A dissenting opinion in the Court of Appeals has long been a litigant’s Golden Ticket, at least until a recent statutory change. The mere existence of the dissent bestowed an automatic right of appeal to the Supreme Court of...more
The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently released two cases that raise the question of whether a covenant amendment containing rental restrictions may be adopted by a condominium association or homeowners association....more
It is well established that under the North Carolina workers’ compensation law, the question of whether a specific medical treatment is compensable or not hinges largely on the causal relationship between the treatment sought...more
The Supreme Court of North Carolina gets a lot of questions and filings from unrepresented litigants. Often, those folks are in the wrong court (they should be in the Court of Appeals). Other times, they’re in the right...more
In State v. Richardson, 272A14, filed 1 September 2023, the Supreme Court of North Carolina reviewed the conviction and sentencing of the defendant. The evidence indicated the gruesome and protracted abuse of a child that...more
In Cryan v. National Cryan v. National Council of YMCAs of the U.S., the North Carolina Supreme Court gave a refresher on certiorari review and appeals from a dissent....more
On December 16, 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court decided Radiator Specialty Co. v. Arrowood Indem. Co., 2022 N.C. LEXIS 1122 (Dec. 16, 2022), in which it addressed coverage issues arising out of claims by individuals...more
On May 3, 2022, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a large batch of opinions. By my count, twenty-two were published and thirty were unpublished. While history may prove me wrong, none of the published opinions...more
Redistricting in North Carolina tends to be contentious and litigious, and the process so far this year has been no exception. The legislature approved new maps, only to see candidate filing halted by the North Carolina Court...more
On Oct. 13, the Supreme Court of North Carolina adopted amendments to the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure. The new rules will impact all appellate cases beginning Jan. 1, 2022....more
In case you missed it, the Supreme Court of North Carolina issued a surprising disqualification order last week, setting up what could be a contentious internal fight within the Supreme Court as to which justices will...more
An intriguing by-play between judges on the North Carolina Court of Appeals recently emerged into public view in the case of State v. Calvin Lee Miller. After shooting his wife, Miller was convicted of attempted...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
The week before Christmas 2020, I received word from the N.C. Supreme Court that it had denied discretionary review in a case out of Western North Carolina that my client had won in the N.C. Court of Appeals in 2018. We had...more
In ALC Manufacturing, Inc., v. J. Streicher & Co., 2020 NCBC 55, the Business Court dispatched a case that started off with bad timing, and ended that way too. Plaintiff claimed defendant BBP Bandenia, PLC breached a...more
North Carolina General Statute § 7A-30(2) allows for an appeal as of right to the Supreme Court of North Carolina from “any decision of the Court of Appeals rendered in a case…in which there is a dissent.” Seems pretty...more
In Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prevents prosecutors in criminal cases from exercising peremptory challenges to excuse...more
Last year, I blogged about State v. Ellis where a passing motorist gave a Highway Patrol trooper the middle-finger salute and was arrested for his trouble. A divided Court of Appeals allowed the defendant’s conviction to...more
In State v. Golder, 79PA18, filed 3 April 2020, the Supreme Court of North Carolina provided helpful guidance on a vexing issue relating to error preservation: Does a general motion to dismiss preserve for appellate review...more
Infrastructure fees are a common battleground between landowners/developers and local governments. The Supreme Court decided a case this week that counts as a “win” for the local governments, reversing a Court of Appeals...more
Out of a total of 24 opinions, the Supreme Court’s most recent set of opinions included nine criminal cases, three terminations of parental rights, and six direct appeals from Business Court decisions. Of those six...more
State v. Campbell is a case that is proving as hard to finish off as Freddy Kreuger or Wile E. Coyote. Campbell has earned its third blog entry following yet another opinion by the Supreme Court of North Carolina. And, like...more
It continues to amaze me how difficult it is for the public to access basic information about the upcoming elections for open seats on the Supreme Court of North Carolina and the Court of Appeals. While stories with political...more
The trial judge who presides over a hearing or trial is supposed to, and usually does, sign the resulting written order. But what happens if that normal process is not followed? What options do the parties have? Last week,...more