Any time you hire an attorney, they should provide you with a fee agreement to sign. The fee agreement provides both you and the attorney with some certainty as to what the attorney has agreed to do for you and what you are supposed to provide the attorney for his services. It is both good […]
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Update: Changes in Small Claims Court
Starting on August 1, 2013, the amount you can sue for in small claims court doubles from $5000 to $10,000. Other than that, the basic rules remain the same.
End of Life Decisions
Advance directives can grant solace to you and your loved ones. Medical technology has advanced such that doctors can keep the body functioning longer than the brain. But some of us may not want our bodies to be sustained longer than we are able to think consciously and communicate meaningfully with others. North Carolina, under N.C.G.S. […]
A motion for amotion
In New Hanover County, local politics has taken an interesting turn since the election of Brian Berger to the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners in 2010. Since that time he had clashed with other members of the Board and been accused of harassing staff and odd behavior. After an incident where he attempted to […]
Attorney Fees
A frequent misunderstanding about civil lawsuits that I encounter is about the payment of attorneys fees and costs. A sizeable number of potential clients assume that they can ask for the other party to pay their attorneys fees. Their (logical) thinking is they wouldn’t have to pay for an attorney if the other side would […]
Timber Trespass–Time to Sue
Lately I have had a few calls about the wrongful cutting of timber, so I thought I would update on the state of the law in North Carolina when your timber is illegally harvested. Basically, as I have written before, if a person cuts the wood off your property, intentionally or not, they are liable […]
Medical Provider Liens
A lot of times it is easier as an attorney to obtain a personal injury or medical malpractice settlement from a defendant or an insurance company that it is to actually give that money to a client. One of the most common hurdles that an attorney and his client has to jump over is the […]
Business Judgment Rule in Homeowners Associations
Under the community documents (declarations/covenants, bylaws, rules and regulations) and under the planned community and condominium acts in North Carolina, an HOA has certain obligations, for example, maintaining or repairing the common elements of the association. Unless it specifically sets forth in the declarations how late the pool can stay open or how many times […]
Can A Spouse be Excluded From Your Will?
What if a spouse would like to leave their property to a person other than their current spouse? A person may create a will that leaves none of their property to their spouse. However, the spouse, may dissent from or reject the provisions of the will and take a share of the property of […]
Corporate Pro Se Representation
In North Carolina, a person has a right to represent themselves in court, even if they are not a lawyer. However, even though a corporation or LLC is considered a “person” for many legal issues, they are not capable of representing themselves in court. Even a small corporation that is owned 100% by one individual, […]
Free Speech in an HOA
Recently, a retired police officer in Southport NC challenged a rule by his homeowner’s association prohibiting religious or political gatherings at the community’s amenities center. The homeowner felt that this was an infringement of his constitutional rights. After holding meetings and gathering petition signatures, the HOA board agreed to change the rule. Some people may […]
Who controls the roads?
One of the most visible areas in a planned community is its roads and streets. Because of that, homeowners and their homeowner’s associations sometimes exceed their authority over those roads and get themselves in trouble. Usually, as I’ve written before, when a planned community is developed, a plat is filed that shows the lots, common […]
Does Your Dog Bite?
“Every dog gets one bite,” is a bit of homey legal wisdom that is often repeated by laypersons and even lawyers, but it is not entirely true in the state of North Carolina. The first way a person can recover from a dog bite or attack is under a negligence theory. Legally, a dog attack […]
Warranties
You can get good bargains from buying things from classified ads, or Craig’s List, or at a garage sale. Aside from scams, the biggest problem is what happens when you get that new (to you) boat, vacuum cleaner, Betamax, or automatic tomato planter, home and it quits working. What protection do you have? Legally, you […]
Child Custody and the Military Service Member
It has been over a decade since the brutal attack on September 11th, 2001, and the declaration of a “war on terror,” which necessitated an increased presence of American forces in the Middle East and around the world. Though the troops in Iraq have largely been withdrawn, and the long-promised withdrawal from Afghanistan is on […]
What to do if you are served with a subpoena.
In a lawsuit, the way information is produced or documents received from the other party is through the discovery process under the rules of Civil Procedure. The parties in a lawsuit have to answer to a judge if they fail to obey these procedures. However, in most cases, a third party, who is not either […]
Who can perform a Wedding?
When you think about it, there are not that many big events in people’s lives. You can fall in love; move to a new city; graduate from school; have a child; and get married. Since marriage is one of those big life events, most people want their wedding to be memorable, and have special meaning […]
Insurance for Homeowners Associations
Part of the HOA and the Board’s financial responsibility is to maintain insurance for the community. Most communities need general liability insurance and property damage insurance for common areas. In condominium developments, where the property damage insurance also typically covers the cost of repair or replacement of the actual buildings, this single expense can dwarf […]
Enforcement in Homeowners Associations
Enforcement of the declarations, bylaws, rules and regulations is one of the most difficult aspects of running a homeowner’s association. The board has a duty to reasonably enforce its rules and avoid risking liability to the HOA or its board. At the same time, the members of the board are residents in the community with […]
Homeowners Association Meetings
The HOA is required to hold an annual meeting. Notice of the annual meeting should be provided to all owners and state the time, place and agenda of the meeting. Typically the agenda consists of the election of directors of the executive board and ratification of the budget. In addition, the board or 20% of […]