On Tuesday, Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson, filed an emergency motion in Carver County District Court requesting that the Court appoint a special administrator to gather and protect Prince’s assets. She also claimed that, to the best of her knowledge, no will existed. The assets are estimated to be worth $100 – $500 million and are comprised of real estate holdings, including his Paisley Park Complex outside of Minneapolis; his music catalog, including licensing rights for television, film, and commercials; and album sales. It is estimated that in the week after his death, 2.8 million of his songs – and over 650,000 albums – were sold…
-
-
The Legal Considerations of Using Drones in Construction Zones
The use of drones is no longer science fiction or limited to combat zones; commercial drones are the way of the future. Drones are used in a host of industries: aerial photography, real estate, agriculture, construction, search and rescue, emergency management, and mining. Even package delivery via drone may soon be a part of our everyday lives. In May of 2014, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began approving petitions for commercial drone usage and those slated for construction purposes comprised roughly 13% of the first 1000 approvals.[1] These drones are not actually building structures or moving materials (yet). Instead,…
-
Death by Alcohol – Who is [More] at Fault?
Last week the North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision allowing a case involving alcohol poisoning against a hotel and its staff to go forward.[1] Lisa Davis and her husband Thomas were celebrating their wedding anniversary at the Crown Plaza Resort in October of 2012. They had dinner at Mulligans, the hotel’s restaurant, and spent four and a half hours there. Between the two of them, they consumed twenty-four drinks – drinks the restaurant’s employees served them. Not surprisingly, Lisa was extremely intoxicated. She was unable to walk and unable to stand up after falling, so the hotel employees put her in…
-
Master of Your Domain?: The Nuance of Eminent Domain and Charlotte’s Light Rail
Since before the establishment of the United States, governments have taken the land of private citizens. The issue was so fundamental to the founders of this country they wrote it into the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution which states, in part, “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” The issue of what constitutes a taking, however, is still a matter of dispute in courts across the country, including the North Carolina Court of Appeals. On Tuesday, the Court published an opinion regarding whether a property owner was entitled to just compensation for the loss of visibility to a business due to the construction of a…
