Articles

The Economic Loss Rule - Recently Refined or Redefined by the North Carolina Supreme Court

Written By Evan M. Musselwhite and Amy H. Wooten

Recently, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a decision impacting the application of the economic loss rule in commercial settings, particularly construction.  This article provides a refresher on the economic l…

Supreme Court to Secured Creditors: "Hold on Loosely, But Don't Let Go."

Written By Lance P. Martin

Filing a bankruptcy petition automatically halts efforts to collect prepetition debts from the debtor outside of bankruptcy.  This "automatic stay" is a command to halt action, and creditors violate it at their own p…

Troubled Waters: Leading Through a Pandemic

Written By Lynwood P. Evans

We've weathered literal storms, such as Hurricane Florence, but nothing quite like the speed and scope of the coronavirus pandemic. Through it all, we have been honored to help our clients, businesses, and communities nav…

Who is the Declarant? And Why Does it Matter?

Written By Samuel B. Franck

The concept and designation of the "Declarant" arise from the formation of a planned community or a condominium.  When the developer declares land to restrictions described in a "Declaration" for a planned community …

Can Our Community Association Still Hold its Annual Meeting?

Written By Kristin D. Mitcham

For many community associations, the first quarter of the year signals the time to notice and hold annual meetings of their membership.  For a better understanding of what a community association is all about, please…

Year in Review: New Roles, New Faces, and Growth at Ward and Smith in 2020

Looking back, it's clear none of us knew the extent of the change that was to come in 2020. We sent a firmwide email on March 13 letting our team know we would all be working remotely until March 27. We wanted to reassure…