Blog Post

With the popularity of smart devices on the rise, their prevalence in the courtroom is increasing. In 2018, police used Karen Navarra’s Fitbit fitness tracker to find her murderer. Police accessed the recorded information and determined that her heart rate spiked then dropped significantly while her stepfather was in her house. Due to neighbors reports…
Read MoreSandra Day O’Connor, former Supreme Court Justice, released a letter October 23, 2018 revealing that she was diagnosed with early stage dementia (likely Alzheimer’s Disease). O’Connor plans to remain in Phoenix, AZ surrounded by her friends and family. O’Connor was the first female Supreme Court Justice of the United States. She served from 1981 until…
Read MoreAmerican singer and songwriter Aretha Franklin passed away on August 16 at the age of 76 after battling advanced pancreatic cancer. In the days following her passing, her four sons filed documents with the Michigan Probate Court stating that Aretha passed without a will or trust, and claimed to be interested parties in her estate.…
Read MoreLast week a Superior Court judge in Durham, North Carolina awarded Keith King $8.8 million dollars in damages against Francisco Huizar III, a man who had an affair with King’s wife. This verdict is the result of North Carolina’s alienation of affection and criminal conversion laws. A remnant of English common law, causes of…
Read MoreIn our ongoing series of posts about arbitration, an increasingly popular form of private dispute resolution across the United States. This week, we will discuss another prevalent system for resolving legal disputes outside of the public court system, mediation. Although arbitration and mediation both use independent third-parties to resolve legal disagreements, there are many differences…
Read MoreThe law distinguishes between typewritten wills, typically prepared by an attorney, and those which are handwritten by oneself. Handwritten wills, known as holographic wills, must meet the statutory requirements set forth by N.C Gen. Stat. S 31-3.4 (2015). These requirements include: (1) the will must be written entirely by hand by the testator; (2) must…
Read MoreOur June 11th blog post broadly discussed arbitration and the upward trend of including mandatory arbitration clauses in agreements. This week, we analyze the pros and cons of arbitration to elucidate when arbitration clauses are useful and when they are potentially harmful. In arbitration, individuals and entities bring legal claims against one another outside…
Read MoreOn June 7, 2018, Buzz Aldrin, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and the second man to walk on the moon, filed a lawsuit against two of his children, Andrew and Janice Aldrin, and his former business manager, Christina Korp. The lawsuit responds to a May 2018 Florida Court filing in which Andrew Aldrin, Janice Aldrin,…
Read MoreElder abuse refers to intentional or neglectful acts by a caregiver or associate of an elderly individual, which causes harm.[1] Financial elder abuse occurs when a trusted friend or family member obtains access to a senior’s financial accounts and uses the assets therein for personal gain. Unfortunately, this abuse is widespread in the United States…
Read MoreChipotle is currently embroiled in a multi-year wage theft lawsuit. In 2014, approximately 10,000 current and former Chipotle employees filed a class action lawsuit alleging the company failed to compensate employees for work they performed “off the clock”. The employees further claim these off the clock hours are required by Chipotle to meet company-wide…
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