Our firm is pleased to announce that Mr. John (Jack) D. Ormond has joined our firm as an associate this fall. Mr. Ormond is from Greenville, North Carolina and graduated with honors from Wake Forest University. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 2002. He has since worked for Baker Botts L.L.P, Sayles Werbner, P.C., and The Collin County District Attorney’s Office.

Mr. Ormond is licensed in Texas, and is in the process of becoming licensed in North Carolina. We are excited to have him join the firm.

The firm is pleased to announce that Mr. B. Tyler Brooks will be joining us this summer. Mr. Brooks is from Greensboro, NC and a summa cum laude graduate of Wake Forest University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2006. He has since clerked for the Honorable Walter C. Kurtz, Senior Judge for the State of Tennessee and formerly Judge of the Fifth Circuit Court for Davidson County, Tennessee, at Nashville, and the Honorable Bernice Bouie Donald, United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, at Memphis. While in law school, Mr. Brooks also interned for the Honorable Richard A. Elmore, North Carolina Court of Appeals, and the Honorable Thomas A. Wiseman, Jr., Senior United States District Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Mr. Brooks is licensed in North Carolina and Tennessee, and we are excited to have him join the firm upon his return to North Carolina this summer.

Frank Gordon and Bill Stewart successfully defended an F.E.L.A. case in Scotland County Superior Court. The plaintiff in the case claimed a career-ending disability (bilateral knee osteoarthritis) as a result of alleged cumulative trauma to his knees from working as a conductor for 36 years. After an eight day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant, finding no liability. Plaintiff was represented by counsel from Portsmouth, Virginia.

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John Millberg and Meredith Woods were successful in a matter before the South Carolina Court of Appeals. The case involved an attack on the validity of a release obtained by the firm’s short line railroad client. An employee claimed an on-the-job injury and the company settled his claim in exchange for a release of liability. The employee later filed suit attempting to set aside the release, claiming it was fraudulently obtained.

The Darlington County, South Carolina Court of Common Pleas granted summary judgment in favor of the railroad company. The South Carolina Court of Appeals recently affirmed that result in a 3-0 decision in favor of the company. Plaintiff then petitioned for rehearing en banc. That petition was denied by the Court of Appeals on May 25, 2011.

To read the Court’s published opinion, please visit this link at the South Carolina Judicial Department’s webpage.
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John Millberg was asked to present at the NARTC’s Special Litigation Conference in Park City, Utah, this past February. Mr. Millberg spoke on the strategic considerations in requesting independent medical examinations and in taking depositions of treating physicians.

John Millberg was asked to present at the 85th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Claims Conference in St. Augustine, Florida. Mr. Millberg joined co-counsel from a recent trial, Mr. Mark Wilby of Augusta, Georgia, in discussing the strategic decisions that led to a favorable result in that two week trial.