During the litigation of a lawsuit against an individual, the creditor/plaintiff must file what we affectionately call SCRAs, which is short for Service Member Relief Act forms. A good rule of thumb is that the plaintiff/creditor should resubmit the SCRA within sixty days of any hearing before the Court.
Join Vann Attorneys for an insightful webinar on the Enforcement of Foreign Judgments. This session will be hosted by attorneys James Vann and Ian Richardson, who will provide a comprehensive overview of what foreign judgments are and the processes involved in enforcing them.
I have seen construction contracts which contain a forum selection clause requiring any dispute to be subject to arbitration in a particular location. The reason for such a clause is quite simple, it limits how and where to litigate any dispute arising out of that agreement. Most contracts we see with out-of-state general contractor’s state that arbitration will occur in the state where their principal office is located. Sometimes, they will say arbitration shall occur in the state where their principal office is located or in the county where the project is located. Let us say that you as a subcontractor signed a subcontractor agreement with an out-of-state general contractor, which stated that arbitration shall occur in the state where the general contractor’s principal office is located. Let us say the project is in Wake County, North Carolina. Let us further speculate that you wish to file suit against the general contractor in the Superior Court Division of Wake County.
The Discovery stage of a lawsuit is important because it is when you can determine what information the opposing party is in possession of to support their claims or defenses. These discovery tools include interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for admission, and depositions.
We often get calls both from people we have subpoenaed to appear at trial and from clients who receive subpoenas wondering why they are getting dragged into someone else’s fight. It is a reasonable question. Why would anyone want to go to court and waste an entire day parking, finding the courtroom, and testifying when they are nothing but a witness. Almost always we will get asked “can’t I just sign an affidavit about what I know?” That is a good thought, but the rules of procedure and the rules of evidence say “No.”
We often must advise people as to whether they actually need an attorney. Not surprisingly the answer is that it depends. Often, we get calls from prospective litigants, in other words, people who are thinking about filing suit. Other times we get calls after a lawsuit has been filed. There is a similar but distinct analysis depending on which side of the “V” you find yourself on.
People frequently sign contracts which contain arbitration clauses. Arbitration is a process where a third party (or a panel of third parties) hear the evidence in a case and decide the outcome. This process is usually binding. Often these third-party arbitrators are attorneys in private practice who assist in the resolution of disputes. There are many reasons arbitration clauses appear in contracts. Conventional wisdom dictates that arbitration is less expensive and faster than litigation in State or Federal Court. Often that is the case, sometimes it is not. In fact, sometimes the cost of arbitration is prohibitive in pursuing a customer for non-payment. Thus, businesses should think about their circumstances when deciding whether arbitration of all disputes with customers is appropriate, or whether only certain types of disputes are to be resolved by arbitration. Often, arbitrators award less in damages than a jury might award. Thus, those who tend to face lawsuits in the personal injury context often attempt to contract for disputes to be resolved through binding arbitration.
For decades (from 1953 through 1987) members of the US Military, their families, and employees of Camp Lejeune were exposed to contaminated water. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act has been signed into law, and now makes it possible to bring claims for injuries and death caused by the contaminated water. Whether you have a claim is a complicated question, and you should speak with an attorney to determine how to proceed.
Being in a car crash is a difficult and frustrating experience under the best of circumstances. Even if you were not injured in the wreck, you will likely be without your car for a significant period of time while it is being repaired. If you were injured in the wreck, you have to focus on healing from your injuries while also likely navigating through a stack of confusing, and at times very expensive, medical bills. An attorney cannot take away the frustration or pain you are experiencing. However, an experienced personal injury attorney can help make sure you are treated fairly by the at-fault driver’s insurance company, and work to maximize the compensation to you for your pain, suffering, and frustration.
In this episode of the Vann Attorneys Legal Pad Podcast Attorneys James Vann and Ian Richardson discuss ‘What happens if you do not comply with a Court Order?’.
Two things that are nearly universally true in litigation are 1) the Defendant is never happy to be sued; and 2) there are almost always two sides to every story. As a result of these truths, we often get questions from clients asking if we can get the lawsuit dismissed because what was alleged in the lawsuit just isn’t true.
In this episode of the Vann Attorneys Legal Pad Podcast Attorneys James Vann and Ian Richardson discuss Expert Witnesses and When You Might Need One.
In this episode of the Vann Attorneys Legal Pad Podcast Attorneys James Vann and Ian Richardson discuss Producing Documents in Discovery. Discovery is a broad term in litigation that covers the exchange of information in the case.
No matter the size of your organization, chances are high you will face a claim in the future. Preparing for and understanding litigation is critical for any business leader. In this webinar, attorney J.D. Hensarling discusses some tips and best practices to help your organization prepare for litigation.
In this episode of the Vann Attorneys Legal Pad Podcast Attorneys James Vann and Ian Richardson discuss the topic of Attorney’s Fees and who is responsible for paying Attorney’s Fees. A question Vann Attorneys gets in almost every new engagement is who has to pay the attorney’s fees associated with litigation.
In this episode of the Vann Attorneys Legal Pad Podcast Attorneys James Vann and Ian Richardson discuss ‘Digging Deeper into Depositions’. James and Ian have spoken about depositions before on this podcast, but in this episode they take a slightly deeper dive with some examples from past depositions to better help you understand how depositions go right, and how unfortunately for some they go wrong.
In this episode of the Vann Attorneys Legal Pad Podcast Attorneys James Vann and Ian Richardson discuss the North Carolina Business Court.
We have never had anyone come into our office who was happy about getting served with a lawsuit. Often, we spend a lot of time in the initial meeting listening to why the other side is wrong. The other side may very well be wrong. However, once you have been sued you must deal with the lawsuit until the court agrees with you that the other side is wrong.
In 2019 Governor Cooper signed SB 199 into law which did a number of great things for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. SB 199 extends the statute of limitations for filing suit to 10 years after the survivor’s eighteenth birthday. Additionally, SB 199 renewed the statute of limitations for instances of abuse for children who were sexually abused but never brought a claim under the previous statute of limitations. The language of SB 199 states, “Effective from January 1, 2020, until December 31, 2021, this section revives any civil action for child sexual abuse otherwise time-barred under G.S. 1-52 as it existed immediately before the enactment of this act.”
In this episode of the Vann Attorneys Legal Pad Podcast Attorneys James Vann and Ian Richardson discuss Post Judgment Collections in the Digital Age.
