The three drivers behind more reported outbreaks of foodborne illness include: convenience, imported foods and … well, you might be surprised by the third here: https://letamericaknow.com/view_feature_ysk.php?memberid=22871&orderid=957&issueid=1904#
I recently had a homeowner’s association question regarding the conveyance of common elements. Basically, the HOA owned property between a small river and about six member lots. The HOA and the rest of the property owners did not have any access to the property except by the river. The land is mostly marsh and wetlands […]
Only seldom do I have a personal injury case where there was not a doctor or chiropractic visit sometime in the months or years prior to the event sparking the lawsuit. An injured plaintiff can only recover for damages that were actually caused by the defendant’s negligence. If the defendant can prove that a plaintiff’s […]
I frequently see on social media where someone has been called for jury duty. The post is frequently followed by half-joking advice on how to get of it by telling the lawyers you believe in the death penalty for littering or will vote the way the space aliens tell you. Far from my usual practice […]
I believe that at some time in the past, lawyers must have charged on a per word basis. It is the only explanation I have as to why attorneys use lengthy, old-fashioned and sometimes confusing jargon when talking and writing. If you can’t understand your lawyer, chances are a jury won’t either. Just because he […]
I will occasionally get questions from friends, acquaintances, at a dial a lawyer day, or online at www.avvo.com, who want to know what they should settle for in a small to medium car wreck or personal injury. These casual, cocktail party questions are difficult. Sometimes these folks have already retained an attorney and are looking […]
The law in North Carolina tends to support the ability of people to work for who they want, and when they want. In most cases, with at-will employment, an employee can leave a job whenever they want to work for another company who may provide them more pay or benefits. On the other hand, the […]
A few days ago, I spoke at a local middle school for a careers class. Thanks to some links from the North Carolina Bar Association, I was able to download and print out for the students a mini-mock trial for them to do in class. I had 4 witnesses, 3 lawyers for the plaintiff and […]
I recently competed a semi-famous one-act play entitled “Box and Cox.” The play is a 19th century farce about two men. Cox works all day as a hatter, and Box works all night as a printer. An enterprising landlord, Mr. Bouncer, decides to rent them the same room without telling them. This works remarkable well, until […]
When you are called to go to court for your own case, or as a witness in somebody else’s case, hopefully your attorney or the attorney calling you has prepared you for your testimony. You should have some idea as to the questions he will ask, the answers you will give, the cross-examination topics […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Probably the most violated law I see by Homeowner Associations is restrictions on satellite dishes. The restriction is in nearly every set of Declarations I review and almost all are illegal provisions. Since 1996, the Federal Communications Commission has adopted a rule that prohibits restrictions that impair the installation, maintenance or use of antennas used […]
One of the first amenities that are built by developers of planned subdivisions and condominiums in North Carolina is the neighborhood pool. Pools are an attractive addition to a subdivision and developers and owners see them not only as a great place to socialize with neighbors and entertain the kids, but to enhance the value […]
In North Carolina, damages for personal injury involve several different kinds of damages. First are the hard damages or “specials” as some call them. These are the damages where the amounts are usually easy to determine. As long as medical bills and lost hours at work can be shown to be caused by the negligence […]