Insurance Points in Case of an Auto Collision

In North Carolina, drivers who are convicted of moving traffic violations and/or cause accidents will be charged higher premiums in accordance with their driving records.  

Insurance points are charged as follows for convictions and at-fault accidents:

1 POINT

• Moving violations
• At-fault accident resulting in bodily injury (to all persons) of $1,800 or less; OR resulting in property damage (including damage to insured’s own property) of $1,800 or less
• Speeding 10 mph or less in excess of speed limit of less than 55 mph

2 POINTS

• Illegal passing
• Following too closely
• Driving on wrong side of the road
• At-fault accident resulting in total property damage (including damage to insured’s own property) in excess of $1,800 but less than $3,000
• Speeding more than 10 mph over the speed limit provided the total speed is in excess of 55 mph, but less than 76 mph
• Speeding 10 mph or less in excess of speed zone of 55 mph or greater

3 POINTS

• At-fault accident resulting in death, or total bodily injury* (to all persons) in excess of $1,800; OR resulting in total property damage (including damage to insured’s own property) of $3,000 or more

4 points

• Reckless driving
• Hit-and-run resulting in property damage only
• Passing a stopped school bus
• Speeding in excess of 75 mph when the speed limit is less than 70 mph
• Speeding in excess of 80 mph when the speed limit is 70 mph or greater
• Driving by a person less than age 21 after consuming alcohol or drugs

8 points

• Driving during revocation or suspension of license or registration
• Aggressive driving

10 points

• Highway racing or lending a car for highway racing
• Speeding to elude arrest

12 points

• Manslaughter or negligent homicide
• Prearranged highway racing or lending a car for prearranged highway racing
• Hit-and-run resulting in bodily injury or death
• Driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or more
• Driving commercial vehicle with a blood-alcohol level of .04 or more
• Driving while impaired
• Transporting illegal intoxicating liquor for sale

New N.C. law increases small-claims limit to $ 10,000

A new NC law raises the dollar amount in controversy for getting a lawsuit into North Carolina smalls claims courts from $ 5,000 to $ 10,000.

In other words, now small-claims courts will be able to take claims for as much as $10,000, up from $5,000.

What does this mean for you?

Every county in North Carolina has a Small Claims Court, which is sometimes called Magistrate's Court.  Small Claims Court is where people settle disputes regarding property or money.

Small Claims Court helps people resolve disputes over small amounts of money or personal property quickly, informally and easily.  

The trial is quick and informal, usually lasting no more than 15 or 30 minutes.   The procedure and rules of evidence are rather simplified, which makes it easier for parties to represent themselves without attorneys. 

Small-claims courts have no juries, and presiding magistrates act somewhat like arbitrators and may not even be licensed attorneys.

Its worth noting that the small claims court is not used for criminal offenses, traffic tickets, or disagreements over child support, among other things. 

Wrongful Death Settlement

We are proud to announce that we have recently successfully settled a wrongful death claim against the at-fault driver's insurance.  

This was a challenging case.  The client had turned to two separated attorneys prior to coming to us.  Both attorneys have refused to take up the matter, claiming that the client's spouse, who was killed as a result of the auto accident, was partly at fault and, thus, the client "did not have a case."

Those attorney's relied solely on the police officers' investigation, which was conducted with numerous violations, as we have discovered later on.

We gladly took up the challenge.   We retained an accident reconstruction team which did a thorough investigation of the case.  Fortunately, the at-fault driver was driving a brand new BMW and the expert team was able to pull the 'black box' from the car.  The 'black box' reading determined that the BMW driver was speeding immediately prior to the accident.

Faced with clear evidence of their insured's fault, the insurance adjuster had no other choice but to settle.

Here is a link to the North Carolina wrongful death statute for those curious minds:

North Carolina Wrongful Death Statute

Should you buy additional insurance when renting a vehicle?

Many travelers are understandably unsure about their coverage when they approach a car rental counter.

Do I buy the liability coverage or not?  Do I buy excess coverage?  These are some of the questions people ask.

Out of 632 consumers surveyed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) 42% were either thoroughly confused or had only a rough idea about insurance.  As a result, many consumers purchase unnecessary insurance and end up wasting money.

Most often in North Carolina your personal auto insurance policy and a credit card used for the rental may provide sufficient liability coverage.

However, protection provided by credit card companies can be tricky and may contain strict conditions.  For example you may be required to notify the credit card company within 45 days of an incident.

In North Carolina, an insurer (car rental agency) by the terms of its policy can exclude liability coverage under an owner's policy if the driver of a vehicle (you the renter) is covered under your own liability policy for the minimum amount of liability coverage required by the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Act.

The Act is satisfied if the terms of the policy exclude coverage in the event the driver of a vehicle is covered under some other policy for the minimum amount of liability coverage required by law.

In other words your own auto insurance will usually cover the loss if the insurance policy of the rental agency excludes coverage in case your own auto insurance policy carries the minimum amount of liability coverage required by the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Act. 

In Jeffreys v. Snappy Car Rental, the NC Court of Appeals ruled that:

A car rental company was not obligated to provide $25,000 of primary liability coverage to a renter for an accident that occurred while the renter was driving the rental vehicle where the renter had a valid liability policy for the minimum amount required by the Financial Responsibility Act, and the car rental agreement specifically excluded liability insurance coverage.

It just happens so that sales of insurance or damage waivers that absolve renters involved in an accident are an important profit center for a car rental company.

