NCLAWYERSWEEKLY.COM Part of the
VOLUME 34 NUMBER 18 ■
SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 ■ $8.50
network
MAXIMUM PROTECTION
NC Supreme Court tosses precedent ■ BY HAVILAND STEWART hstewart@nclawyerseweekly.com
Congress’ command to construe the ADA as broadly as the text permits,” Motz wrote. “We cannot add to the ADA’s list of exclusions when Congress has not chosen to do so itself.” U.S. Circuit Judge Pamela A. Harris joined Motz’s opinion, while U.S. Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. penned a partial concurrence and dissent. The case returns to the Eastern District of Virginia. In a statement, the plaintiff’s attorney Joshua Erlich said, “we are excited to get back into court to vindicate Kesha’s rights.”
A recent ruling by the North Carolina Supreme Court that overturned a 90-year-old precedent could alter physician/nurse relationships in the future. The Supreme Court’s ruling, which was handed down Aug. 18, also brings into focus the changing nature of the health care industry and the evolving role of registered nurses during medical procedures. John Edwards In 2010, then3-year-old Amaya Gullatte underwent a procedure at Carolinas Medical Center for cardiomyopathy – a condition that enlarges the heart and makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood correctly, according to the Mary Kathryn N.C. Supreme Court Kuhn Opinion. Her anesthetics team consisted of anesthesiologist Dr. James M. Doyle, and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Gus C. VanSoestbergen. They used a mask to administer the anesthetic sevoflurane to Gullatte prior to the surgical procedure. Shortly after she received the anesthesia, Gullatte went into cardiac arrest. Although the use of resuscitation drugs and the performance of CPR Doyle was able to revive Gullatte, the approximately 13 minutes of oxygen
See Protection Page 6 ►
S e e S u p r e m e Co u r t P a g e 7 ►
The U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that gender dysphoria is a covered ‘disability’ within the Americans with Disabilities Act, which the court recently decided in a case of first impression. DepositPhotos
Gender dysphoria covered by ADA
■ BY JASON BOLEMAN BTN Wire Services
Gender dysphoria is a covered “disability” within the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in a case of first impression. The decision in Williams v. Kincaid (VLW 022-2-204) reverses the district court and allows a transgender woman’s lawsuit against the Fairfax County sheriff and two prison officials to proceed. The ruling makes the Fourth Circuit the first federal appellate court in the country to find that the ADA
covers gender dysphoria, defined in the court’s opinion as a “discomfort or distress that is caused by a discrepancy between a person’s gender identity and that person’s sex assigned at birth.” U.S. Circuit Judge Diana Gribbon Motz said the court “could not adopt an unnecessarily restrictive reading of the ADA,” given that Congress expressly instructed courts to construe the act in favor of maximum protection for those with disabilities. “To so hold would be for a court to take it upon itself to rewrite the statute in two impermissible ways: by penciling a new condition into the list of exclusions, and by erasing
Longtime attorney Charles ‘Charlie’ McGirt dies David Inabinett, managing member of Brinkley Walser Stoner PLLC, recently announced the passing of longtime firm member Charles “Charlie” McGirt. McGirt joined the firm in 1961 and recently celebrated 60 years of practicing law. He died on Sept. 2 after a recent illness, according to a news release. “Charlie was the consummate professional, dedicated to his clients, the firm, and the community,” Inabinett said in the news release. “He was caring team member, always courteous and respectful. Charlie was a mentor and friend to those of us in the firm and outside. Our prayers
are with Dottie and his family.” McGirt was admitted to the NC Bar in 1961 after earning his B.A. degree from LenoirRhyne College (class of 1958) and J.D. from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Law (1961). He joined Charles Walser Brinkley (as the firm ‘Charlie’ was then known) immediately McGirt thereafter. He was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1971. McGirt was inducted into the North Carolina
Bar Association General Practice Hall of Fame in 2012 and was recognized by the North Carolina Senate for 60 years of legal practice in 2021. Through the years, McGirt represented clients in a wide range of cases, including banking law, business and commercial law, estate planning, business organizations, condemnation, civil litigation and real estate, earning recognition for more than 30 straight years as an AVPreeminent attorney based on Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review Ratings. McGirt’s professional associations and memSee McGirt Page 6 ►
INSIDE COMMENTARY
VERDICTS & SETTLEMENTS
VERDICTS & SETTLEMENTS
Advice on getting ready for the end of public health emergency
Plaintiffs settle for $4.4M in bridge collapse at Wake Tech
Several employees to be compensated in settlement
Page 3
Page 4
Page 4