In mid-September, Chief Administrative Law Judge Julian Mann issued updates regarding OAH’s response to COVID-19. The guidance provides background and updates regarding interactions with OAH staff with regard to hearings, rules, the Rules Review Commission, the Civil Rights Division, and the Human Relations Commissions. The updates may be viewed on the OAH website.
Senator Cory Booker will be joining Duke Law’s Sports and Entertainment Law Society for a Zoom conversation on NCAA reform on Friday, October 2, from 12:30-1:45 p.m. Opening remarks will be provided by Duke Professor Paul Haagen, and the conversation will be hosted by students of Duke’s Future of College Sports Initiative. The conversation will focus on Senator Booker’s recent College Athlete Bill of Rights proposal, his thoughts on race and sports, and the role of public figures of minority backgrounds. Senator Booker, a former All-American football player at Stanford, is a leading policymaker on NCAA reform.
If interested in virtually attending this free event, click here to register.
In the coming year, the Future of College Sports Initiative here at Duke will continue to focus on legal, policy, and business issues facing college sports reform by hosting regular virtual conversations on Zoom.
Rule 60 Case | Interlocutory Case | Contempt Case
Jackson V. Jackson (now Clelland): Rule 60 v. Appeal
Sampson County – 2020
Tldr: Don’t use Rule 60 to correct erroneous orders. Appeal instead; otherwise, you’ll lose.
Mom and Dad had a custody trial. The trial court ordered that:
Plaintiff shall reimburse Defendant for travel to and from preschool and school and shall receive a credit for any trips he has to make to Fayetteville for custody exchanges and return at the same rate of reimbursement. The reimbursement rate shall be the rate given to State Employees for travel and the mileage will be from [an address] Street to the preschool or school or lesser mileage if Defendant moves her residence closer to the schools.”
Halili v. Ramnishta, Court of Appeals, September 1, 2020 (UCCJEA, inconvenient forum)
Mother, Father, and minor child lived in New York, but visited North Carolina in late June 2017 in anticipation of moving here – they were here for 11 days. They then returned to New York where they stayed until August, and they moved to North Carolina. After they moved here, the parties’ second child was born. In January 2018, Mother and both minor children moved to New York; Father stayed in North Carolina. Father initiated a custody action in North Carolina and Mother initiated a custody action in New York. The North Carolina court dismissed Father’s action after determining that North Carolina was not the home state of the older child and that North Carolina was an inconvenient forum for custody litigation concerning the younger child. Father appealed.
The 36th Annual North Carolina/South Carolina Labor & Employment Law CLE will be held via live webcast on Friday, October 30, 2020.
In conjunction with our South Carolina counterparts, the North Carolina Labor & Employment Law Section is pleased to announce that we are still holding our annual CLE event this year! We’re condensing the program a bit and the logistics will look a little different this year in light of COVID-19, but the quality instruction and timely topic coverage you know and love will be the same. Here are the details:
When: Friday, October 30, 2020, from 7:55 a.m. to 4:20 p.m., with breaks sprinkled in. The program will also be recorded, and you can decide to watch it “On Demand” at a time more convenient for you. As a reminder, the Bar has removed any limits to on-demand CLE this year.
Where: Live Webcast. You will receive a link via email and will also be able to participate through submission of questions throughout the CLE program.
By
Ketan Soni
If you really want to skip everything I’m going to say below and get to the trailer, click here! The password is “mediation.”
Think back to the days that you had to connect with another mediator to get your observations done to become certified as a Superior Court Mediator by the DRC. For attorney mediators, there were two observations. For non-attorney mediators, there were five observations. If you don’t recall how difficult that was, I have the distinct memory of sending no less than 15 emails over the course of 18 months to every single mediator in the Charlotte region, to no avail. Finally, thanks to Judge Richard Boner and the esteemed Ray Owens, I became Superior Court Certified 1.5 years after I had actually taken the class.
Through the ongoing efforts of the NCBA Dispute Resolution Section over the past few years and in the spirit of compromise and working together with the Dispute Resolution Commission, a number of Section members volunteered their time and effort to create a video that qualifies as an Observation for Superior Court purposes! See link above for the trailer.
Erin Ball
Michele Livingstone
By Erin Ball and Michele Livingstone
September is Hunger Action Month. People all over the United States stand together with the Feeding America network to fight hunger. It’s a month to spread the word and take action — and, with your help, find a solution to end the hunger crisis.
North Carolina is the 10th hungriest state in the nation. To help our neighbors in need, the YLD’s Legal Feeding Frenzy (“LFF”) Committee partners each year with Feeding the Carolinas to host a month-long food- and fund-drive. This past March, our legal community was able to raise a record-breaking $151,000 or 600,000 pounds of food! With these resources, our local food banks were able to address unprecedented needs that resulted from layoffs, school closures, and other life crises caused by COVID-19. We look forward to kick-starting another record-breaking LFF in March 2021! However, with COVID-19 continuing to rage on, North Carolina has seen a 38% increase in demand at our food banks. Our neighbors and food banks need our help now.
By Rhoda Billings
Dear Senior Lawyers,
Although it’s not the same as sharing a drink and swapping stories in person, I hope you are planning to join us on Friday, October 2, at 9:00 a.m. via zoom for our fall meeting. We will induct five outstanding lawyers into the Legal Practice Hall of Fame. Then, Bar Center staff will give us a brief tutorial on how to navigate the new NCBA website, including how to take advantage of the SLD blog.
We look forward to seeing you, even if it is only on a computer screen.
Rhoda Billings
SLD Chair
Do you have a great suggestion? Leadership wants to hear from you!
The Council for the North Carolina Bar Association, Paralegal Division encourages all members to offer suggestions for resources, services, activities, or other potential benefits related to your Division membership.
The Communications Committee oversees the Paralegal Division Virtual Suggestion Box by receiving suggestions from membership and forwarding them to the Council prior to quarterly meetings. The Council discusses each suggestion to ensure fair and appropriate consideration. Although member suggestions are given careful consideration, the Council reserves the right to accept, delay, or reject the implementation of a suggestion based upon what is cost effective, practical, constructive and beneficial to Division membership as a whole and what is permissible according to NCBA guidelines and/or bylaws.
The Council also reviews suggestions that identify areas of opportunity for improvement. If a suggestion identifies a problem or area of opportunity for improvement, members are encouraged to recommend a solution or action.
Suggestions must be received at least 10 days before a council meeting in order to be considered at that meeting. If any suggestions are received less than 10 days before the next council meeting, that suggestion will be held over and considered at the following quarterly meeting.
If you have any issues with this form, please contact the Communications Committee via email at [email protected].
Upcoming Meeting Dates:
Council Meeting – Friday, October 23
Council Meeting – Friday, January 8
Council Meeting – Thursday, May 2
Ben Buskirk
Riley Smith
By Ben Buskirk and Riley Smith
Subcontractors and contractors with pending construction contract claims, read your monthly application for payment, lien waiver, and change order forms closely before signing. Failure to do so may result in a costly waiver of claims.
Imagine this: you are a subcontractor on a construction project that is nearing completion. Many of your change order requests are disputed by the general contractor. Cash flow requires that you bill for the undisputed contract balance. To do so, you execute and submit an application for payment and lien waivers on the general contractor’s forms as a condition precedent to receiving payment. Have you preserved your claims on the disputed work? A recent North Carolina Court of Appeals opinion serves as a reminder of the impact periodic lien waivers can have on pending construction contract claims.
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