Most auto rental companies sell several types of coverage: a loss damage waiver, supplemental liability insurance, personal accident insurance and personal effects protection among others.

Nonetheless, in many cases it makes sense to buy coverage from the car rental company, especially when it comes to coverage of the damage to the rental vehicle (collision coverage).

At times it may be a hassle dealing with a rental car company and others involved in an incident, especially if it happens abroad.  The rental car company may charge you upfront until your own auto insurance reimburses the loss.  Also, optional coverage can be a good idea even if you have full coverage, so that you can assure good standing with your own insurance company.

It always pays to take the time to understand what your insurance company and credit card issuer will cover. 

Finally, note that insurers of automobile rental businesses have been held not to be liable for damages when provisions of the rental agreement have been violated by the renter. 

For example in one case the North Carolina Supreme Court held that where automobile liability policy extended coverage to automobile renter and any person legally responsible for use of car, provided actual use was with permission of named insured, and renter rented car under agreement providing that renter would not surrender possession to any person under 21, insurer was not liable for injuries and damage inflicted when vehicle was being operated by 19-year-old to whom renter had surrendered vehicle without knowledge or consent of rental company.

Charlotte International Table Tennis Open

We are pleased to have sponsored the 
Charlotte International Table Tennis Tournament which was held on November 23, 2013.

Congratulations to the winners, a truly international group of wonderful people:

1st Place:       Zhen (Jen) - from China;

2nd Place:       Vitaliy (Victor) - Russian/American;

3rd Place:       Vingeshwaran - from India;

4th Place:       Amir - Iranian/American;

Junior Champion:  David Plugovoy - American.

 

Thank you to all who participated and helped organize this wonderful event!  

We look forward to the next tournament to be held in April of 2014.

Attorney-Client Privilege Explained

The attorney-client privilege is the oldest of the privileges protecting confidential communications.  It was accepted as early as during the reign of Elizabeth I.  The purpose of the privilege was to prevent the attorney from being required to take an oath and testify against the client.  It was then considered that such testimony against one to whom loyalty was owed would violate the attorney's honor as a gentleman.

Today, the privilege is the client's prerogative.   The client, not the lawyer, holds the privilege.  The client has the ultimate authority to raise or to waive the privilege.  An attorney may not testify as to communications made by a client unless released by the client.  

Definitions of Attorney-Client Privilege abound.   Here is one of the best examples:

“A client has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications made for the purpose of facilitating the rendition of professional legal services to the client,

(1) between himself or his representative and his lawyer or his lawyer’s representative, or
(2) between his lawyer and the lawyer’s representative, or
(3) by him or his lawyer to a lawyer representing another in a matter of common interest, or
(4) between representatives of the client or between the client and a representative of the client, or
(5) between lawyers representing the client.”

Attorney-client privilege protects confidential communications made both by the client and to the client.  

The practical consequence of the privilege is that there can be neither compelled nor voluntary disclosure by the attorney of matters conveyed to the attorney in confidence by a client for the purpose of seeking legal advice.

Ultimately it is the client, who as the holder of the privilege, alone is entitled to decide whether to claim the privilege or waive it by disclosing privilege-protected communication.

Facts are not protected

 

At the same time, not everything conveyed by a client to an attorney is immune from subsequent compelled disclosure in civil litigation.  Many communications that clients and attorneys alike believe will be privileged are not.   Whats important to remember is that the underlying facts, regardless of their source, are not privileged and discoverable. 

Only the content of communications between attorneys and their agents and clients and their agents where those communications have the purpose of seeking or giving legal advice that are privileged.

Thus foundational questions which seek to determine who was present or who authored a document or to whom it was sent are simply not encompassed within the privilege.

What constitutes an "Invasion of Privacy"

There are four different branches of the invasion of privacy tort that are recognized in various jurisdictions throughout the country.  These branches are:

1. appropriation, for the defendant's advantage, of someone's name or likeness;
2. intrusion upon someone's seclusion or solitude or into his private affairs;
3. public disclosure of private facts about a person; and
4. publicity that places a person in a false light in the public eye.

Appropriation of Plaintiff's Name or Likeness

North Carolina has for a significant period recognized an invasion of privacy tort for conduct that involves the unauthorized appropriation, for advantage, of someone's name or likeness.

The unauthorized appropriation action for invasion of privacy will lie if one appropriates to his own use and benefit the name or likeness of another.  Generally this concerns the advertisement of someone's business or products or a similar commercial purpose, but is not limited to such invasions.  

The harm consists of the ''appropriation,'' to one's own use and benefit, of a person's reputation, prestige, social or commercial standing, public interest, or other values of the person's name or likeness.

Intrusion Upon Seclusion

North Carolina recognizes an action for intrusion upon the seclusion or private affairs of another.  The intrusion must be one that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.  

In a landmark case, a wife hired a private investigator to install a surveillance camera in her estranged husband's bedroom, knowing of his paranoiac tendencies.  The husband, upon discovery of the camera, became fearful for his life, moved out of his house and carried a loaded gun with him.  

In addition, the wife went to the post office to hold the mail for her husband's address.  She then picked up her husband's mail at the post office, sorted through it, threw some away and put what was left in her husband's mailbox.  

The husband filed suit against his wife, the private investigator, and two people who assisted the private investigator in installing the surveillance camera.  The husband sought to recover for invasion of privacy, trespass, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.