In April 2017, the General Assembly moved primary (i.e., initial) appellate jurisdiction in termination of parental rights appeals from the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court. That change (which went into effect in...more
In Dicesare v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, 2021 NCBC Order 10 (Apr. 6, 2021), the North Carolina Business Court determined that a trial court loses jurisdiction to rule on a pending Civil Rule 60(b)(6) motion...more
Under Appellate Rule 10, the general rule is that appellate courts only decide issues properly raised, argued, and decided in the trial tribunal. But exceptions to this general rule exist for issues considered so fundamental...more
The recent opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in M.E. v. T.J., No. COA18-1045 has more twists than a Chubby Checker look-alike contest. The opinion is long and the facts and procedure are somewhat convoluted, but...more
Desperately searching for COVID-safe CLE hours? The North Carolina Court of Appeals is offering appellate continuing legal education courses until the end of February 2021. According to the Court’s press release, the...more
Precisely 364 days ago, Kip previewed the coming of universal citations. Twenty-eight days remain until universal citations assume a starring role in judicial opinions and briefs. And to help practitioners model their own...more
Those who have known me for any length of time know that for more than a decade I have really, really wanted the Supreme Court to give appellate practitioners clarification on how various transcript-related issues should work...more
Requesting that trial judges modify their judgments or orders is not for the faint of heart. Informing a trial judge that he or she has likely goofed is not fun, but it is often necessary. Indeed, the Appellate Rules usually...more
COVID-19 interrupted the plans of many North Carolina law students. In-person classes (Cancelled). Students (Sent home). Summer internships (Postponed, shortened, or cancelled).
In the midst of these upheavals, the...more
A recording of North Carolina’s first virtual oral argument is now available for viewing. Because the video stream began before the actual arguments commenced, insight is available into how the Court of Appeals and the...more
The Court of Appeals has new COVID-19 procedures for its voluntary appellate mediation program. The full document is here, but highlights include:
1.For mediation deadlines that fall between March 27 and April 30, parties...more
As previously reported here, the Supreme Court of North Carolina at the end of March issued an order extending all appellate court deadlines falling between March 27 and April 30, 2020 for 60 days....more
Since 2015, this blog has frequently discussed whether the text of Appellate Rule 21 places restrictions on the Court of Appeals’ authority to grant relief by writ of certiorari. The Supreme Court has also written frequently...more
A few weeks ago the North Carolina Court of Appeals plowed new ground: issuing the first opinion to cite Appellate Rule 38(b) since the Appellate Rules were adopted in 1975. This long-neglected rule was the catalyst for a...more