While this requirement is not new, the Court’s decision formally adopts a line of Court of Appeals precedent that enforces this rule with precision, particularly in complex cases involving multiple claims or defenses. The...more
Isn’t “secure leave” wonderful? It’s the one time YOUR schedule overrides the COURT schedule. Just designate a week or two or three, at least 90 days in advance, and you are off the hook for in-court appearances....more
Parties must move for a directed verdict to preserve their right to request judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV*) after an unfavorable verdict is returned. Friday’s batch of Supreme Court opinions includes a...more
Dissent-based appeals of right might stick around a little longer than we thought. The 2023 budget bill struck N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-30(2), which had allowed for an appeal of right to the Supreme Court whenever “there is a...more
For many moons, North Carolina was one of the few jurisdictions in which the losing party at the Court of Appeals could pursue an appeal as of right to the Supreme Court if the party managed to snag a dissenting opinion from...more
The North Carolina Supreme Court is not stingy with extensions. If a lawyer needs more time to file a brief, the Court will generally allow it. But with the Court largely caught up on its docket, you might not want to bank...more
Steven Hix and G. Benjamin Milam of Bradley discuss a pair of recent North Carolina Supreme Court rulings on coverage for pandemic-related losses, one of which gave policyholders a rare win. On December 13, the North...more
On December 13, 2024, the Supreme Court of North Carolina broke with the nationwide trend, holding that, absent a virus exclusion, commercial property insurance policies cover losses covered by the shutdown orders issued in...more
On December 13, the North Carolina Supreme Court gave policyholders a partial victory in long-running litigation over business interruption coverage for shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. In North State Deli v....more
You can hit your snooze button a little later on Tuesdays. Effective January 1, 2025, the Court of Appeals’ scheduled filing days for opinions will be the first and third Wednesday of the month, Since the Court will be...more
The Supreme Court of North Carolina issued a pair of opinions on December 13 relating to coverage for government shutdown orders due to COVID-19. In North State Deli v. Cincinnati Ins., the court broke with the majority of...more
On December 13, 2024, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision on extended compensation benefits that is favorable to employers and workers’ compensation insurance carriers. To be entitled to extended...more
In appeals, the general rule is that litigants cannot appeal an interlocutory order until a final judgment is entered. But in North Carolina, a major statutory exception to the general rule exists: When the trial court’s...more
The North Carolina Supreme Court issued a decision on Oct. 18 that does not decide the constitutionality of North Carolina's Certificate of Need (CON) law one way or the other but does keep the case alive for further decision...more
Many of my prior JDSUPRA postings caution that codification of the law of trusts, such as the Uniform Trust Code (UTC), are only partial codifications. See the catalogue of my prior postings below. There is much prevailing...more
The Supreme Court’s Technology Department has done it again. Quietly adding even more features to the appellate courts’ electronic filings site, www.ncappellatecourts.org. The filing site has long allowed attorneys and the...more
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
On May 23, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that a defendant credit union can enforce an arbitration clause added to a customer’s contract years after its inception. The case centered on a “Notice of Amendments”...more
The North Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday, May 23 held that a credit union’s unilateral update to add an arbitration provision and class action waiver to its contract with one of its customers was valid under North...more
The North Carolina Supreme Court today agreed to review a Court of Appeals decision limiting the immunity enjoyed by healthcare professionals under a Covid-era statute. In May 2020, the pandemic was raging. Our General...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
In N.C. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Herbert, the North Carolina Supreme Court held that UIM policies cannot be stacked when determining whether a tortfeasor’s vehicle is underinsured. The decision upends almost 30 years of...more
In most situations, medical treatment for workplace injuries is fairly straightforward. Workers' compensation statutes require coverage for procedures necessary to treat and correct injuries or illnesses that occurred at the...more
Trigger warning: this post may cause appellate lawyers to have nightmares. There has been a spate of technical glitches lately that caused critical notices from the North Carolina Court of Appeals to end up in “quarantine”...more