I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in early March as appellate counsel at a hotly contested wrongful death trial. Seated next to lead trial counsel, I had a ringside seat where I could observe the jury minute by minute,...more
In appeals, the general rule is that litigants cannot appeal an interlocutory order until a final judgment is entered. But in North Carolina, a major statutory exception to the general rule exists: When the trial court’s...more
There is no such thing as a sure thing. And in three unpublished opinions, the North Court of Appeals reminded lawyers that a notice of appeal does not guarantee appellate jurisdiction....more
For both civil and criminal appeals, the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure require an appealing party who is filing a written notice of appeal to identify “the judgment or order from which appeal is taken.”...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
Most of us think of appeal filing deadlines as absolute. That certainly is the case under the Michigan Court Rules. But as demonstrated by a recent decision from the United States Supreme Court, Hamer v Neighborhood Housing...more