Statutes of Limitations on Promissory Notes in North Carolina

A dispute that often arises in litigation seeking to recover money pursuant to a promissory note is whether the statute of limitations has expired. The reason that disputes tend to arise in this area is that it is somewhat of a complex analysis which is impacted by multiple factors. The North Carolina Court of Appeals just addressed an issue of first impression with regard to the statute of limitations as applied to promissory notes. This issue is: whether the statute of limitations on a promissory note begins to run on the date the note is signed or the date appearing on the face of the note?

Who Must Sign a Mediated Settlement Agreement in light of SB 255?

In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and in a time when most, if not all, mediations were being conducted remotely, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion which from a practitioner’s standpoint, complicated matters. This is opinion is Mitchell v. Boswell. The upshot of Boswell was that the parties to a dispute needed to be the signatories as opposed to, in Boswell, their attorneys.

How North Carolina’s Legal Interest Rate Can Impact Settlement Discussions

In North Carolina the legal rate of interest on a judgment is 8% per year. Parties are also permitted to contract for a rate of interest in excess of the legal rate. At the time of this writing, the effective prime interest rate is 3.25%. As a result of this disparity between the legal interest rate in North Carolina (which was established when prime interest rates were in excess of 10%) and the current prevailing interest rates, there are currently calls for the legislature to revise the legal interest rate in North Carolina. To be clear, this has not happened.

What is a Deposition?

A deposition is a discovery tool wherein a witness is placed under oath and required to respond orally to questions from one or more lawyers. Depositions are frequently requested of parties. Other times, depositions are requested of non-parties who may have knowledge regarding the facts and circumstances surrounding a particular case. If you are not a party to a lawsuit and are asked to provide a deposition, you should not panic, but instead you should determine what information you have and how to best share that information in a way that is minimally invasive to your schedule.

Video: What is a Deed of Trust?

In this session of the Vann Attorneys Video LegalPad, Ian Richardson answers the question, “What is a deed of trust?”

How Long Does it Take To Recover Money Through a Lawsuit?

Often when potential clients call our office it is because they are owed money by someone else. Commonly these situations involve suppliers of building materials or contractors who are owed money related to a construction project. Other situations involve people who have loaned money on a promissory note. We must first determine the reason that someone is owed money in order to best assess how quickly we might be able to help recover that money. In other words, the answer to “how long will it take me to collect?” is almost always the classic lawyer answer of “it depends.”

Small Claims Court: Is It Worth It, and is it Final?

We often get phone calls from perspective clients who have either filed suit in small claims court, or who have been sued in small claims court. The good news for the perspective client is that in theory, the matter about which they are calling should be a low dollar amount dispute as the jurisdictional limit in small claims court is $10,000.00. This means, only matters involving disputes less than $10,000.00 may be brought in small claims court.

Enforceable mediated settlement agreements in the COVID-19 Era

Mediations, like so many things in the world right now, are being conducted via Zoom and other web-based platforms. A recent Court of Appeals decision should give pause to anyone participating in a mediation conducted remotely. The decision in Mitchell v. Boswell deals with whether a settlement agreement signed on behalf of a party by that party’s attorney, is enforceable. The Court of Appeals concluded, based upon the language of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-38.1(1), that such a settlement agreement is not enforceable.

Wake County’s Plan to Resume Jury Trials

On September 30, 2020 the 10th Judicial District, which encompasses Wake County, North Carolina, released its Jury Trial Resumption Plan (“the Plan”). A fully copy of the plan is available here. The plan is quite comprehensive and deals with matters ranging for jury duty to the mechanics of jury trials during COVID-19 for practitioners. The plan states in its preface, “This plan sets out the baseline for the resumption of jury trials; policies implementing the measures set out herein will continue to be reviewed and adjusted by the Wake County Court Emergency Response Team, in consultation with state and local health officials.”

Protected Settlement Discussions in North Carolina

Often I get phone calls where a potential clients wants to share with me a conversation that they had with a party they are involved in a dispute with. Sometimes, the conversation which is being recounted to me sounds as though it was in the context of settlement. An analysis must then to be done as to what extent, if at all, the conversation might be admissible in a courtroom one day.

Effect of Notice of Appeal on Judgment Enforcement

We often have situations arise where a debtor seeks to avoid execution on a judgment by giving notice of appeal to the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Often debtors, and even some lawyers, operate under the impression that if they appeal a judgment, a creditor is precluded from taking steps to execute on the judgment. This is an incorrect assumption.

I Forgot to Answer a Lawsuit: What Can I Do?

We often get phone calls from potential clients who have been sued and, for a variety of reasons, missed their deadline for answering the lawsuit.  While missing such a deadline is serious, and something you should absolutely be concerned about, it is not necessarily grounds for immediate panic

Do I NEED a Lawyer In Small Claims Court?

I often get asked whether a lawyer is necessary in small claims court. The short answer to this is “no.” Both individuals and businesses can represent themselves in small claims court in North Carolina. However, there are a number of benefits to having a lawyer represent you in small claims court. Notwithstanding the benefits, the obvious downside is that the amount in controversy will be relatively small, so having an attorney may not be cost effective. An attorney’s fee provision in your contract is important in order to help justify the use of an attorney for small claims matters.

Business Defamation Claims in the Online Era

I frequently receive phone calls from upset business owners who are dealing with either disgruntled employees or customers. In the age of the internet and social media, more often than not, the employee or customer has posted something negative online. Usually the business owner will approach me with some type of working knowledge of North Carolina defamation laws, as their first step after reading the review tends to be performing a Google search on what their legal rights might be. With these types of claims it is important to have a lawyer who views themselves not only as an advocate but also as a counselor and advisor.

Claim of Lien on Funds: A Potential Saving Grace for “Slow to file” Lien Claimants

As an initial matter, it is worth pointing out that a sub-contractor’s best bet for getting paid is to timely file a mechanic’s lien within 120 days of the last day of furnishing labor or materials. However, sometimes, things happen. This has been particularly true recently with COVID-19 related shutdowns, delays, and closures. If you are a sub-contractor who needs to be paid, but you find yourself outside of the 120-day mechanic’s lien filing window, you have another lien option: a claim of lien on funds

Attorney’s Fees in Lien Enforcement Actions

“Can I recover my attorney’s fees?” is a question we often receive at the outset of litigation. The general rule in North Carolina is that each party is responsible for its own attorney’s fees, unless the contract or a statute provides otherwise.