Our section membership has a strong tradition of supporting and participating in pro bono and community service activities—both those planned and sponsored by the NCBA and those that you undertake on your own or with other organizations. We are in unprecedented times with COVID-19 (Coronavirus), and I am confident that each of you is doing your part.
Even in the best of times, however, over 1.5 Million North Carolinians struggle with hunger—of those, nearly half a million are children. With public schools and many religious and nonprofit organizations that traditionally serve the food insecure in our communities being closed for indefinite periods, and government leaders calling for social distancing to help limit the spread of Coronavirus, that need is never more pressing than now.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Litigationhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngLitigation2020-03-16 11:22:022020-03-19 13:44:59Fight Hunger, Help Others in the COVID-19 Pandemic - Participate in the Legal Feeding Frenzy and Support Your Local Food Bank!
Criminal Justice Section members should pay close attention to rapidly developing guidance from state and federal courts concerning COVID-19. The most recent guidance is summarized below, and the relevant orders are linked. Please also check with your local courts to track developments affecting you and your clients; as of 11:00 a.m. Monday, March 16, 2020, 16 counties were reporting court closings and/or advisories.
NC State Courts
Chief Justice Beasley entered an order on Friday, March 13 regarding the operation of the North Carolina court system.
Family Law Section members, please make note of Chief Justice Beasley’s announcement today regarding the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) impact on court operations, which goes into effect on Monday, March 16. You can access her announcement here:
Although courthouses will remain open, this will have a direct impact on many of us practicing in the North Carolina Court System because all court proceedings will be rescheduled for at least 30 days, with some exceptions.
Litigation Section members should pay particular attention to today’s announcement by Chief Justice Beasley regarding the operation of the North Carolina court system during the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus). For your convenience, a link to the announcement is here.
In summary, the Chief Justice’s Order states the following:
EFFECTIVE MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2020, for 30 days, Chief Justice Beasley ordered the rescheduling of District and Superior Court proceedings calendared between March 16 and April 16. No District or Superior Court matters can be added to the calendar during the 30-day period either.
E-filing has improved the lives of lawyers everywhere. Traveling when that brief is due? You can file from the vacation house. Still fine-tuning after business hours? The court is always open! CM/ECF has been crucial for the expeditious filing of petitions and pleadings and for reducing paper record requirements for the federal courts. It has been good news for bankruptcy judges, too—they no longer accept petitions delivered to them at home, as multiple judges would do for chapter 11 emergency filings!
CM/ECF is upgrading to NextGen CM/ECF in federal courts across the country. As of October 2019, the bankruptcy courts in the Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina have deployed NextGen CM/ECF. The Middle District of North Carolina has a projected go-live date in late spring or early summer 2020.
For external users, the only noticeable NextGen CM/ECF change may relate to “Central Sign-On,” a new feature that allows attorneys to maintain one filing account across all NextGen courts (appellate, district, and bankruptcy) and through all job transitions.
The North Carolina Supreme Court nixed a putative class-action lawsuit against a property insurer and validated the insurer’s untested practice of depreciating labor costs under actual cash value (“ACV”) policies. A unanimous Court held that an insurance policy provision allowing a deduction for depreciation of labor costs for roof repairs applied to all repairs to the dwelling. Although the amount at issue for the individual plaintiff was only $169.30, the decision has far-reaching implications for the adjustment of first-party property damage claims.
Accardi v. Hartford Underwriting Insurance Company arose out of a hailstorm claim in which plaintiff-homeowner Thomas Accardi sustained damage to his roof, siding and garage. Accardi had a homeowner’s policy with Hartford that required Hartford to pay plaintiff the ACV of the damaged property until repairs were completed. If the property were repaired and the repairs cost more than the ACV, then Hartford was required to reimburse Plaintiff for the full amount of the repair costs, minus the deductible.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00InsuranceLawhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngInsuranceLaw2020-03-11 11:36:382020-03-12 09:18:43N.C. Supreme Court Gives Green Light for Insurers to Depreciate Labor Costs
Note: An earlier version of this post included information about the Moot Court Competition. This event has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Read more here.
In addition, the Liberty Bell Award Subcommittee of the Young Lawyers Division’s Law Week/Liberty Bell Committee is seeking nominations for the Liberty Bell Award to be presented at the Law Day Ceremony on May 1, 2020. As we celebrate the sixty-second anniversary of Law Day and this year’s theme of “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Democracy: The 19th Amendment at 100,” we encourage submissions reflecting the theme in our State. The nominee should be someone who exemplifies lifelong service to the law in North Carolina and the 2020 Law Day theme. We request that full information be given about each candidate’s qualifications, including a resume or brief description of the nominee’s career accomplishments and service to North Carolina. Many districts choose to get together and vote on one or more nominees, while others do so less formally. Additionally, individual members of the Bar or non-attorneys may nominate candidates. We encourage all districts statewide to participate. A Nomination Form is available. Any name(s) that you or members of your district wish to present should be postmarked and mailed c/o Leila A. Hicks, 280 S. Mangum St., Suite 400, Durham, NC 27701 or emailedto Leila Hicks no later than Friday, March 20, 2020, for presentation to the committee.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBA YLDhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBA YLD2020-03-11 10:41:292020-03-11 16:03:20Law Week and Liberty Bell Award
As organizations prepare for certain contingency work arrangements in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, companies must also focus attention on ensuring appropriate cyber hygiene. Companies are anticipating more individuals working remotely from the safety of their own homes to avoid contracting the virus and other companies are planning for potential quarantines and school closings. The flexibility of working remotely, however, involves real cybersecurity risks that companies should be aware of and work to mitigate in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak. With increased remote work, there is increased risk of employees accessing data through unsecured and unsafe Wi-Fi networks, using personal devices to perform work, and not following general security protocols established by the company. As individuals are approved or otherwise authorized to work remotely, there must be a multi-departmental focus on maintaining proper controls. Management should be coordinating with the Human Resources (HR) and Information Technology (IT) departments to establish security controls and ensure employees are properly trained on those controls in the remote work context.
Membership in the Legal Practice Hall of Fame is a significant recognition by the North Carolina Bar Association of the lifelong achievements of lawyers who have practiced in North Carolina for thirty years or more. Started in 1989 as the General Practice Hall of Fame, this recognition has now been afforded to 164 members of the Association.
The deadline for nominations for the Legal Practice Hall of Fame is March 20. Access the nomination form here.
Senior Lawyers Division chair Bruce Huggins believes these recipients “truly represent the best of our profession in excellence of practice, professionalism, courtesy and community service.” “The Senior Lawyers Division is honored to have assumed the responsibility to select the recipients of this award beginning in 2019,” says Chairman Huggins.
Greetings Privacy and Data Security Section members! It’s hard to believe we’re more than halfway through our inaugural year as a Section.
Following the Section Council’s February meeting, I wanted to provide an update on the Section’s activities and highlight some opportunities for members to get involved in the Section’s work.
Annual Meeting and CLE – Planners Needed
On October 24, 2019 the Section held its first Annual Meeting and CLE at the Bar Center in Cary. The meeting was jam-packed with useful content and was well-received by attendees. Thanks again to the speakers and to Karin McGinnis and Kate Kliebert, the co-chairs of the CLE committee, for their work in making the program a resounding success.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Securityhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngSecurity2020-03-10 08:18:092020-03-10 15:31:32A Message from the Chair of the NCBA Privacy and Data Security Section
By Will Quick
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By Shelley Abel and Sarah Scholz
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By E.D. Gaskins