North Carolina Trial Law Blog

I've driven myself crazy counting days on calendars over my career.  Sometimes it is under extreme duress (i.e.:  I swear we are within our 90 day window on that A & P summons.....), and sometimes it was happy counting (i.e.:  Let's see, 8% interest on $250,000 for 728 days is.....)

I am trying to find a way to take forms in pdf format off the net and make them fillable.  If I downloaded and learned to use openoffice, would that work? 

I just received the most recent report about the proposed changes to the NC State Employee's Health Plan Lien.  It's all good news.

2005 Technical Corrections Act Passes Vote

The 2005 Technical Corrections Act conference report (that contained the "technical" corrections for the lien) has been adopted by both houses, and now goes to the Governor for his signature. There seems to be nothing controversial in the remainder of the bill, so we don't expect a veto of any sort from the governor.

The technical  corrections act from last year is where the subrogation provision was inserted toward the end of the long session, because SB 983 was holed up in the house.  It was included in each version of the tech corr bill and passed by the respective houses, but there was never agreement on the bill BETWEEN the two houses.

Bill needs to be signed by Governor Easley

The latest action of the General Assembly is that needed agreement, and as soon as the Governor signs the bill, it will be law.  The language of the bill makes it "retroactive" to the initial passage of the lien legislation back in July of 2004, so we don't have to worry about having two "sets" of liens.

This is fantastic news and due in large part to the long term efforts of Holly Bryan and Dick Taylor at the NC Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Chris Nichols

www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

I just got back from a three day legal work trip in Akron, Ohio.  I had a lot to do there in a short period of time, so I was hoping that my multiple levels of technology would help me out.  Everything seems to worm just fine, and I learned a few things. About my Treo 650, my JVC Hard drive Camera, and my Nikon Digital Camera.

TREO 650 is old reliable

One of the main things is that I decided was that of all of my "stuff", my Palm Treo 650 smartphone is by far my most useful gadget.  While I had my laptop with me on the plane and during layovers, I consistently turned to the Treo to check my emails and my voice mails.  The lap top is great if you get stuck for four hours somewhere and can find a strong WiFi signal, but the Treo was just so much quicker and easier that when I had five minutes to  myself, I would monitor my emails and make a few quick responses, even if only to say "hey, let me get back to you in a day or two."

So how did my new video set up (JVC 30 GB hard drive camera and Nikon 6 mp digital camera) work?  Keep reading.........

     Some lawyers will send detailed Requests for Admissions to an opposing party after their deposition asking that statements from the depsoition be admitted or denied.  While this may seem redundant in some ways, I think it is a great technique to "cement" testimony that will be used in trial.  For example, the RFA may read:  "Admit or deny that you were 'looking to the left when [you] entered the intersection of Jones and Martin street.  (Defenedants deposition, June 6, 2006, page 22, line 12-13)".

     I think this is a great technique, and here is why:

Quick Answer:  No, one trial judge can not overrule another trial judge in NC.

Generally, one superior court judge cannot overrule another. Bailey v. Gooding, 60 N.C. App. 459, 461 (1983) (citing In re Burton, 257 N.C. 534, 126 S.E. 2d 581 (1962)).

The well established rule in North Carolina is that no appeal lies from one Superior Court judge to another; that one Superior Court judge may not correct another's errors of law; and that ordinarily one judge may not modify, overrule, or change the judgment of another Superior Court judge previously made in the same action.  Calloway v. Ford Motor Co., 281 N.C. 496, 501 (N.C. 1972) (citations omitted).

Technorati Profile

So that's my technorati profile.  Let's see if this works.  Anyone else have experience doing all of this registration stuff?  If so, I'd love to talk with you.

Chris

How to Choose A Lawyer:  The Insiders Guide

Ok,  I'm a lawyer so I suppose that I have a vested interest in writing an article about choosing lawyers.  But at the same time, I realize that I can't represent ever person in the world, and I see people choosing lawyers that I would not let represent my dog, Winston, if he got hit by a car.  So I'm going to tell you how I would pick a lawyer, or at least how I would advise Winston on how to get one.

Let's start out with the most important concept in the form of a brain teaser:   Imagine if ALL cars cost the same thing.  Let's say every new car in the world cost $25,000.  Which car would you choose to drive?  Porsche Boxter or Geo Metro?  Remember, they cost the same amount....

   or ?

This is not a trick question, but it is a concept most people fail to realize about lawyers, price.

PRICE.  Guess what?  For an injury case, all of us lawyers charge the same thing!  A one-third (33.3%) contingency fee is the standard charge for car wrecks and you will typically see a 40% fee for more complicated matters such as insurance coverage litigation, medical malpractice and nursing home cases.  A few (and I mean few) lawyers will charge 25%, but I caution you from choosing by price alone.  So guess what?  This is really good news.  Why? 

If all lawyers charge the same thing, you are going to pay the same price for a crappy lawyer as you will pay for an excellent lawyer.  So why not pick the best lawyer you can?  Even better, the best lawyer will not cost you any more than the worst, so you either get the best bargain (more good lawyer for your money) or the worst deal (really bad lawyer for the same money).  Pick the Porsche!

By the way, here are the basic qualities that I would look for in a lawyer:

• Trial Experience
• Personal Attention
• Reputation among Lawyers
• Use of Technology
• Knowing my actual lawyer

With those goals in mind, here are nine things to consider:

I keep reading about the ever increasing number of reported cases of female teachers have sex with their male (and female) students.  Everyone seems shocked by that fact, and I suppose that normally when one thinks of inappropriate teacher student relationships, they think of creepy male teachers and their female students.

The website World Net Daily  has compiled the summaries of all the latest female teacher cases in sort of a "mug shot" style article.

I used to work with a fantastic lawyer named Elizabeth Kuniholm who has a national reputation suing perpetrators of sexual abuse.  I have some experience working on these types of cases which are both tragic and complicated.  I can't quite figure out if there has been a rise in female molestation or if some other societal factor is playing a part here. 

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