North Carolina Court of Appeals upholds enforcement of Conservation Easement
Roberts & Stevens attorneys F. Lachicotte ("Lach") Zemp, Jr. and Ann-Patton Hornthal obtained a permanent injunction and punitive damages in a jury trial enforcing the terms of a Conservation Easement in Haywood County in 2008. The defendants appealed the jury's verdict and the Zemp/Hornthal team defended the verdict on behalf of their clients on appeal. On August 17, 2010, the North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld the jury's verdict in the case of Thomas L. Woltz, Trustee of the Crawford Creek Trust Agreement, et al. v. Donald S. Taylor, et al. The unanimous decision authored by Judge Barbara Jackson may be found here.Zemp and Hornthal represented the landowner, The Crawford Creek Trust, and the co-holder of the conservation easement, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) headquartered in Asheville. The protected property is a 488-acre tract of undeveloped land in Haywood County adjacent to the Shining Rock Wilderness and included Crawford Creek, a spring-fed creek that is designated an outstanding watershed by the State of North Carolina. The property has been owned by the same family since 1917 and was placed in a conservation easement with SAHC and the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund in 2000. The case involved a variety of claims and issues, including the enforceability of a Conservation Easement, adverse possession, prescriptive easement, easement by necessity, and trespass. The jury trial and verdict were featured in North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Eight Roberts & Stevens attorneys
honored by national publication
ASHEVILLE – Eight attorneys at Roberts & Stevens Law Firm have been
honored by their peers in The Best Lawyers in America® 2011: Sarah Patterson
“Patsy” Brison in Administrative Law and Land Use & Zoning Law;
Vincent D.
Childress, Jr. in Corporate Law; William Clarke in
Environmental Law and Natural Resources Law; Jackson D. Hamilton
in Tax Law; John W. Mason
in Trusts and Estates; John
S. Stevens in Corporate Law; James W. Williams in
Medical Malpractice Law and Personal Injury Litigation; and Sheryl H. Williams in
Real Estate Law.
“Clarke has been honored for 16 years in this publication, and Williams has been honored for 18 years. First published in 1983, Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive annual peer-review survey of more than 3.1 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in the same and related specialties.
MEDIA CONTACT
Sarah L. Dickson
Roberts & Stevens Law Firm Media Representative
828.450.3400, SarahLDickson@gmail.com
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Jacqueline D. Grant Elected to Board of Governors
Still very involved in hometown community
ASHEVILLE – Jacqueline D. Grant, partner at Roberts & Stevens Law Firm in Asheville, NC has been elected to the governing body of the North Carolina Bar Association. This is a high honor, as an officer of the Board of Governors defines and revises the bylaws of the North Carolina Bar Association, as well as nominates the officers of the Board of Directors. Grant will also serve on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Bar Association Foundation.
Grant has been very active in the legal, civic, and African American community since she became an attorney 15 years ago. She is a litigator at Roberts & Stevens Law Firm, successfully representing individuals, businesses, health care entities, insurance companies and organizations in complex legal disputes.
Grant has been an active member of the North Carolina Bar Association since 1995 and an active member of the American Bar Association since 1996. She is a current member and former board member of the N.C. Association of Defense Attorneys. She is also a member of Defense Research Institute, the Federal Bar Association and the N.C. Association of Women Attorneys. Grant is the former Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association Medico-Legal Liaison Committee. She also serves on the Litigation Section Council of the North Carolina Bar Association. Grant was named as a 2010 North Carolina Super Lawyers-Rising Star for Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice, Civil Litigation Defense, Employment and Labor.
As an Asheville native, being very involved in her local community comes naturally. Grant has served on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Western North Carolina, YWCA of Asheville, Mountain Area Hospice Foundation, Mountain Area Child & Family Center, and Pisgah Legal Services. Grant is a former member of the City of Asheville's Sustainable Economic Development Task Force. Currently she serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the YMCA of Western North Carolina.
