In Hojnacki v. Last Rebel Trucking, the Court of Appeals reversed the Industrial Commission, and ruled that one of the defendant-companies, Last Rebel Trucking, was also one of the plaintiff’s employers under the Workers’ Compensation Act.  The plaintiff, Mr. Hojnacki, was an interstate truck driver who was hired by Last Rebel Trucking, a local North Carolina company, to drive its truck under the dispatch of Comtrak Logistics, a large trucking company based in Tennessee.  On appeal, it was admitted that Comtrak was one of Mr. Hojnacki’s employers.  In its opinion, the Court found that Last Rebel was also an employer because it paid Mr. Hojnacki for driving its truck following its general directions.  The Court then remanded the case back to the Commission for a revised determination about jurisdiction and what benefits are owed to Mr. Hojnacki.  Leto Copeley and Narendra Ghosh are representing Mr. Hojnacki.

Categories: Judicial Decisions, Results Tags: Appeals, Employment Relationship, Industrial Commission, Leto Copeley, Narendra Ghosh, NC Court of Appeals, Results, Trucking Accidents, Workers' Compensation

The North Carolina Supreme Court denied the defendants’ petition for discretionary review (PDR) in Fulford v. Jenkins today, among its long list of orders.  This is a wrongful death action based on the negligence of the Duplin County Department of Social Services and its employees.  The defendants lost on the issue governmental immunity, appealed, lost unimously in the Court of Appeals, and then sought review from the Supreme Court.   Burton Craige and Narendra Ghosh assisted with the plaintiff’s representation at the Supreme Court, opposing the PDR.  The Court’s denial of the PDR means that the case will return to the trial court where it can proceed.

Categories: Judicial Decisions, Results Tags: Appeals, Burton Craige, Civil Rights, Narendra Ghosh, NC Supreme Court, Negligence, Personal Injuries, Results, Wrongful Death

In a unanimous decision, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiff could pursue his constitutional claims against the local board of education in Craig v. New Hanover County Board of Education.  Jusitce Hudson, writing for the Court, held that the plaintiff’s constitutional claims could not be barred because the school board enjoyed immunity from other tort claims.   Burton Craige helped to represent the plaintiff on appeal, and argued the case before the Supreme Court.

Categories: Judicial Decisions, Results Tags: Appeals, Burton Craige, Civil Rights, Constitutional Claims, NC Supreme Court, Patterson Harkavy, Results

The North Carolina Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Court of Appeals today, ruling instead for the plaintiff in Helm v. Appalachian State University.  Adopting Judge Calabria’s dissent, the Court held that the plaintiff has stated a valid retalation claim under the state’s Whitleblower Act because she opposed a waste of funds by the university.  Patterson Harkavy represented the plaintiff, Jane Helm, and Burton Craige argued the case before the Supreme Court.

Categories: Judicial Decisions, Results Tags: Burton Craige, Labor and Employment, NC Supreme Court, Patterson Harkavy, Results, Retaliation, Whistleblower Act

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the trial court’s decision for the union  in United Steelworkers, Local 850L v. Continental Tire.  The Court agreed with the union that the dispute over pension and health benefits had to submitted to arbitration.  Michael Okun assisted with the representation of the union.

Categories: Judicial Decisions, Results Tags: Arbitration, Fourth Circuit, Labor and Employment, Michael Okun, Results, Union

In Masood v. Erwin Oil Company, the Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the Industrial Commission regarding the payment of interest on an award of medical benefits to the plaintiff.  This is the second Court of Appeals decision in Mr Masood’s case, which began because he was denied workers’ compensation benefits after being shot while working at a gas station.

Under N.C.G.S. 97-86.2, plaintiffs are entitled to interest on their workers’ compensation awards if they prevail upon appeal.  Mr. Masood was ultimately awarded disability and medical benefits after his case was taken all the way to the North Carolina Supreme Court.  While the Commission included interest for his award of disability, it said he was not entitled to any interest on the award of medical benefits.  The Court of Appeals disagreed, concluding that Mr. Masood would be entitled to interest if he could show that he was disadvantaged by the inability to pay for care because the company denied his claim after he was injured.  The court remanded the case to the Commission for additional findings on “whether there was medically necessary treatment that plaintiff was unable to procure, and whether plaintiff had the ability to pay for this treatment during the time period that it was medically necessary.”

Leto Copeley and Narendra Ghosh represent Mr. Masood.

Categories: Judicial Decisions, Results Tags: Appeals, Industrial Commission, Interest, Leto Copeley, Medical Benefits, Narendra Ghosh, NC Court of Appeals, Results, Workers' Compensation