Congratulations on successfully winning your case and obtaining a money judgment against the opposing party! But a money judgment alone is just a piece of paper and won’t necessarily result in money in your pocket, so what now? Most likely, the defendant/judgment debtor isn’t going to show up at your house with a check to satisfy the debt. How do you transform that piece of paper into actual money? If you have obtained a judgment in either District or Superior Court, your ability to do anything is often limited for thirty (30) days after the judgment is entered. One step … Continue reading
Category Archives: Litigation
You’re Ready to File A Lawsuit … But Where Do You Begin?
Once you have decided you want or need to file a lawsuit, one of the most important decisions you must make is where to file your case. This decision will have a significant impact on the type of relief you may be able to obtain (including how much money you may recover), who hears your case, the type of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) required, and how quickly your case is likely to be resolved. In North Carolina, most civil cases are handled in one of three courts: Small Claims (a special part of District Court), District Court and Superior Court. … Continue reading
Criminals Need Not Apply
Employers today face a wide variety of concerns when hiring new employees. Can the business afford the costs associated with additional personnel? What job functions must the new employee satisfy? What skillsets are required? How is the newly hired individual going to interact with its customers and, just as importantly, its other employees? More and more often, employers are turning to pre-employment criminal background checks as a means of answering or managing the perceived risk associated with at least some of these questions. Seem reasonable? Perhaps, but such checks can also open the door to even greater problems and potential … Continue reading
Are you really sure you want to do this? — 8 questions for you and your attorney before you start a lawsuit
Here’s something I’ve learned after almost 20 years of being a lawyer—most people shouldn’t sue even if they have a good case. Why not? Because a lawsuit will usually take more time, money, effort, and aggravation than you expected, and result in a smaller recovery than you hoped–and that’s if you win! Here are eight questions you should think about before you head off to the courthouse to file a complaint. 1. Why do you want to sue? Be honest with yourself; what’s motivating you to sue? Is it for strictly business reasons? If so, then you shouldn’t sue unless … Continue reading
Residential Evictions: Taking Back Your Leased Property . . .The Right Way [UPDATED]
[This blog replaces a previous post from September 2013, due to several changes to the North Carolina summary ejectment statutes effective October 1, 2013.] You are a landlord and you enter into a residential lease agreement with a seemingly good tenant. Everything is going along fine until . . . the tenant stops paying rent, or the tenant fails to leave when the term of the lease expires, or the tenant breaches the lease agreement in some other way. How do you get your property back and get the tenant out? Can you simply change the locks? NO! North Carolina has a very … Continue reading
When is a Limited Driving Privilege not a Privilege to Drive?
When a person finally reaches the age that he/she is qualified to receive a Driver’s License from the State of North Carolina he or she sees the opportunity for freedom from parental control and interference…at least that is what my children envisioned. I, as the parent, despite the dangers of driving enjoyed the freedom from car pools, endless trips to school, doctors’ appointments, tutoring lessons and sports practices. However a License is just a privilege to drive and is subject to revocation by the Department of Motor Vehicles under a variety of statutes, rules and regulations. Recently, I represented a … Continue reading
Facebook: For Friendly Eyes Only?
Just how private is your Facebook account? Is limiting your privacy settings enough to keep your Facebook status updates, messages, pictures and other activity from the eyes of an opposing party in a civil or criminal case? You may be surprised to learn that the answer is likely “No.” When you activated your Facebook account, you may have adjusted your privacy settings to limit access to your content to only specific “friends.” You may or may not have read the company’s disclosures regarding the content and use of your account information. Facebook takes the position that it is covered by … Continue reading
Employer Restrictions on Social Media Postings
Rare is the business entity that is completely detached from one form or another of social media. Indeed, a significant portion of businesses today directly utilize the benefits offered by social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. And even when a business does not itself engage in social media postings or tweets, you can rest assured that its employees do and will! So how can a business ensure that the messages posted on its social media platforms, as well as those posted about it by its employees on theirs, help promote the image it desires rather than hurt? How … Continue reading