The recent opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in M.E. v. T.J., No. COA18-1045 has more twists than a Chubby Checker look-alike contest. The opinion is
Continue Reading Has the Court of Appeals Unfriended Its Amicus?
Court of Appeals Issues Appellate Jurisdiction Tour de Force
A lot of mistakes can be fixed, but those depriving an appellate court of jurisdiction are not usually among them. Unless the appellate court deems the appeal to raise issues
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Fourth Circuit Allows Creation of Appellate Jurisdiction Through Voluntary Dismissal
Can a party “manufacture” appellate jurisdiction for an otherwise interlocutory appeal through the voluntary dismissal of remaining claims? That question was generally answered in the negative by the Supreme Court
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Can the Cart (Appeal) Go Before the Horse (Entry of Order Being Appealed)?
Last 
week, the Court of Appeals returned to a general question that this blog has addressed before: When is a Notice of Appeal Filing Deadline or Requirement Jurisdictional? In this
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Fourth Circuit Rejects Equitable Defenses to Untimely Notice of Appeal
Our state appellate courts have long held that a timely notice of appeal is a jurisdictional requirement. See, e.g., State v. Patterson. (For an interesting discussion on this
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All in the Timing
No, this post is not a tribute to David Ives. In many appellate cases, it really is all in the timing.
Some appellate rules regarding timing are easy to
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Taking Care of Business (Part II): Supreme Court Reverses Order Dismissing Appeal Based on Purported Signatory Defect in Notice of Appeal
As noted yesterday, the Supreme Court has been busy. Need further proof? How about the fact that the Supreme Court considered 279 “other matters” on Friday— a category
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Accept No Substitutions: Court of Appeals Dismisses Substitute Party’s Appeal Under Appellate Rule 38(b)
A few weeks ago the North Carolina Court of Appeals plowed new ground: issuing the first opinion to cite Appellate Rule 38(b) since the Appellate Rules were adopted in 1975.
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Fourth Circuit Explains the Scope of “Collateral Order Doctrine”
The federal corollary to the oft-blogged about “substantial right doctrine” in the North Carolina appellate courts is the “collateral order doctrine.” As is the case under North Carolina law, the
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Fourth Circuit Holds that Trial Court Cannot Prevent Appellate Review of Decision by Vacating that Decision After Appellate Proceedings Have Commenced
In an opinion highlighting an interesting federal appellate jurisdictional issue, the Fourth Circuit on Monday vacated a “gag order” that had been entered by the district court. That gag
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