Appellate Law

COA Invalidates A Non-Compete And Non-Solicitation Agreement, While Limiting Trade-Secrets Damages

Posted on January 07, 2009
Yesterday the NC Court of Appeals (COA) invalidated a noncompete and nonsolicitaiton agreement as facially overbroad. The case is Medical Staffing Network, Inc. v. Ridgway. The decision required the COA to vacate a seven-figure judgment that the former employer obtained against the former employee and his new employer...

COA Applies Foreign Workers' Comp Act To Bar Action For Local Injury

Posted on January 07, 2009
Yesterday the NC Court of Appeals (COA) issued an important decision barring tort claims by workers of foreign (out of state) companies who are injured in NC. The case is Burton v. Phoenix Fabricators and Erectors, Inc. Judge Geer wrote the opinion.Under NC law, the receipt of workers' comp benefits doesn't bar the injured employee from bringing a civil action against an NC employer (a so-called Woodson claim)...

COA Rejects Fraud, UTPA Claims In Products Case

Posted on January 07, 2009
Yesterday in Hospira Inc. v. Alphagary Corp. the NC Court of Appeals (COA) rejected fraud, negligent misrep, and UTPA deception claims brought by a manufacturer of medical devices. It's an important case on the limits of indirect fraud and deception--i...

COA: Wage & Hour Default Judgment Triggers Double-Damage Liability

Posted on January 07, 2009
Yesterday the NC Court of Appeals (COA) upheld a $355,000 Wage & Hour Act judgment based on a default judgment that was entered after the former employer-defendant failed to answer the complaint. The defendant argued that its records showed it actually overpaid plaintiff by $32,777, but it was saddled with a $355,000 judgment nonetheless...

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COA Dismisses Inverse Condemnation Appeal As Interlocutory

Posted on January 07, 2009
In Wilfong v. NC DOT, property owners conveyed part of their property to DOT so that it could widen a road. The owners then alleged that the highway had been raised higher than planned and made their driveway too steep to reasonably access their property...

COA Upholds Arbitration Clause Dealing With Dissolution of Partnership

Posted on January 07, 2009
In In re Jarvis & Sons, members of a general partnership appealed the trial court's ruling denying parts of their motion to compel arbitration in a dispute over dissolution of the partnership. The trial court found that the paragraph of the arbitration agreement saying that the withdrawing partner "shall have the right to force compulsory dissolution by court order" exempted the means of dissolution from arbitration, and decided that the partnership should be dissolved by sale...

COA Holds That Issues Regarding Decline In Property Value After DOT's Construction Of A Median Fall Within The Trial Court's Discretion

Posted on January 07, 2009
In Dept. of Trans. v. Blevins, the DOT filed a complaint and declaration of taking to widen a highway that ran in front of Blevins' convenience store. The taking involved 279 square feet of property and a drainage easement, and the widening involved construction of a median that Blevins claimed would further reduce the value of his property...

COA Releases First Decisions Of 2009

Posted on January 06, 2009
Today the NC Court of Appeals released 27 published opinions, of which eight are criminal. More on these cases later.

Next Batch Of NC Court of Appeals Opinions: Jan. 6

Posted on December 29, 2008
The next opinions are due Jan. 6.

The New COA

Posted on December 29, 2008
As we enter the new year, we'll see a different Court of Appeals.Three judges (Tyson, McCullough, and Arrowood) are out, so we'll see three new judges: Beasley, Hunter, and Ervin.The Court will have two Bob Hunters, which may be quite confusing.The Court will consist overwhelmingly of Democrats (60%)...

Divided Fourth Circuit Upholds Convictions Based On Obscene Cartoons And Email Text

Posted on December 18, 2008
Today, in a case argued more than a year ago, a divided Fourth Circuit upheld criminal convictions for (1) receiving over the span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"internet/span obscene Japanese cartoons depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and (2) receiving and sending obscene text-only emails describing child sex fantasies...

Supreme Court's Next Likely Release Date: Feb. 6, 2009

Posted on December 18, 2008
The NC Supreme Court likely will next release orders on petitions and opinions on February 6, 2009. The Court issued orders and opinions last Friday (see below).

COA Issues Important Decision On Assignments Of Error

Posted on December 17, 2008
Yesterday in a href="http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2008/051183-2.htm"Jones v. span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"Harrelson/span amp; Smith Contractors/a the Court of Appeals (span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"COA/span) issued a decision that could be important in the debate on assignments of error...

COA: Trial Court Erred In Kicking Out Soccer Injury Suit

Posted on December 17, 2008
Yesterday in a href="http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2008/070647-1.htm"span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"Allred/span v. Capital Area Soccer League, Inc./a the NC Court of Appeals (span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"COA/span) revived a personal injury action brought by a soccer spectator...

Divided COA Rejects Whistleblower Suit

Posted on December 17, 2008
Yesterday in a href="http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2008/080030-1.htm"Helm v. Appalachian State University/a the Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a former App State employee under the State's span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"Whistleblower/span Act because she failed to adequately allege (as an essential element) that she span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"engaged/span in a "protected activity...

COA Sanctions Appellant's Counsel For Filing Record On Appeal Different From The Proposed Record That Counsel Served On Appellees

Posted on December 17, 2008
Yesterday the Court of Appeals (span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"COA/span) sanctioned appellant's counsel for filing a record on appeal that differed from the proposed record that was served on the span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"appellee/span...

