Archive

• The General Specific: The N.C. Supreme Court Decision In re Foreclosure of Lucks

  This entry was contributed by Meredith Smith on January 20, 2017 at 11:04 am and is filed under Foreclosures.

  UPDATE:  On March 26, 2019, the NC Court of Appeals in Gray v. Federal National Mortgage Association interpreted Lucks and held while the doctrine of collateral estoppel does not apply to an order not authorizing a non-judicial foreclosure sale, it does apply to an order authorizing a sale.

  On December 21, 2016, the North Carolina Supreme Court published a final set of opinions for the year.  Without a doubt, one case in particular stopped me in my tracks.  The case, In re Foreclosure of Lucks, will have a significant impact on G.S. Chapter 45 power of sale foreclosures going forward. ____ N.C. ____ (Dec. 21, 2016).   Here’s both the general and the specific about what the court had to say. Continue Reading

• The Harshest of Remedies: Dismissal for Failure to Prosecute

  This entry was contributed by Ann Anderson on June 8, 2016 at 5:00 am and is filed under Civil Practice, Civil Procedure-General.

  In civil litigation, delays can seem almost inevitable. Because litigation happens in the real world and not a perfect one, the Rules of Civil Procedure allow a little flexibility.  Within limits, parties are permitted to extend the various deadlines for pleadings, discovery, responses to motions, and other requirements (as a starting point, see Rule 6(b)).  But sometimes parties can simply push the delays too far.  For various reasons some plaintiffs just won’t advance the ball, and for their opponents, the light at the end of the litigation tunnel starts to fade.  When a case languishes for too long without good reason, the court may take action, even to the point of dismissing the case or claim entirely for “failure to prosecute.”  This authority is found in Rule 41(b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which says:

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