William Plyler | September 1, 2010
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in an unpublished opinion decided yesterday, affirmed the 2006 firing of a social worker who violated the Wilson County Department of Social Services anti-nepotism policy. The policy prohibited “two members of an immediate family” from working for the agency, and defined “immediate family” to include a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. [...]
William Plyler | August 4, 2010
Owners of Rottweilers are deemed to know the dangerous propensities of the Rottweiler breed. Consequently, Rottweilers do not get the benefit of the one-free-bite rule which other dogs enjoy. See, Hill v. Williams, 144 N.C. App. 45, 547 S.E. 2d 472 (2001).
Yesterday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals, in Harris v. Barefoot, (COA09-1313, filed August [...]
William Plyler | July 22, 2010
Two Haywood County Deputy Sheriffs who allegedly injured the plaintiff by jerking his arms behind him and slamming him into a wall are entitled to summary judgment, resulting in the dismissal of the claims against them. This was the holding of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in Owen v. Haywood County, et al, (COA09-929, [...]
William Plyler | July 7, 2010
In order for a plaintiff to recover damages for permanent injury in a bodily injury case, a doctor must testify that the injury is permanent. This is the take-away from yesterday’s North Carolina Court of Appeals decision in Littleton v. Willis, (No. COA09-732, filed July 6, 2010).
In Littleton, the plaintiff’s vehicle was hit head-on by [...]
William Plyler | June 20, 2010
The male physician-owner of a Hickory, NC medical clinic recently showed some gall in defending a sexual harassment lawsuit brought on behalf of a female physician at the clinic. He argued that he was a boorish jerk to everyone, women and men alike, and that his consistently vulgar comments were not directed exclusively to women. [...]
William Plyler | May 24, 2010
Five long years. I am not referring to the old Eddie Boyd blues ballad, covered best by Buddy Guy. No, I am referring to last week’s godsend from the North Carolina Court of Appeals, in Medkiff v. Compton, (No. COA09-254, filed May 18, 2010). The appellate court sanctioned, albeit somewhat indirectly, a five year cut-off [...]
William Plyler | April 18, 2010
Newly-elected Judge William I. Belk took a howitzer to the gut on his first day of judges’ school, when he learned about Canon 5 C. (2) of the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct. This Canon prohibits a judge from serving as an officer, director, or manager of any business.
Judge Belk, fresh off a [...]
William Plyler | April 18, 2010
Newly-elected Judge William I. Belk took a howitzer to the gut on his first day of judges’ school, when he learned about Canon 5 C. (2) of the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct. This Canon prohibits a judge from serving as an officer, director, or manager of any business.
Judge Belk, fresh off a [...]
William Plyler | April 9, 2010
A pedestrian who was hit by a car and was erroneously declared dead by the Franklin County Medical Examiner may not sue the Medical Examiner in court. The North Carolina Court of Appeals, in Green v. Kearney et al, (No. COA09-787, filed April 6, 2010), held that the Medical Examiner is a state official entitled [...]
William Plyler | April 9, 2010
A pedestrian who was hit by a car and was erroneously declared dead by the Franklin County Medical Examiner may not sue the Medical Examiner in court. The North Carolina Court of Appeals, in Green v. Kearney et al, (No. COA09-787, filed April 6, 2010), held that the Medical Examiner is a state official entitled [...]