Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Dec. 31, 2015, edition 1 / Page 8
Part of Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Lawsuit J^ampafeAl in the Forsyth Clerk of Court office to "... sign a guardianship appointment in his favor on May 1,2007 without giving notice to Mary Thompson and her next of kin as it is required ..." by state statutes. The suit further claimed that because evidence of incompetency was not ini tially presented, as legally required, attorney Thompson knew that the "... guardianship appoint ment in his favor was ficti tious... [and] used it to fraudulently obtain posses sion and control over the assets of Mary Thompson in May of 2007." The Clerk's Order of Incompetency on Mary Thompson was not, in fact, issued until May 3, 2007, two days after attorney Thompson's appointment, the suit maintains. In addi tion, because none of the Cleric's orders were proper ly file stamped and entered into the court record as required by state statutes anyway, the N.C. Court of Appeals in February 2014 found that"... all of attor ney Thompson's actions regarding the estate of Mary Thompson ... were without legal authority." Forsyth County Clerk of Superior Court Susan Frye reacted to that February 2014 appellate court ruling by issuing a "Findings of Fact" in the Mary Ellen Thompson case in April of that same year, acknowledging per the appellate decision that "... the orders were not proper ly entered ..." thus creat ing "... an inadvertent defect..." Frye decided she could deal with that seven-year old "inadvertent defect" by simply declaring that the orders could be belatedly entered per the legal princi ple of nunc pro tunc, which is Latin for "now for then," meaning that if a court made a mistake in a previ ous order, it can simply correct it after the fact. She ordered all of the orders to be re-entered under their original dates nunc pro tunc, except the order authorizing attorney Thompson to become the ward's estate guardian. On that one, realizing the con flict of dates, she had that changed from May 1,2007 to May 3, 2007, to match the original date of the incompetency order. Frye's orders were appealed, however, and found to be procedurally improper in Superior Court. She appealed that decision to the state appel late court, which has yet to rule. In October of that same year Mary Thompson died, legally halting most issues dealing with her estate. The lawsuit "... seeks all of [Ms. Thompson's] assets [valued at $1,486,415.49] returned to the estate and holds liable estate guardian attorney Thompson; the Office of Forsyth Clerk of Court; guardian ad litem Fred Flynt; along with two insurance companies on the bond issued to protect Mary Thompson's assets as required by law; and two other attorneys for their alleged roles in what the suit maintains was a case of fraud," The Chronicle reported Oct. 23. In her legal answer filed on behalf of Bryan Thompson, Forsyth Clerk Susan Frye and the other defendants named in the lawsuit, attorney Whitlatch introduced several motions to dismiss, among them technicalities for alleged improper service of < process, improper process, and failure to state a claim i per allegations of fraud. < 'The allegations that $1.4 million in assets were obtained by fraud and alle- i gations of a RICO i (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) i enterprise used to purport- 1 edly defraud the Plaintiff of I more than $1.6 million in < assets are in bad faith and i for improper inflammatory ' purposes," attorney ] Whitlatch wrote in her i answer and counterclaim. I "Plaintiff (estate adminis trator Calvin Brannon) and his counsel knew or should i have known that the assets were worth a fraction of i such amount, and have < made misleading allega- i tions implying that Defendants took such assets for their own benefit when in fact, the assets were used for the benefit of Mary Thompson." "Accordingly, Defendant [Bryan] Thompson moves to strike these allegations, and fur ther moves pursuant to Rule 11 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure for sanctions in that the allegations are friv olous and baseless," attor ney Whitlatch continued. Further on in the docu ment, which also contained other counterclaims and motions to strike, it is stat ed "On information and belief, prior to 2014, it was the practice of the Forsyth County Clerk of Superior Court not to file stamp any Orders that had been pre pared and executed by rep resentatives of the Clerk of Superior Court." In her answer, attorney Whitlatch doesn't say why the Forsyth Clerk's office was not in compliance, or sven allowed to not be in compliance, with the state mandate by the Administrative Office of the Courts to file stamp all court orders, but she main tains that attorney Thompson "acted in good faith in carrying out duties under the Orders ..." effectively saying that he did nothing wrong, and relied on the directives of the Clerk's Office. Attorney Whitlatch also asks the court in her answer that if the appeal on the April 2014 nunc pro tunc order by Clerk Frye to effectively post-date the non-file-stamped orders is not upheld, that attorney Thompson should still be considered the "de facto guardian or trustee" of Mary Thompson's estate, and not be