Case results
What the work actually looks like.
49 representative matters, each one filed under the practice area it belongs to and credited to the attorneys who handled it.
16 matters
Personal Injury & Accidents
- Settlementmore than $1 million
More than $1 million for two motorcyclists hit from behind while stopped for a paving construction truck.
The strategy was to deal first with the motorcyclists' own underinsured motorist policies, obtaining $600,000 along with an agreement waiving the insurers' contractual right to be reimbursed from any other negligent party. With that closed, the firm pursued the paving company on a further theory and obtained an additional $475,000.
- Settlement
Recovery for a family of seven after both parents were seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident on I-85 in Cabarrus County.
Investigation identified insurance policies that would not otherwise have been claimed. The firm also gathered to provide assistance to the family over the holiday season.
- Settlement
Settlement for a client struck at a local NASCAR race by a drunk driver fleeing police with illegal weapons, drugs and other contraband.
Police dash-cam video was obtained and used as evidence.
- Settlement
Wrongful death action settled for the three children of a young mother killed in an automobile accident.
Multiple policies were located and claimed. The firm also handled estate filings, life insurance claims, housing for the children with the proper family member, and death benefits through the mother's employer.
- Settlement
Settlement and structured annuities in a tractor-trailer case where the driver fell asleep and pushed the client's car 735 feet down the road.
The case involved a death and surviving clients with serious injuries. Annuities were obtained for the surviving client and his two children alongside the cash settlement.
- Settlement
Policy limits paid after a client stopped in traffic on I-40 in Morganton was rear-ended by a driver traveling at 75 miles per hour.
The result followed extensive doctor depositions in Knoxville, Tennessee.
- Settlement
Full policy limits, before the trial calendar, for the family of a single mother of three killed by a driver on the wrong side of the road in a curve.
The firm also handled the wrongful death issues with the Clerk's Estates Division, including qualifying an aunt to handle the children's affairs.
- Settlement
Settlement at mediation for a father and his two minor children in an accident EMS personnel called one of the worst they had seen in thirty years of work.
The father and daughter were airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center and the son transported by ambulance. Suit was filed on the father's case and all three claims were resolved at mediation, avoiding a trial. The defendant was driving a company vehicle, so more than the state minimum was available.
- Settlement
Settlement for a man in his late forties with massive head, face, shoulder and back injuries from an explosion at his worksite, who will never again do the only work he has known.
- Settlement
Policy limits for a beautician who could no longer work after the crash that killed her husband as they drove home from a friend's funeral.
The firm traveled to Whiteville to meet her, and later handled her husband's estate.
- Settlement
Personal injury claim, and later accidental death benefits for the mother, for a young man paralyzed by an impaired driver who died seven months later.
The benefits were obtained despite the time that had passed between the accident and his death.
- Settlement
Full policy limits and all available underinsured motorist coverage for a client who thought he was unhurt after a minor accident.
A recent hernia surgery needed repair because of the seat belt impact, and the follow-up surgery was tied to the accident.
- Settlement
Full policy limits for a client already disabled from an earlier accident, by showing the new injuries further complicated his health.
- Settlement
Recovery, placed in an annuity for college and future needs, for a child who nearly drowned in a murky motel pool during a baseball tournament.
Rescuers had difficulty finding him because of the condition of the water. The firm obtained several years of Health Department warnings and tracked down out-of-state guests, responding police and medical personnel for statements.
- Resolved
A Statesville driver imprisoned for a long term after running over a child walking on a sidewalk near the child's home.
Aggressive investigation and attendance at continued court appearances gave the family assurance that someone cared, beyond anything the insurer was willing to pay for their loss.
- Settlement
Payment for immediate injuries, subsequent surgery and pain and suffering after establishing that airbag powder entering the client's nasal cavity caused the facial surgery she needed.
15 matters
Criminal Defense
- Acquitted
Not guilty verdict on a charge of first degree murder.
Bullet path forensic evidence discredited the state's three alleged eyewitnesses, and a real eyewitness overlooked by police was found.
- Acquitted
Not guilty verdict in a two-week federal trial on drug conspiracy charges for a Robeson County deputy sheriff accused of selling drugs removed from a property control evidence locker.
- Acquitted
Judgment of acquittal on 130 counts of money laundering, receiving stolen goods and conspiracy, following a nine-week federal trial and a successful appeal to the Fourth Circuit.
- Acquitted
Not guilty verdict on indecent exposure charges for a member of the Charlotte Fire Department.
- Dismissed
Dismissal of solicitation charges for a former member of the North Carolina House of Representatives.
- Dismissed
Domestic violence charges dismissed where the defendant was held without bond, and without a bond hearing, longer than necessary when a judge was available.