Split COA Rules For Tobacco Companies In MSA-Related Dispute

Posted on December 17, 2008
Yesterday in a href="http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2008/071572-1.htm"State v. Philip Morris USA, Inc./a, a divided Court of Appeals (span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"COA/span) held that the Business Court erred in interpreting a trust agreement that resulted from the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement...

COA: No Personal Jurisdiction Over Korean Companies

Posted on December 17, 2008
Yesterday the NC Court of Appeals (span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"COA/span) held that the trial court erred in exercising personal jurisdiction over two Korean companies. The case is a href="http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2008/080242-1...

Yesterday's COA Decisions

Posted on December 17, 2008
Yesterday the NC Court of Appeals released a href="http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/coa2008.htm"33 published decisions/a. About half are criminal cases or domestic cases (parental rights, juveniles, child support, etc.). br /br /More on these decisions later.

COA Allows Partnership Dispute To Proceed

Posted on December 17, 2008
Yesterday in a href="http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2008/080578-1.htm"span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"Wiggs/span v. span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"Peedin/span/a the NC Court of Appeals (span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"COA/span) reversed the trial court's grant of summary judgment for a defendant (span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"Peedin/span) who denied the existence of a partnership formed by her late husband and argued that any such partnership dissolved upon his death and couldn't be imputed to her...

Fourth Circuit Issues Another CAFA Decision Against Removal In First-Impression Case

Posted on December 16, 2008
Today the Fourth Circuit issued its third decision this week on removal under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). And once again the Court rejected removal. The case is Palisades Collections LLC v. Shorts.This case began as a collection action filed by a collection agency for AT&T Mobility against a cell phone service customer...

Supreme Court Affirms COA Award of Attorneys' Fees

Posted on December 15, 2008
In Terry's Floor Fashions, Inc. v. Crown Gen. Contr'rs, Inc., the NC Supreme Court on Friday affirmed a split COA decision affirming an award of attorneys' fees to plaintiff in a subrogation-lien case brought by a unpaid subcontractor. The subcontractor had done work on a dentist's office...

Fourth Circuit Rejects CAFA Diversity Jurisdiction

Posted on December 14, 2008
On Friday, in a pair of class actions against payday lenders who removed the cases to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), the Fourth Circuit held that federal jurisdiction was lacking under CAFA's "minimal diversity" provision. Thus, the cases will proceed in state court...

Fourth Circuit Applies Stringent Pleading Rules To Reject Securities Action

Posted on December 14, 2008
On Friday, in Cozzarelli v. Inspire Pharma. Inc., the Fourth Circuit rejected a securities fraud action. This is an important case on pleading requirements and the application of Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 127 S.Ct. 2499 (2007)...

Supreme Court Splits 4-3 In Medicaid Lien Case

Posted on December 13, 2008
Yesterday, in Andrews v. Haygood, the NC Supreme Court (reviewing a divided COA decision) split 4-3 on this issue: when a Medicaid beneficiary settles with a tortfeasor for a lump sum and the settlement terms don't establish the portion allocated to past medical expenses (versus future medical expenses, pain and suffering, etc...

Supreme Court Grants Discretionary Review In Personal Jurisdiction Case

Posted on December 13, 2008
Yesterday the NC Supreme Court granted discretionary review in a case in which the Court of Appeals (COA) held there was no personal jurisdiction over the defendant under the longarm statute. The case is Brown v. Ellis, and the COA decision is here. It's an alienation of affections and criminal conversation case...

Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Property Owners

Posted on December 13, 2008
Yesterday in Chapel Hill Title and Abstract Co. v. Town of Chapel Hill, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of property owners in their battle with Chapel Hill. Petitioners wanted to build a home in Chapel Hill on a vacant lot zoned for residential use...

SCT Embraces Broad Standing Rule For Zoning Cases

Posted on December 13, 2008
Yesterday in Mangum v. Raleigh Bd. of Adjustment the NC Supreme Court held, contrary to the Court of Appeals, that property owners in close proximity to a proposed business had standing to challenge a special use permit. The crux of the issue was this: in order to have standing to challenge a zoning decision, do adjacent or nearby property owners have to establish that approval of a permit would diminish their property values; or can they rely on other, more generalized concerns and secondary effects such as increased traffic, parking, and safety concerns? The majority, in an opinion written by Justice Brady, held that adjacent or nearby property owners can have standing without establishing a diminution in property values...

Supreme Court Adopts COA Dissent Saying Justifiable Reliance on MLS Listing Is A Jury Question

Posted on December 13, 2008
In Crawford V. Mintz, the COA majority reversed a jury verdict and held that defendants real estate agent and broker did not negligently represent a home's features because plaintiffs were not justified in relying on an MLS listing that stated the home was connected to the city sewer...

Today's NC Supreme Court Decisions

Posted on December 12, 2008
Today the NC Supreme Court released orders on petitions and opinions.The Court granted discretionary review in several criminal cases and in a couple of civil cases: a workers' comp case in which the plaintiff lost below, and a personal jurisdiction case in which the Court of Appeals (COA) found no personal jurisdiction...

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