punished for doing his job accordingly. In conclusion, attorney Whitlatch seeks dismissal of the lawsuit "with preju dice; "judgment be entered against the plaintiff and in favor of defendant on all claims and counterclaims;" attorneys' fees paid by the plaintiff; and a stay of the lawsuit pending a decision by the NC Court of Appeals regarding the nunc pro tunc matter. > ; Bertha Grant Winston-Salem I "My News Year's reso lution is to stay healthy and interested in God." Cedrie Ingram Winston-Salem "My New Year's reso lution is to spend more time with my family. Edgar Middlebrook New York "My resolution is to find a job, apartment, and just be a better person in the new year." Oz Brown Winston-Salem "I like tokeep it simple. My New Year's resolution is to be a better person tin 2016 than I was in 2015." Eugene Shuler Winston-Salem 'To be more healthy and to stop taking so much medication." Ray Cole Winston-Salem "My New Year's resolu tion is to spread peace and harmony." Cedric Ingrain Winston-Salem "My New Year's resolu tion is to spend more time with my family." Robert Harriston Winston-Salem 1 "My resolution for the new year is to be a 'wi ?- - fa?r* Zach Leonard Winston-Salem j* "My New Year's reatiMon is to be more organized." ti i WSSk ' ? Ex-Globetrotters star Meadowlark Lemon dies SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) Meadowlark Lemon, the "clown prince" of bas ketball's barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters, whose blend of hook shots and humor brought joy to millions of fans around the world, has died. He was 83. Lemon's wife and daughter confirmed to the team that he died Sunday in Scottsdale, Ariz., Globetrotters spokesman Brett Meister said Monday. Meister did not know the cause of death. Though skilled enough to play professionally. Lemon instead wanted to entertain. His dream of playing for the Globetrotters was hatched after watching a newsreel of the all-black team at a cinema house when he was 11. Lemon first contacted the Globetrotters before his high school graduation and joined the team in 1954. What followed was a run, by his calculations, of more than 16,000 straight games that took him to places he never could have imagined. Lemon ended up becoming arguably the team's most popular player. a showman known as much for his confetti-in-the water-bucket routine and slapstick comedy as his half court hook shots and no look, behind the-back imccac Lemon ptWOVi] . A sign of his crossover appeal. Lemon was induct ed into both the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the International Clown Hall of Fame. Lemon played for the Globetrotters during the team's heyday from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s, delighting fans with his skills with a ball and a joke. Traveling by car, bus, train or plane nearly every night. Lemon covered near ly 4 million miles to play in over 100 countries and in front of popes and presi dents, kings and queens. He averaged 325 games per year during his prime, that luminous smile never dim ming. " Meadow lark was the most sensational, awe some, incredible basketball player I've ever seen," NBA great and former Globetrotter Wilt Chamberlain said shortly before his death in 1999. "People would say it would be Dr. J or even (Michael) Jordan. For me it would be Meadowlark Lemon." Lemon spent 24 years with the Globetrotters, doing tours through the racially torn South in the 1950s until he left in 1979 to start his own team. He was one of the most popular athletes in the world during the prime of his career, thanks to a unique blend of athleticism and showmanship. Playing against the team's nightly foil, the Washington Generals, Lemon left fans in awe with the nifty moves he put on display during the Globetrotters' famous circle while "Sweet Georgia Brown" played over the loudspeaker. Lemon became an icon in the 1970s, appearing in movies, including "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh," numerous talk shows and even a stint in the cartoon "Scooby Doo," with Scatman Crothers doing his voice. Lemon spent the last years of his life trying to spread a message of faith through basketball. He became an ordained minis ter in 1986 and was a moti vational speaker, touring the country to meet with children at basketball camps and youth prisons with his Scottsdale-based Meadowlark Lemon Ministries. "I feel if I can touch a kid in youth prison, he won't go to the adult prison," Lemon said in 2003. Bom in 1932, Meadow George Lemon III - he lengthened his name after joining the Globetrotters - didn't have money for a basketball when he was young, so he rigged up a makeshift hoop in his back yard in Wilmington, North Carolina. Using a coat hanger and onion sack for the basket, he made his first shot with an empty milk can. "I was one of the most fortunate athletes that ever lived," he said. "I was able to watch history." ff AP Photo/Suzanne VI am is Meadowlark Lemon (36), of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, offers a pretzel to a referee during a game at New York's Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Feb. 18,1978. V iCr
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 31, 2015, edition 1
8
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75