- Dismissed
Dismissal of a weapons charge for a client who forgot and carried a pistol in carry-on luggage through an airport TSA checkpoint.
- Resolved
Multiple convictions re-opened and consolidated for a client on probation facing felony breaking and entering charges, so he could avoid a jail sentence, resolve probation violations, obtain a valid license and return to work.
The convictions were for driving with a revoked license, carrying a concealed weapon, expired registration and no insurance.
- Resolved
Court order striking a failure to appear and order for arrest, and reducing pending motor vehicle charges, so the client could obtain a valid driver's license and return to work.
- Dismissed
Evidence suppressed, and the charge dismissed, where a vehicle stop was illegal: a citizen tip without sufficient indicia of reliability, or no reasonable articulable suspicion under the Fourth Amendment.
- Dismissed
Charge defeated where the affidavit supplied to the magistrate to support probable cause was not properly verified by a notary, or otherwise did not contain sufficient sworn evidence.
- Dismissed
Charge dismissed where jail authorities denied the defendant access to a potential witness, denying him the opportunity to gather evidence to confront the state's evidence of impairment.
- Dismissed
Intoxilyzer results suppressed where the chemical analyst failed to follow required procedures, such as the fifteen-minute observation period, leaving no admissible alcohol content evidence.
- Resolved
Vehicle returned where the state seized it for forfeiture and did not set the case for hearing within the statutory thirty-day limit.
- Acquitted
Not guilty verdict for a DWI defendant where aerial photographs showed the officer's version of events could not have happened.
2 matters
Workers' Compensation
- On appeal
The Industrial Commission overturned its own denial of a client's workers' compensation claim for injuries sustained driving for work.
The insurer had denied the claim. The Commission agreed to pay after argument and depositions from several doctors.
- Settlement
A workers' compensation claim and a third-party personal injury claim handled together for a client of the Denver office, badly injured on the job by a negligent third person.
The compensation reimbursement was eliminated, disability ratings obtained, and settlement pursued against the wrongdoer.
5 matters
Family Law
- Settlement
Favorable settlement in a protracted alimony and equitable distribution case for a wife and stay-at-home mother of twenty-five years, after years of failed attempts with other counsel and a spouse who refused to provide basic support for room and board.
- Settlement
Favorable settlement in an alimony and equitable distribution case for a husband and supporting spouse of almost twenty-five years, despite the threat of protracted and contentious litigation over alimony demands.
- Dismissed
Alimony claim against the client dismissed after investigation and discovery uncovered adultery on the part of the client's wife.
- Resolved
Immediate emergency relief for multiple clients in equitable distribution litigation, by order for interim distribution of assets towards the upkeep of the marital residence they occupied.
- Dismissed
Full relief from contempt on an out-of-state child support order enforced by North Carolina. The contempt motion and complaint were dismissed by the county.
The result followed research of the client's payment history and negotiation with Lincoln County and its counsel.
10 matters
Commercial Law
- Verdictover $1 million
Over $1 million collected on a judgment for damages against Exxon/Mobil after a two-week civil trial in federal court and multiple appeals.
- On appeal
North Carolina Supreme Court reversal, for a corporate defendant, of the largest civil penalty ever imposed by state regulators for violation of the open burning laws.
- Verdictover $100,000
Verdict of over $100,000 for a general contractor in a mechanic's lien case, plus attorney's fees and litigation expenses of over $36,000.
- Verdict$57,000
Verdict of $57,000 in favor of a general contractor in a construction defect case, with a further $55,000 in attorney's fees and interest.
- Settlement$200,000
Legal malpractice case settled for a policy-limited recovery of $200,000.
- Settlement
Seven-figure recovery, in cash and property, on a breach of contract claim against a developer.
- Resolved
Complex asset sale coordinated for a large construction client, covering both land and equipment in North and South Carolina.
- Resolved
A lien perfected within a few hours' notice, stopping a third-party purchaser from taking valuable equipment after the buyer defaulted on a promissory note and tried to sell the business on.
- Resolved
Protracted boundary line, encroachment and trespass litigation avoided for multiple clients through careful research before mediation or soon after filing, saving thousands in legal fees.
- Resolved
Homeowners' associations and wronged association members counseled on the North Carolina Planned Community Act as it applies to specific bylaws and declarations, avoiding costly litigation.
1 matter
Estate Administration & Planning
- Resolved
An estate including commercial and residential property administered for a client of more than twenty years: rents collected, properties managed and eventually sold, over nearly five years.
Charlotte · Denver · Lake Norman
Tell us what happened
Every matter on this page started with a phone call.
Mon–Thu 8:30am–5pm · Fri 8:30am–4pm