Friday, January 11, 2013


The Quicksand of Divorce


Seven tips for not sinking in the Divorce process. Starting with Tip #1....Do NOT ignore it!


http://www.mcneillawnc.com/the-quicksand-of-divorce

The information contained on this site is provided as a public service for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a comprehensive statement of the law. The reader is advised to check for changes to current law and to consult with a qualified attorney on any legal issue before taking action of any kind. The information presented on this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice or to create or imply the formation of a lawyer-client relationship between the reader and this firm.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

NC Business valuation

In a recent NC COA decision out of Catawba County, Williams v. Williams 07 CVD 3914, the husband and wife owned a closely-held business that was marital property. There was conflicting evidence regarding the value of the business and even the "expert" valuation [the husband was the 'expert' in this case] of the business changed dramatically between the value he gave during direct examination and what he gave during cross-examination. Additionally, there was no testimony of evidence regarding certain assets on the date of separation.

Regarding the business valuation, the NC COA stated that it "...ha(s) consistently reiterated that there is no single best method for assessing the value of a marital business interest, and our appellate courts have recognized various approaches." Citing Sharp v. Sharp, 116 N.C. App. 513, 527, 449 S.E.2d 39, 46 (1994) However, "...the approach utilized must be sound,” and “the trial court must determine whether the methodology underlying the testimony in support of the value of a marital asset is sufficiently valid and whether that methodology can be properly applied to the facts in issue.” Citing  Robertson v. Robertson, 174 N.C. App. 784, 786-87, 625 S.E.2d 117, 119 (2005) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). “The trial court's findings of fact regarding the value of a [] business should be specific, and the trial court should clearly indicate the evidence on which its valuations are based, preferably noting the valuation method or methods on which it relied.” 

After a review of the pleadings and the testimony, the COA vacated the judgment sent the matter back to the trial court.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

McNeil Law Firm's new website is up and running!!

We have a new website!!!! Check it out: www.mcneillawnc.com

Many thanks to the very understanding and patient Anya Curry and her crew at Ambidextrous Services for helping us out!!! http://www.uniqueamb.com/

Monday, June 13, 2011

New Location

McNeil Law Firm has recently moved to 226 West Millbrook Road, Raleigh, NC 27609.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Does the failure to Reply to an Affirmative Defense Necessitate dismissal of a claim?

The Plaintiff filed a claim for Alimony and the Defendant filed and Answer and Counterclaims. The Defendant included Affirmative Defenses against Plaintiff's alimony claim. The Trial Court dismissed the Plaintiff's claim for alimony because the Plaintiff did not Reply to the Affirmative Defenses and the Trial Court reasoned that the Affirmative Defenses were "deemed admitted" pursuant to G.S. 1A-1, Rules 7 & 8.

The unanimous decision from the Court of Appeals reversed the Trial Court's decision using, among other things, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and decisions from the 9th Circuit. It reasoned that if the Plaintiff's claims and the Defendant's Affirmative Defenses were competing versions of their respective positions, it made no sense for the Plaintiff to re-allege the exact same thing in a Reply.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Judge orders woman to divorce her husband...one of them, anyway

In one Bad Axe [the name of the town] decision, a Judge has ordered a woman to divorce one of her two husbands. She married her second husband without getting divorced from the first...which is illegal in the Michigan [and in North Carolina] and is called polygamy, bigamy, or polyandry.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

My wife told me to go fly a kite...

FLYING A KITE

A guy is outside in his front yard attempting to fly a kite with his son. Every time the kite gets up in the air, it comes crashing down. After this goes on for a while, his wife sticks her head out the front door and yells, "You need more tail."

The guy turns to his son and says, "Son, I never will understand women. I just told her an hour ago I needed more tail, and she told me to go fly a kite!"