In Simmons v. United Mortgage and Loan Investment, LLC, we have filed this reply brief with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in this wage and hour case.  See here for a summary of the case.   Ann Groninger, Burton Craige, and Narendra Ghosh are representing the plaintiffs, who are seeking to remedy the company’s failure to pay overtime to themselves and other Junior Asset Managers.  Here is a summary of our argument to the Court:

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Categories: News of the Firm Tags: Ann Groninger, Appeals, Briefs, Burton Craige, Class Action, Collective Action, FLSA, Fourth Circuit, Labor and Employment, Narendra Ghosh, NC Wage and Hour Act, Overtime, Wage and Hour

The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled for the plaintiff in Adkins v. Stanley County Board of Education, a case in which we represented the North Carolina Advocates for Justice in an amicus brief filed with the Court.  Reversing the trial judge, the Court of Appeals concluded that the judge had inappropriately overruled an earlier judge’s ruling on the core First Amendment issue in this employment retaliation case.

Although the two judge’s rulings were at different phases in the case, they both ruled on the same question of law.  In such situations, a trial judge cannot overrule an earlier judge’s decision — that is the province of the appellate courts.  The Court thus did not reach the state constitutional question presented in the NCAJ’s amicus brief.

Categories: News of the Firm Tags: Amicus, Appeals, Burton Craige, Constitutional Law, Labor and Employment, Narendra Ghosh, NC Court of Appeals, Results

In Simmons v. United Mortgage and Loan Investment, LLC, we have filed this opening brief with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in this wage and hour case.  The plaintiffs are Charlotte-based Junior Asset Managers for a mortgage company who were not paid overtime even though they worked more than 40 hours per week.  They brought claims under the FLSA and NC Wage and Hour law based on the failure to pay overtime.  The primary issue is whether the plaintiffs will be able to pursue their case as a collective and class action on behalf the other underpaid workers at the company.  The defendants have tried to short-circuit the collective/class action process by tendering a limited settlement offer before other workers could be notified of the case.  Ann Groninger, Burton Craige, and Narendra Ghosh are representing the plaintiffs. Read more…

Categories: News of the Firm Tags: Ann Groninger, Appeals, Burton Craige, Class Action, Collective Action, FLSA, Fourth Circuit, Labor and Employment, Narendra Ghosh, North Carolina Wage and Hour Act, Overtime, Wage and Hour

Burton Craige has published an article entitled “The Road to Comparative Fault in North Carolina” in this month’s issue of The Litigator, the regular publication of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Litigation Section.

Summary:  North Carolina is one of only five jurisdictions that retain the antiquated doctrine of contributory negligence. Here, as in Alabama, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, a plaintiff whose negligence makes the slightest contribution to his injury is barred from recovering any damages against the tortfeasor. The other 46 states, either by judicial decision or by statute, have adopted some form of comparative fault, allocating damages based on the degree of fault among the plaintiff and the defendants.

In May 2009, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed a bill that would abolish contributory negligence, adopt a system of modified comparative fault, and modify joint and several liability.  Modeled on the Uniform Apportionment of Tort Responsibility Act (UATRA), the bill attracted bipartisan sponsorship and support.  After the sponsors agreed to several last-minute amendments that favored defendants, the bill (HB 813) passed by a margin of 67-50, overcoming strong opposition from business and insurance interests.

In the 2010 session, the North Carolina Senate will consider HB 813.  If the bill passes the Senate, it will end the long, harsh regime of contributory negligence, and bring North Carolina tort law into the modern era.  This article discusses the provisions of UATRA, the amendments adopted in the House, and the principal objections to the bill.

Categories: News of the Firm Tags: Articles, Burton Craige, Comparative Fault, Contributory Negligence, NC Legislature, NCBA, Negligence, Personal Injuries, UATRA

Burton Craige was the Program Chair for today’s CLE on 2010 Ethics Hot Topics, presented by the North Carolina Advocates for Justice.  Topics included the ethical considerations in dealing with child witnesses, attorneys’ websites and advertising, and contacting the employees of companies in a lawsuit.

Categories: News of the Firm Tags: Burton Craige, Ethics, NCAJ, Presentation

Six of Patterson Harkavy’s attorneys have been named North Carolina “Super Lawyers” for 2010 in a recent study by Law & Politics magazine.  The findings are published in the February 2010 edition of the North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine.

Patterson Harkavy’s 2010 North Carolina “Super Lawyers” are:

• Valerie Johnson — Workers’ Compensation
• Leto Copeley — Workers’ Compensation
• Burton Craige — Personal Injury: Medical Malpractice
• Hank Patterson — Workers’ Compensation
• Michael Okun — Labor & Employment Law
• Jonathan Harkavy — Alternative Dispute Resolution

In addition, Jonathan Harkavy was named to the list of the Top 100 attorneys in North Carolina.

Law & Politics conducts a regional survey of lawyers who have been in practice for at least five years, asking them to nominate the best attorneys they’ve personally observed in action.  In addition, the magazine’s attorney-led research department reviews nominees’ credentials based on a set of evaluation criteria.  To ensure a diverse and well-balanced list, the research staff considers factors such as firm size, practice area and geographic location.

Categories: News of the Firm Tags: Burton Craige, Hank Patterson, Jonathan Harkavy, Labor and Employment, Leto Copeley, Medical Malpractice, Michael Okun, Personal Injuries, Recognition, Super Lawyers, Valerie Johnson, Workers' Compensation

In the current debate about health care reform, we hear a renewed call by medical and insurance lobbyists, politicians, and media pundits for “malpractice reform.”  These ardent reformers do not seek to reduce medical malpractice or improve patient safety.  Instead they seek to block access to the courts for the families of patients who have been injured or killed by medical errors.

A woman in Charlotte recently responded to this misguided campaign.  In an op-ed article published in the Charlotte Observer, Laurie Sanders explained why she has a special interest in the subject:

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Categories: General News Tags: Burton Craige, Defensive Medicine, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injuries, Tort Reform

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

Burton Craige is quoted in this article on medical malpractice in today’s News and Observer.  The issue of medical malpractice had not been a significant part of the debate over comprehensive health care reform, but the issue briefly came to the fore when it was mentioned by President Obama in his health care address to Congress in early September.  As the article demonstrates, however, the number of medical malpractice lawsuits has sharply decreased in recent years.  The main beneficiary of that decrease, though, are the malpractice insurance companies, who apparently have not lowered doctors’ premiums accordingly.

The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein, the go-to source on the great health care debate, has several insightful posts on the medical malpractice issue here, here, and here (from 2006).

Categories: News of the Firm Tags: Burton Craige, Medical Malpractice, News and Observer, Personal Injuries, Press Coverage

The North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ), along with the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation, North Carolina Association of Educators, and North Carolina Troopers Association, have submitted an amicus brief to the N.C. Court of Appeals in Adkins v. Stanly County Board of Education.  The brief argues that the school board violated the plaintiff’s right of access to the courts, in violation of the Open Courts provision of the State Constitution, by firing her because she had filed a lawsuit in state court against the board and defendant Talley.   Burton Craige and Narendra Ghosh represented the NCAJ on the brief.

Categories: News of the Firm Tags: Amicus, Appeals, Briefs, Burton Craige, Constitutional Law, Labor and Employment, Narendra Ghosh, NC Court of Appeals, NCAJ