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   May
 
2013
 
   LEGAL TRENDS, ODDS & ENDS
Insights into North Carolina Law  from 
Civil Litigation Attorney MIKE  DAISLEY  
   

THE IMPORTANCE OF 

THE LITTLEST WORD...

Earlier this month, did it make the 

BIG difference in a $6 million verdict?

 

Greetings!  

     

     Not sure this is a good thing or a bad thing, but whenever I see news about trials and trial results, I'm always "reading in between the lines" as to what was REALLY going on.  That was particularly true earlier this month, when a Mecklenburg jury awarded $6 million in the wrongful deaths of two children from a horrific car crash in April 2009.    

     It reminded me that sometimes in civil trials, THE most important word that is ever uttered is also the shortest word in the dictionary: "A." 

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Read more on this case in the   

    Although I was not personally involved in this trial, I do know all the attorneys well and have worked with each of them on different matters in the past.  (And the judge I've known forever -- we were at Davidson together way back in the last century!)  This was a case where the plaintiffs' attorneys argued that the corporate defendant partially caused the deaths by failing to erect a traffic signal near the busy intersection near the entrance of one of its developments.

     In order to hold a defendant liable in a case like this involving injury or death, the plaintiffs must show that not only was the defendant careless (i.e. "negligent") in its behavior and decisions, BUT ALSO that such carelessness was... 

"proximate cause

of the deaths.   Obviously, I don't know exactly what the jury was thinking, but I am willing to bet that this one little word "a" was critically important in this case.

     This is because the crash was caused by many factors, including the fact that two young drivers were drag-racing at nearly 100 MPH down the road that runs by the entrance... 

 

     
Thom Tillis
Speaker Thom Tillis
On a different note, late last month I did something very unusual.  I actually complimented -- publicly! -- North Carolina's Speaker of the House Thom Tillis.  Most folks know I am not a particularly big fan of the current General Assembly, and all the harsh changes it has made lately adversely affecting the rights of citizens in the state courts.
     But as I explained explained to my colleagues in the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, I think the Speaker's position on Redistricting Reform is enlightened, and will help stop the harmful practice of politicians picking their voters instead of the voters having a real choice in elections.  READ MORE...
 
     As always, I am delighted to hear from you on any matter involving the law.  If I can't help you directly, I'll still pour you a cup of coffee and try my best to point you in the right direction.    

     All the best,
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Michel C. Daisley

Litigation Attorney & Certified Mediator

DaisleyLaw, PLLC

2412 Arty Avenue

Charlotte, NC  28208

704-887-6776

email:  [email protected]

A new video, VERY appropriate for one particularly tough case...
     Back in March, I wrote about one pretty tough case that posed a LOT of challenges, but that sometime you just Keep Pressing Forward.  Well I'm very pleased to say that there was a good outcome for a bad situation in that matter,
Daisley - Video Screen Shot
DaisleyLaw Video - Inadequate Coverage?
partly because we were able to uncover and apply additional insurance beyond what this young person's family was originally told by their agent.
     Obviously, each situation is different, but it as I discuss further in a video from our webpage, it is VERY important to go over all the different angles in order access all available resources. 
     Whether you access them through our firm's website, or login to our YouTube Channel, or simply search on Google for "DaisleyLaw videos," you will find a number of quick and (I hope) helpful tips and insights into such things as testifying at depositions, and customer and visitor injuries and North Carolina's law of contributory negligence, or whether to speak at a mediation.   
More Informational VIDEOS...
    Whether you access them through our firm's website, or login to our YouTube Channel, or simply search on Google for "DaisleyLaw videos," you will find a number of quick and (I hope) helpful tips and insights into such things as testifying at depositions, and customer and visitor injuries and North Carolina's law of contributory negligence, or whether to speak at a mediation.   
 
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Civil Litigation Attorney
& Certified Mediator
 
DaisleyLaw, PLLC
2412 Arty Avenue
Charlotte, NC  28208
 
(704)887-6776
 
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