CASE RESULT: HOLLAND L. BARKSDALE (Charlotte) successfully defended a claim where Plaintiff alleged that she sustained a back injury while working in the warehouse for her employer. Defendants presented evidence from several witnesses that Plaintiff had never reported an injury, hadn't missed work until a few months later, no investigation of an injury could be conducted by Defendant-Employer due to her delay and that no one was even aware of Plaintiff's claim for 6 months. Further, defense evidence showed that Plaintiff had not even reported a work-related event to any of her medical providers and stated at the hearing that she thought her back pain was related to a kidney problem (even though she had been seen by a chiropractor for months). Deputy Commissioner Harris bifurcated the hearing and found that Plaintiff's claim was barred by N.C.G.S. 97-22 due to a lack of reasonable excuse for delaying reporting her claim. Due to this determination, Defendants didn't have to go through the expense of depositions and the claim was denied outright by both Deputy Commissioner Harris and the Full Commission.

ARTICLE: Performance Evaluations Are Basic to Employer Protection, April 2009 by Frank J. Albetta.

ARTICLE: Debt Collecting...Leave It To The Experts, April 2009 by Katherine C. Wagner.

ARTICLE: 2008 Changes to Commission Procedures and Forms, N.C. Bar Association's The Course and Scope, February 2009 edition, by Amy Pfeiffer.

CASE RESULT: HOLLAND L. BARKSDALE (Charlotte) successfully defended a claim where Plaintiff alleged that she sustained an injury to her back and knee as a result of two falls while working for Defendant-Employer as a laborer. Defendants presented evidence that she was not credible in her report of injury to her supervisor as well as her physician. Further, she had previously attempted to pass a drug screen using false pretenses and witnesses testified for Defendants regarding this event. She also tested positive for drugs following the accident and while the claim was not denied for this reason, the positive drug test result was the reason that her light duty work restrictions could not be accommodated- she was terminated pursuant to company policy. Plaintiff's counsel argued that the drug test was not valid and was truly the sole reason for the denial of the claim but Defendants were able to prove that the drug test was valid through testimony of the director of the drug testing facility. Deputy Commissioner Stanback denied Plaintiff's claim for benefits and the Full Commission affirmed this determination.

PRESS RELEASE: Patricia L. Holland Appointed to the North Carolina Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism

PRESS RELEASE: Eleven Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog Attorneys Selected for 2009 North Carolina Super Lawyers ® List

PRESS RELEASE: Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog Announces New Partners

PRESS RELEASE: Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog Announces New Partner

PRESS RELEASE: Patricia L. Holland Awarded Business Leader Media's 2008 Women Extraordinaire Honor.

CASE RESULT: HOLLAND L. BARKSDALE (Charlotte) successfully defended a claim where Plaintiff alleged that he sustained a head injury as a result of his employment. Defendants presented evidence that Plaintiff actually sustained an alcohol-withdrawal related-seizure while working for Defendants and argued that case law precluded finding that this event was compensable because his injuries were not causally related to his employment. Further, Plaintiff was not restricted from work and as of February 2008 was offered suitable light duty employment, which he refused. Deputy Commissioner Stephenson found that Plaintiff's claim was denied on both grounds.

CASE RESULT: MELODY CANADY (Wilmington)and LEE POOLE (Charlotte) obtained dismissal as a matter of law on behalf of their client, a southeastern law firm, in a purported class action lawsuit seeking over $11 million in damages and alleging numerous claims including fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and violations of North Carolina's Unfair Trade Practices Act. Suit was originally filed in state court. After removing the case to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act, defendants prevailed over Plaintiffs' Motion to Remand the case back to state court. Defendants then filed a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim, on the basis that Plaintiffs' claims were all premised on violations of North Carolina State Bar ethics opinions which do not give rise to civil liability, that Plaintiffs failed to allege any duty independent of the State Bar ethics opinions and Rules of Professional Conduct, and that Plaintiffs failed to allege damages. Briefs were submitted by all parties, and the Court requested oral arguments on the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. At the hearing, Ms. Canady successfully argued the Plaintiffs' failure to state a claim, and Defendants' Motion to Dismiss was granted, resulting in dismissal of Plaintiffs' case with prejudice.

CASE RESULT: RYAN BOLICK (Charlotte), at the conclusion of a week long jury trial, obtained a defense verdict that the officers of a municipality did not use excessive force in effectuating an arrest of the Plaintiff and that the officers and the City were not liable to the Plaintiff for the injuries sustained during his arrest. The Plaintiff claimed that the officers battered him and allowed police dogs to bite him unnecessarily. The defense argued that the use of force by the officers and the K-9s was reasonable under the circumstances.

