Archive

• Equitable Distribution: QDROs, DROs, and a statute of limitations

  This entry was contributed by Cheryl Howell on May 17, 2023 at 9:00 am and is filed under Family Law.

  In this earlier post, I wrote about whether the 10-year statute of limitations for initiating an action on a judgment bars the entry of a QDRO if the request for the QDRO is made more than 10 years following entry of the equitable distribution judgment. https://civil.sog.unc.edu/so-someone-forgot-to-draft-that-qdro-now-what/

  The court of appeals recently answered this question, holding that the entry of a QDRO, or a DRO as discussed further below, is a procedural method of effectuating and completing a judgment rather than a substantive mechanism for enforcement of a judgment. Therefore, a request for the court to enter the order is not an action on a judgment and is not barred by the statute of limitations.

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• Appointment of a GAL Starts the Clock on a Minor’s Med Mal Action

  This entry was contributed by Ann Anderson on March 16, 2018 at 2:51 pm and is filed under Civil Practice, Civil Procedure-General.

  Earlier this month the North Carolina Supreme Court issued its opinion in King v. Albemarle Hospital Authority, holding that a GAL appointment starts the running of the statute of limitations for a minor’s medical malpractice claim. During her birth in 2005, the plaintiff, Desiree King, suffered a severe brain injury. In 2008, just under three years later, a medical malpractice action was filed on her behalf by the guardian ad litem (GAL) who had been appointed for her earlier the same day pursuant to Rule of Civil Procedure 17(b).  A few months later, the GAL voluntarily dismissed the action without prejudice as permitted by Rule 41(a).  Instead of refiling Desiree’s action within one year as Rule 41(a) allows, the GAL refiled in 2015, about six years later.  On the hospital’s motion, the trial court dismissed Desiree’s action as time-barred.

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• Dormant or Discontinued? Service Deadlines and the Statute of Limitations

  This entry was contributed by Ann Anderson on January 13, 2016 at 5:00 am and is filed under Civil Practice, Civil Procedure-General.

  A plaintiff facing a soon-to-expire limitations period may feel a rush of relief when the complaint is clocked in to the clerk’s office on time and the summons is ready for service. Even after filing, though, it’s too early to stop watching the clock. Failing to observe Rule 4’s time limits on service can also create a statute of limitations problem.

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• So someone forgot to draft that QDRO. Now what?

  This entry was contributed by Cheryl Howell on July 24, 2015 at 5:00 am and is filed under Family Law.

  An equitable distribution judgment was entered 11 years ago. The order states plaintiff is entitled to a percentage of defendant’s retirement pay when defendant begins to receive it. The judgment also states that plaintiff’s counsel will draft a QDRO. Now it is time for defendant to retire but no one ever drafted a QDRO. Is there a problem? Can the court enter one now?

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