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Blog Home Practice Areas Firm Website Search Blog Search Categories Categories Select Category Bankruptcy Corporate Law Estate Planning & Admin Family Law HOA & Condo Associations Litigation Parliamentary Law Real Estate Uncategorized Post navigation ← Older posts NC House Select Committee on HOAs Files New Bill Posted on May 3, 2024 by Harmony Taylor As the short session continues and the legislature continues to negotiate House Bill 542 with interested parties, a new bill was introduced on May 1, 2024 by Representatives Frank Iler, Steve Tyson and Ya Liu. House Bill 959, entitled an AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO THE NORTH CAROLINA CONDOMINIUM ACT AND THE NORTH CAROLINA PLANNED COMMUNITY ACT, TO MANDATE PRELITIGATION MEDIATION OF DISPUTES BETWEEN OWNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS AND THEIR MEMBERS, AND TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO COLLECT AND REPORT ON COMPLAINTS SUBMITTED TO IT INVOLVING SUCH DISPUTES, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS, … Continue reading → Posted in HOA & Condo Associations Carole Albright Recognized as Leader in the Law Posted on April 25, 2024 by Administrator Carole Albright, Managing Partner of Law Firm Carolinas, has been recognized by NC Lawyers Weekly as a 2024 Leaders in the Law Honoree. The award recognizes legal professionals who have gone above and beyond in their profession through contributions to the practice of law as well as service to the broader community. Carole is a Board Certified Specialist in Family Law as well as a Certified Parenting Counselor and is past Chair of the Family Law Section of the Greensboro Bar Association. She co-chaired and helped organize and lead the Course Planning Committee of the NC Family Law Specialists for … Continue reading → Posted in Corporate Law , Estate Planning & Admin , Family Law , HOA & Condo Associations , Litigation , Real Estate , Uncategorized SC Foreclosure Bill Passed House, Now in Senate—Potential Impacts on Your HOA Posted on April 24, 2024 by David Wilson As recently reported in previous articles, the South Carolina Legislature is considering a bill that impacts the ability of community associations to collect assessments from non-paying members of their communities. As originally drafted, the bill would have eliminated a community association’s ability to foreclose. However, the Community Associations Institute (CAI) and its South Carolina Legislative Action Committee (SC-LAC) worked closely with members of the SC House of Representatives to propose an alternative approach to the original bill. As a result, the proposed new law would require an additional hearing in the foreclosure process to ensure that homeowners are given ample … Continue reading → Posted in HOA & Condo Associations | Tagged community associations institute , Condo , HOA , South Carolina Department of Labor Issues Final Rule for Exemptions to Overtime Posted on April 24, 2024 by Emily J. Meister The Department of Labor (the DOL”) has issued a final rule regarding overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (commonly referred to as the FLSA”), which rule should be noted by employers and employees alike. The FLSA, which applies to most employers throughout the country and, indirectly, their employees, controls the classes or categories of employees that are exempt from overtime pay and what additional factors must be met before employers can avoid overtime payments. Today’s issuance of the new rule follows years of debate, announced rules, and litigation that saw the proverbial pendulum swing, at various times, from … Continue reading → Posted in Corporate Law , Litigation FTC Votes to bar Most Noncompetition Agreements, But Don’t Throw Out Your Noncompete Yet! Posted on April 24, 2024 by Emily J. Meister The Federal Trade Commission (often referred to as the FTC”) voted today to bar non-competition agreements or noncompetes,” both retroactively (for all but top corporate officials and senior executives holding a policy-making position and making not less than $151,164 annually) and in the future. More specifically, employers would be prohibited from: entering into or attempting to enter into non-competition agreements with employees, workers and independent contractors; maintaining a non-competition agreement with workers, employees or independent contractors; or representing to a worker, contractor or employee that he is subject to a non-compete. Those employers with existing non-compete agreements in place for … Continue reading → Posted in Corporate Law , Litigation | Tagged Corporate law , FTC , Litigation , noncompete Podcast on NC HOA/Condo Insurance Issues & Proposed Legislation Posted on April 24, 2024 by Jim Slaughter Joe Stewart, lobbyist for the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina (IIANC), had me on his recent IIANC Radio podcast to discuss North Carolina’s HOA and condo insurance statutes as well as legislative proposals that may be of interest. The 20-minute program can be found at HOA Statutes & Insurance Insights. Posted in HOA & Condo Associations Spring Has Sprung! Is Your Community Association Ready? Posted on April 18, 2024 by Adam Marshall Spring has sprung! Which means that community associations through North and South Carolina will begin seeing increased community traffic, amenity use (including use of playgrounds, pools, tennis and pickleball courts), and increased social events. So, is your community ready. Communities should consider the following: It is important to be ready for increased community use that the warmer weather will bring. Our North and South Carolina community association attorneys are happy to assist your community as spring rolls into the Carolinas. Posted in HOA & Condo Associations | Tagged HOA Like to Use Emojis With Your Professional Contacts? Enjoy Your Lawsuit. Posted on April 15, 2024 by Chris Barnes The use of emojis has become a daily form of communication without getting into a long telephone or text conversation. It conveys, or attempts to convey, information to an intended recipient certain actions, feelings, thoughts or intended actions of the sender towards someone or something. It can apply in private conversations or in mass communications such as social media platforms. What happens when the recipient of an emoji takes the meaning to be vastly different than the intention of the sender? The ramifications of such a miscommunication can result in costly lawsuits and thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees as … Continue reading → Posted in Litigation , Uncategorized | Tagged business contracts , Corporate law , Emojis , Lawsuit , Litigation Reasons Realtors Need an Experienced Real Estate Attorney Posted on April 11, 2024 by Joe Thompson Home sales almost always include purchase contracts with negotiated terms, legal jargon, and intricate procedures which are not always familiar to any particular buyer, seller, or realtor. From negotiating its terms to signing the contract which obligates the involved parties as to certain legal responsibilities, all parties involved deserve to understand the process. This understanding paves the way for a smooth transaction from the initial agreement to the final recording of the deed and funding. An experienced Law Firm Carolinas real estate attorney can assist in a variety of ways. Even though some or all of the parties might be … Continue reading → Posted in Real Estate | Tagged Real Estate Federal Gift and Estate Tax Planning- Part 7 of 7: Advanced Planning with Charitable Trusts Posted on April 8, 2024 by Andrew M. Brower Using a Charitable Remainder Interest Annuity or Unitrust (CRATs/CRUTs) and Charitable Lead Trusts (CLTs) Charitable Remainder Interest Annuity and Unitrust as well as Charitable Lead Trusts are vehicles for the charitably inclined that can provide significant income and estate tax benefits. Both charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts are split interest trust where an annuity interest and a...