CASE RESULT: COLLEEN SHEA (Wilmington) and KASEY WAGNER (Wilmington) obtained Judgment on the Pleadings on behalf of their client, a regional elevator installer, in a wrongful death case arising out of the death of an 11 year old girl who was crushed when she became wedged between the residential elevator car and the elevator shaft wall. Suit was originally filed against the general contractor and the installer, and after several months of contested discovery, Ms. Shea successfully obtained a dismissal in that case based on the general contractor's intervening and superseding negligence. After obtaining a settlement with the general contractor, the Estate subsequently re-filed suit against the installer. Ms. Shea and Ms. Wagner filed a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings grounded on the doctrines of judicial and collateral estoppel, which was granted, resulting in dismissal of Plaintiffs case with prejudice.

CASE RESULT: DAN HARTZOG (Raleigh) and GLORIA BECKER (Raleigh) obtained summary judgment on behalf of their client, a national real estate investment group and apartment owner, in Wake County Superior Court in a negligent security case arising out of the brutal rape and murder of a tenant at their apartment complex. The case had been designated as an "exceptional case" pursuant to Rule 2.1 and had already undergone over 2 weeks of trial when the plaintiff took a voluntary dismissal following a ruling from the Court prohibiting a portion of plaintiff's security expert's testimony. The plaintiff re-filed the lawsuit, pursuant to Rule 41, and Mr. Hartzog and Mrs. Becker successfully argued that the rape and murder of the plaintiff was not foreseeable to the apartment owner, nor was the crime preventable. The evidence showed that the perpetrator was a serial killer who stalked the tenant and who took numerous trophy items with him from the crime scene.

ARTICLE: Pink Slip Blues: Guidelines For Conducting Layoffs, October '08, by Frank Albetta.

CASE RESULT: GEORGE AUTRY (Raleigh), STEPHANIE AUTRY (Raleigh), and BRADY WELLS (Raleigh) recently handled an eminent domain case that was the first of its kind in the country and one of the three most important appellate cases in the state according to Lawyer's Weekly. The NCDOT condemned a portion of a town home community for the construction of a highway bypass around Henderson, NC. Prior to the NCDOT project, the small, upscale town homes were nestled in a wooded area. As a result of the construction, the right of way for the elevated superhighway was just six feet from one of the town homes and a twenty foot concrete sound wall was constructed through the common area which served as the homes' backyard. The NCDOT claimed that it owed the homeowners' association just $5,400 for the taking of the common area. It did not include the homeowners in the lawsuit, or offer to pay them anything for the diminution in value of their homes. The homeowners hired CSH to intervene and file an inverse condemnation suit, which would require the NCDOT to add the homeowners as parties, pay for the damage to their homes, and pay the owners' costs and attorneys' fees. After the owners won the suit in the Trial Court and the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court denied the NCDOT's petition for discretionary review. After remand, the NCDOT agreed.

PRESS RELEASE: Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog adds Attorneys to Raleigh, Charlotte, and Wilmington Offices.

CASE RESULT: BOB SUMNER (Raleigh), LEE POOLE (Charlotte), and JAYE BINGHAM (Raleigh) obtained a defense verdict of no negligence in favor of an international antiques and collectibles show producer, following a two week jury trial. The plaintiff, a vendor, sought over $1 million in damages, after he claimed some of his merchandise was stolen from a show. The defense argued that the security and procedures at the show were in place and operational, and there was no negligence on the part of the defendants.

ARTICLE: Can an Employer Deny Workers' Compensation Benefits if an Employee Lied on His Job Application?, October '08, by Meghan Knight.

CASE RESULT: DAN HARTZOG (Raleigh) and KARI JOHNSON (Raleigh) obtained a favorable opinion from the North Carolina Court of Appeals in a case involving claims against a municipality and its police officers for a death that occurred during a vehicular police pursuit. In the case, the decedent's estate alleged that the officer's conduct during the pursuit amounted to gross negligence. The Court of Appeals disagreed and affirmed Summary Judgment in the defendants' favor.

ARTICLE: One Year Post the United States' Twombly Decision and How the Aftermath is Affecting Title VII Claims Within the U.S. District Courts of North Carolina, October '08, by Allison Serafin.

PRESS RELEASE: Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers In America® 2009 Edition

CASE RESULT: LEE POOLE (Charlotte) and JANELLE LYONS (Charlotte) tried a week-long nursing home case in Mecklenburg County in which Plaintiff alleged negligent care resulted in Stage IV decubitus ulcers and sepsis. The jury returned a verdict of no negligence.