Our theme is that nobody looks good wearing two caps simultaneously. In Part I, we discussed the breach of lease claim asserted by the Town of Beech Mountain (Town) as landlord against Genesis Wildlife Sanctuary (GWS) in...more
A favorite teaching tactic in legal ethic courses is putting on and taking off different caps to illustrate the different roles lawyers play in various relationships. This “on again/off again” routine demonstrates that the...more
On July 7, 2015, we posted “Searching for the Heart of the Doctrine of Vested Rights.”(See here) In that post, we compared a Court of Appeals’ decision in a public school teachers’ vested rights case with a decision of the...more
“You don’t know what you don’t know” is a popular catchphrase. So, do you know what a “betterment” is and how the law of betterments operates?
Land use law has ancient roots. Sometimes, a case requires an appellate...more
If you turn a water faucet handle, you expect that clean water to pour forth. If you flush a toilet, you expect waste to disappear. If these are your expectations, you are likely a business customer of a local government....more
Chief Superior Court Judge James H. Pou Bailey informed lawyers - “Justice under the law is like buying a suit off the rack. It doesn’t fit anybody perfectly, but it fits a lot of people fairly well.”
Sometimes, an...more
Perhaps disappointing to those who enjoy debating architecture, the North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a challenge to a historic district commission’s approval of a house located across the street from the...more
When the North Carolina Court of Appeals decides not to publish an opinion, the opinion is not controlling precedent and citations to it in briefs, and arguments are disfavored. Nevertheless, unpublished opinions can be...more
It is impossible to know the internal considerations of the North Carolina Supreme Court when it accepted for review the case of City of Asheville v. State of North Carolina and the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe...more
Frequently, land litigation—land boundary and ownership claims - is a controversy concerning the use of land. The recent case of Hedgepeth v. Parker’s Landing Property Owners Association, Inc. ___ N.C. App. ___ ___ S.E.2d...more
Water and Land -
In Part I, we discussed the lawsuit between the State of North Carolina and Alcoa which determined that Alcoa owns a 45 mile portion of the Yadkin River riverbed. State of North Carolina v. Alcoa Power...more
Water and Land -
Two recent cases, State of North Carolina v. Alcoa Power Generating, Inc., 5:13-CV-00633 (E.D.N.C.) (September 28, 2015) and Nies v. Town of Emerald Isle, __ N.C. App. ___ (November 17, 2015) address...more
Planning is words on a page and lines on a map. It is not reality, but a projection of the future. And the future is uncertain – just ask those who predict when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. ...more
Property boundaries have great significance in law and life. Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the boundary between Gaul and Italy in violation of Roman law, and nothing was the same for him thereafter. ...more
The United States Supreme Court ruled that the United States government cannot take a citizen’s raisins without paying for them. Horne v. Department of Agriculture, __ US__ (June 22, 2015). Standing alone, the ruling is...more
Two recent decisions discuss the doctrine of vested rights in entirely different contexts. What might we learn from these cases about the doctrine of vested rights? ...more
7/8/2015
Lady Macbeth tells her troubled husband, “What is done is done” and later says to herself “and cannot be undone.” This is the outcome in Hillcrest Property, LLP v. Pasco County, 754 F. 3d 1279 (11th Cir 2014) and apparently...more
Michael Lewis' new book, Flash Boys concerns high frequency traders using advance notice of a stock purchase to reap extra profits. Fittingly, the North Carolina Supreme Court's decision in Beroth Oil v. NCDOT was published...more