Appellate Court Opinions

permanency planning order; juvenile's best interests; challenged findings of fact; propensity for violence assessment; conditions of the home; completed components of case plan; no abuse of discretion

N.C.G.S. § 7B-1111(a)(1); N.C.G.S. § 7B-1110(a); N.C.G.S. § 7B-601(a).

interlocutory appeal; motion for judicial recusal

interlocutory appeal; motion for judicial recusal

Legal Malpractice; Motion for Summary Judgment; Preservation of Issue on Appeal

First-degree murder; authentication; relevance

driving while impaired conviction; aggravating factors not found by a jury; reckless driving conviction; reconvening order.

intentional child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury; felony-murder rule; sufficiency of the evidence; "inherently incredible" witness testimony; plain error review

Tortious interference with contract; covenants not to compete; directed verdict; hearsay evidence

jury voir dire; jury impanelment; civil litigation; peremptory challenge; judgment notwithstanding the verdicts; lack of jurisdiction; N.C. R. App. P. 3(d)

Summary judgment; real property

board of adjustment, BOA, zoning, notice, zoning permit, zoning determination, zoning violation, bona fide farm, federal permit, perennial stream, setbacks, waterbody buffer zone, riparian buffer area, riparian buffer requirement, USGS, quadrangle map, de novo, whole records test, unconstitutionally vague, as-applied.

Medical malpractice

N.C.G.S. § 47-20; deeds of trust; loan modification; extension of lien maturity date; Restatement (Third) of Property (Mortgages) § 7.3(b).

trial court; first amendment; quiet title; preliminary injunction; fraud; constructive; ecclesiastical entanglement; subject matter jurisdiction; property; trust; judicial modification of trust; contract; breach; failure to state a claim

arbitration, equitable distribution, alimony, child support

dwi; administrative hearing; department of motor vehicles; findings of fact; conclusion of law; trial court; dmv hearing officer; reverse

Domestic Violence Protection Order, subject matter jurisdiction, legitimate purpose

intestate succession rights of surviving spouse, marital abandonment, N.C.G.S. 31A-1(a)(3)

true threats, false report concerning mass violence, motion to dismiss