court’s mandatory...more
Post-Dogwood, cases in which appeals are dismissed for non-jurisdictional rules violations are rare. Last Tuesday, the Court of Appeals issued an opinion that bucked that trend—along with a dissent.
In Ramsey v. Ramsey,...more
You already know that the Supreme Court adopted numerous amendments to the Rules of Appellate Procedure at the end of 2018. However, some of the most significant changes are occurring behind the scenes at the appellate...more
Practitioners: Say goodbye to goldenrod printed records. As I previously predicted, both appellate clerks will no longer be mailing printed records to the parties. The previously entitled “Notice of Mailing of the Printed...more
Did you enjoy opening and comparing three different Supreme Court orders to determine the most current version of a particular Appellate Rule? For those twisted few who did, your joy is gone....more
In October 2018, I gave a CLE presentations with (now recently sworn in) Judge Allegra Collins: “Life Preservers on the Titanic: Issues Not Properly Preserved for Appellate Review.” Part of the presentation posed this...more
It is beginning to feel like an bi-annual holiday tradition between me and our blog readers: another rule-update summary. Yesterday afternoon, the Supreme Court issued its latest order amending the North Carolina Rules of...more
On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals issued its latest batch of opinions. Good news: the impending turkey feast has not slowed the court’s pace in grappling with interesting appellate issues. Bad news: still no real resolution...more