2020-2021 Construction Law Section Summary

By Matt Bouchard

In With the New

Apparently time still flies by, even during a pandemic. It has been such an honor serving the Construction Law Section and its incredible members as Chair this past bar year, and it’s hard to fathom that the year is at its end. The section is in terrific hands as we move into the 2021-2022 bar year on July 1, with Parker Moore ([email protected]) taking the reins as Chair, ably assisted by Carl Burchette ([email protected]) as Vice-Chair, Sandy Mitterling Schilder ([email protected]) as Secretary, and Caroline Trautman ([email protected]) as Treasurer. Please reach out to them and let them know how the section can better serve you — as well as how you can serve the section.

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New Law Clarifies Pro Hac Vice Practice Before Administrative Agencies

The General Assembly has amended Chapter 84 to clarify how out-of-state attorneys may apply to practice pro hac vice before the Utilities and Industrial Commissions and OAH, and any other administrative agencies. S 277 (SL 2021-60). Ret. & Treasury Tech. Corrections Act Of 2021. The governor signed the bill on Monday, June 28. It is effective on July 1, 2021. The change:

1.  Specifies that the out-of-state attorney must apply to the relevant forum for permission to practice pro hac vice, and

2.  Specifies that the out-of-state attorney must direct the $225 fee to the administrative agency head. The agency does not keep the fee, but instead must then send $200 to the treasurer for support of the courts and $25 to the State Bar to support regulation of out-of-state attorneys practicing in North Carolina.

When You Do Not Know What You Do Not Know: Are There Certain Interests Not Foreclosed In a Tax Foreclosure?

James W. Narron

Taylor Avioli

By James W. Narron and Taylor Avioli

Once upon a time there was abroad in the east a rogue with a tax scheme: set up a North Carolina nonprofit corporation, with the word, “Conservation,” in the name, have one-page minutes naming prominent folks like judges as directors, and file the same away. Not only would the directors not meet, but also they were never aware of the company or that they were named. Without any of the baseline data and other requirements for a conservation easement included in the 26 U.S.C Section 170(h) regulations, cause a deed to be made to the company and encourage owners of the land to take certain federal deductions for a conservation easement and certain state tax credits (at a time when those were allowed). See, e.g., Lukens Island Timber Enterprises, LLC, v. Coastal Hunting Land Conservation Group, Inc., 09 CVS 1901 (Carteret County Superior Court rescinded the conservation easement based on fraud of the creator). In some cases, the owners would just abandon the lands, after which in due course a tax foreclosure would follow.

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Paralegal Spotlight: Mary Accardi

By Mary Accardi

I became a paralegal a few years ago, not as a recent college graduate nor as my first profession, but as someone looking for divine intervention.

My younger self was a stay-at-home mom until my divorce. At the time, I was determined to support myself, and against the advice of my attorney, did not ask for alimony. Maybe not a great idea in retrospect, but knowing myself, I would most likely do it again. I did not have a college degree and had not worked outside of my home in over ten years. I was lucky, though; I found a job in New York City working for an oil broker. Within a year, I was the Office Manager. When they decided to move to Miami, I handled the logistics of moving the office, the brokers, and their families, as well as mine. Being a single Mom in an unfamiliar city, five hundred miles from all that I knew, I was miserable; I missed my family and friends. I connected with someone that knew someone, and as luck would have it, found a job immediately back in Midtown Manhattan. Back then, you could make a decent living without a college education. It was a different time. However, internally, I frequently felt “less than.”

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Judge Mann Appoints New Codifier of Rules

Chief Administrative Law Judge Julian Mann III appointed Ashley B. Snyder as the Codifier of Rules effective July 1, 2021. The Codifier enters rules into the North Carolina Administrative Code, publishes the North Carolina Register, and reviews emergency rules. In addition, the Codifier serves as the Director of APA Services by managing and directing the Rules Division. The Division provides legal and administrative support to the Rules Review Commission and publishes the North Carolina Register and North Carolina Administrative Code. Ashley will replace Molly Masich who retired Jan. 1 after 41 years of service to the state.

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Case Law Update: Child Support

By Rebecca Watts

Craven County o/b/o Wooten v. HagebCourt of Appeals of North Carolina, June 1, 2021 (Child Support)

Father and mother have two children together. Father has three other minor children from previous relationships – two of those other children live with him. Mother is a W-2 employee and father is self-employed. In its findings regarding father’s income, the trial court noted that father’s business had significant expenses but failed to take those expenses into consideration in its calculation of income for child support purposes – instead, the trial court utilized father’s gross monthly business income as his income for child support purposes. Additionally, because father was only listed as the father on the birth certificate of one of the two children living with him, the trial court only gave father credit for that one child. Father appealed. Read more

2021 Pro Bono Award Winners Recognized

The 2021 Pro Bono Award winners were recognized during the virtual NCBA Annual Meeting on Thursday, June 17. The recipients are:

  • Deborah Greenblatt Outstanding Legal Services Attorney Award: Dr. Johnnie C. Larrie – Legal Aid of North Carolina (Raleigh)
  • Law Firm Pro Bono Award: Robinson Bradshaw (Charlotte)
  • Law School Pro Bono Award: Elon University School of Law – People Not Property Project (Greensboro)
  • Outstanding Collaborative Pro Bono Award: Charles W. Williamson Bar Foundation (Henderson)
  • William Thorp Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Service Award: Sean Lew – Sean Lew, PLLC Attorney at Law (Winston-Salem)
  • Young Lawyers Division Pro Bono Service Award: John Noor – Roberts & Stevens (Asheville)

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Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Series: Special Considerations When Representing Child Clients

Megan Reilly-Dreas

Niya Fonville

By Megan Reilly-Dreas and Niya Fonville

It’s no secret that the ability to form a trusting relationship with clients is one of the most important skills a lawyer can have. As a rule, “when a client’s capacity to make adequately considered decisions in connection with a representation is diminished because of minority . . . the lawyer shall as far as reasonably possible, maintain a normal client-lawyer relationship with the client.”[1] However, additional considerations should be made when the client is a minor child.

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Case Law Update: AOC 50C Order

By Rebecca Watts

DiPrima v. Vann, COA20-545, Court of Appeals of North Carolina, May 18, 2021

A sixteen-year-old plaintiff sought a 50C order against a seventeen-year-old defendant after the defendant intimidated and harassed her by following and touching her without her consent, threatening to kill or harm her if she stopped being his friend, threatening to shoot up their school, telling her he wanted to kill and torture two teachers, cutting himself in class in front of her, telling her he wanted to fight her parents, and telling her that he had researched how to make bombs and shoot up the school.

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MIP’s Diverse Perspectives: LaToya Powell

By LaToya Powell

MIP’s Diverse Perspectives is a blog feature to spotlight a member from North Carolina’s community of diverse attorneys and legal professionals. Members have the opportunity to share a personal perspective through a brief set of interview questions.

This month’s perspective is courtesy of LaToya Powell, Assistant Legal Counsel, North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, Raleigh.

What law school did you attend and what was your graduation year?

The University of North Carolina School of Law, 2005. Read more