Right now, the NCIC has mandated that all mediations must be conducted virtually until June 1, 2020. This time frame could change, so it is important to stay apprised of any changes reflected on both the NCIC website and the NC DRC website. In-person mediations are the most effective particularly when parties are navigating thorny legal or emotional issues. However, I have been thrilled to have the ability to conduct virtual mediations via the Zoom web conferencing platform, and they have gone very well. It really is the next best option to an in-person conference because you can still read facial expressions and body language, which is so important in a mediation.
On Friday, May 1, 2020, the Family Law Section participated in the North Carolina Bar Foundation’s first-ever “Virtual” Empower Hour. After our Virtual Section Meeting, members stayed on our Zoom call to login to NC Free Legal Answers and to help clear the Family Law question queue together. NC Free Legal Answers is a 100% virtual pro bono service where income-eligible North Carolina residents can ask civil legal questions for free. According to NCBF Pro Bono Staff Attorney, Jeanine Soufan, the most popular legal questions on the site are Family, Housing, and Consumer Law.
S.L. 2020-3, SB704 was passed by the House and Senate on May 2 and signed into law by the governor on May 4. It contains the following of interest to ZPLU members:
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.pngInsuranceLaw2020-05-12 23:05:222020-05-15 10:44:19Legislature Delays Enactment of 160D and Enacts Rules for Remote Meetings During State of Emergency
On May 8, 2020, Julian Mann, Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Office of Administrative Hearings, issued an order regarding the timeliness of contested case petition filings. Read the order below or here. There are other orders related to the COVID-19 emergency on the OAH website here.
State of North Carolina
Office of Administrative Hearings
1711 New Hope Church Rd
Raleigh, NC 27609
On March 19, 2020, The Honorable Cheri Beasley, Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, issued an order pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-39(b)(1) stating that “catastrophic conditions resulting from the public health threat posed by COVID-19 exist in all counties of this state.” The Chief Justice’s Order of March 19, 2020, was set to expire at the close of business on April 17, 2020. On April 13, 2020, The Honorable Cheri Beasley, Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, issued an order pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-39(b)(1) stating that “catastrophic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak have existed and continue to exist in all counties of this state.” The Chief Justice’s Order of April 13, 2020, is set to expire at the close of business on June 1, 2020, with the caveat that “[a]dditional emergency orders or directives under N.C.G.S. § 7A-39(b) may be entered as necessary to support the continuing operation of essential court functions.”
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Formed by Chief Justice Beasley, the COVID-19 Judicial Task Force (Task Force) comprised of members of our judiciary, other court officials, and members of the bar has met twice to anticipate, identify, and discuss issues related to the transition of our courts back to full operations. The next meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m., May 13, 2020, and may be livestreamed. Additional Task Force information is available.
While the Task Force addresses issues statewide, our judicial districts are working tirelessly to develop plans and procedures for the resumption of local court functions in keeping with the directives of our Chief Justice, our Governor, and health care advisors. As judicial districts make information available, we will share it with this practice section. The statewide judicial conferences remain scheduled for the week of June 15, 2020.
This week is Hurricane Preparedness Week (May 3-9), and although COVID-19 is dominating our news channels and conversations, we should not let it overshadow the upcoming hurricane season, which begins June 1, 2020. COVID-19 has certainly taken a toll on the State of North Carolina, with the most recent NCDHHS laboratory confirmed case count at 12,256. On May 5, Gov. Cooper announced that North Carolina will start Phase I of a reopen plan on Friday, May 8. This announcement comes almost two weeks after the governor first announced the three-phase plan. The United States has not faced an infectious disease disaster like COVID-19 since the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic; while our nation and state continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic response, North Carolina must also prepare for hurricane season.
Hurricanes and severe tropical storms have historically wreaked havoc along the North Carolina coast. These natural disasters are sudden, catastrophic, and have a disparate impact on vulnerable populations, and this season’s hurricane activity is forecasted to be above normal. The Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project recently published a forecast of the 2020 Atlantic seasonal hurricane activity that predicted sixteen named storms, eight hurricanes, and four major hurricanes.
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On March 27, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act introduced a number of new provisions to assist businesses and individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. One such provision adjusts the rules of net operating loss (“NOL”) carrybacks.
Before 2018, NOLs of a business or individual could be carried back two years and carried forward twenty years. When carried forward, NOLs at that time were allowed to offset 100% of taxable income. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, however, disallowed NOL carrybacks for all post-2017 losses, extended the twenty-year carryforward to an unlimited carryforward, but limited the NOL offset to 80% of taxable income.
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In the time of COVID-19, Electronically Stored Information and efficient ways to retrieve it are important considerations in any discussion regarding litigation preparation, especially when it comes to discovery planning. However, keep in mind that social media content is easy to create, but can be difficult to use in litigation and you may have to explain the importance of this type of evidence to judges and juries.
A little planning will save you time and heartache when it comes to social media discovery. With one exception, before your law office seeks to obtain social media posts by a party or witnesses, you’ll want to create a customized plan of action. Your plan should consider the potential volume of the material, where it may be stored, any confidentiality or security concerns, and any other unique issues presented by the case. Moreover, it’s important your plan be both defensible and cost effective.
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[Editor’s Note: This is the second of two posts related to North Carolina’s COVID-19 emergency legislation. For information regarding emergency witnessing and notarization requirements, please see the previous post.]
The current COVID-19 public health crisis has presented numerous novel issues to elder and special needs law attorneys—particularly in the area of guardianships. While many legal proceedings can be put on hold for several months, guardianships are of a particularly time-sensitive nature in most instances. This post is intended to provide some statutory updates and include some reminders and suggestions for navigating guardianship matters during COVID-19.
Service Requirements. On May 4, 2020, Governor Cooper signed Session Law 2020-3 into law. This new legislation addresses numerous time-sensitive matters impacted by COVID-19, including issues impacting guardianships in North Carolina.
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At a time when our state and nation face a pandemic the scale of which has not been encountered in roughly a century, administrative law continues to be a prevalent and pronounced part of our modern world. While it has been said in the past that “the action of administrative agencies so pervasively impinges on the daily lives of citizens and has become so thoroughly accepted as a mode of carrying out government business that the phenomenon often goes largely unnoticed,” administrative law is hardly unnoticed at this time when such drastic changes are occurring. Charles E. Daye, North Carolina’s New Administrative Procedure Act: An Interpretive Analysis, 53 N.C. L. Rev. 833, 836 (1975).
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Administrativehttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngAdministrative2020-05-05 12:15:152020-05-06 10:59:20Like the song in "Carousel," Administrative Law is "Bustin' Out All Over"
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