In addition to Grant's long standing community service, she strives to serve as a role model for African American youth. Being one of a few African American females practicing law in Buncombe County, Grant was one of the original Officers of the Epps-Dailey-Harrell Law Society, which was organized to serve the community at large through programs that broaden the understanding of the role of a lawyer and to encourage minority students to enter the practice of law. Grant serves on the Board of Directors for the Asheville-Buncombe Institute of Parity Achievement, which was organized for the purpose of improving the health and wellness among African American and other populations of color through collaboration with community based agencies to reduce or eliminate racial disparities in health, employment, social services, and education. She is also a member of the Asheville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, which is committed to providing programs and projects which foster the educational, health, economic, cultural, and social development of students and adults, with the primary focus on the minority community.
“Being a part of my community and giving back is a very important part of my life,” says Grant. “I was born and raised in this town and worked very hard to achieve my dreams of becoming an attorney. Today I want all children to realize that they, too, can reach their goals.”
MEDIA CONTACT
Sarah L. Dickson
Roberts & Stevens Law Firm Media Representative
828.450.3400, SarahLDickson@gmail.com
Sheryl H. Williams named to the North Carolina State Bar, Real Property Law Specialty Committee
Sheryl H. Williams, attorney at Roberts & Stevens and Certified Board Specialist in Residential Real Estate, has been named to the North Carolina State Bar, Real Property Law Specialty Committee. This is a three year appointment with work that includes working with the committee to evaluate applicants.
Patsy Brison named to Who’s Who in North America
Sarah Patterson ‘Patsy’ Brison, attorney at Roberts & Stevens, has been named to the 2010/2011 edition of the Who’s Who in North America. This directory will include biographies of North America’s most accomplished professionals.
Cynthia S. Grady Elected to Board of Directors of the Asheville City Schools Foundation
Cynthia S. Grady, attorney at Roberts & Stevens, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Asheville City Schools Foundation for a three year term. The Foundation's mission is to increase student achievement and build broad-based support for quality public education.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Ten Roberts & Stevens attorneys honored
by state, national publications
ASHEVILLE – Ten attorneys at Roberts & Stevens Law Firm have been honored by their peers in the latest editions of the top legal directories in North Carolina and the United States.
Seven attorneys from Roberts & Stevens were selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2010*: Sarah Patterson “Patsy” Brison in Land Use & Zoning Law; William Clarke in Environmental Law and Natural Resources Law; Jackson D. Hamilton in Tax Law; John W. Mason in Trusts and Estates; John S. Stevens in Corporate Law; James W. Williams in Medical Malpractice Law and Personal Injury Litigation; and Sheryl H. Williams in Real Estate Law. Clarke has been honored for 15 years in this publication, and Williams has been honored for 17 years. The current, 16th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2010), is based on more than 2.8 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.
One attorney from Roberts & Stevens has been named to Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite 2010: William Clarke in the Environmental Law category. The results of Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite are based on a survey sent to each of the more than 19,500 members of the North Carolina State Bar living in North Carolina. A little more than three percent of the state’s attorneys are recognized in this publication.
Five attorneys from Roberts & Stevens have been selected for inclusion in the North Carolina Super Lawyers 2010 edition: William Clarke for Environmental Law; Jackson D. Hamilton for Tax, Business/Corporate Law; Wyatt S. Stevens for Personal Injury Defense: General, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation Defense; Sheryl H. Williams for Real Estate Law, and James W. Williams for Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice, Business Litigation and Personal Injury Plaintiff: General.
Two attorneys from Roberts & Stevens have been selected for inclusion in the North Carolina Super Lawyers-Rising Stars Edition 2010: Jacqueline D. Grant for Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice, Civil Litigation Defense, Employment and Labor; Kevin P. Kopp for Employment & Labor Law. Super Lawyers names North Carolina's top lawyers as chosen by a survey of active attorneys across the state in practice for five years or more. While up to five percent of the lawyers in the state are named to Super Lawyers, no more than 2.5 percent are named to the Rising Stars list.
Roberts & Stevens was formed in 1986 when two long time Asheville firms merged. The firm provides a broad range of legal services throughout Western North Carolina. With its offices located in the heart of downtown Asheville, a thriving urban center, lawyers and staff take an active role in the community and the region.
MEDIA CONTACT
Sarah L. Dickson
Roberts & Stevens Law Firm Media Representative
828.450.3400, SarahLDickson@gmail.com
* Best Lawyers in America is copyright 2010 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.
