Mediator Resume

Hamlet & Associates PLLC - Of Counsel

Attorney

Of Counsel, Hamlet & Associates PLLC, 2012 - Present; Williams Mullen P.A., 2007 – 2012; Crosley McIntosh Prior & Collier PLLC, 1993 – 2007.

Practice involves construction law and construction defect litigation. Representative projects include schools, power plants, health care facilities, student housing, residential apartments, hospitals, office buildings, transportation facilities, manufacturing and industrial facilities, roadway excavation and construction. Claims and disputes related to design/build, multi-prime, acceleration and delay, site conditions, termination, contractor default, contract interpretation and performance, change orders, design, and workmanship problems. Clients include private commercial and residential owners, local governments, prime contractors, public authorities, subcontractors, construction managers and design professionals. Over 20 years of experience litigating and arbitrating all types of construction, commercial, and business disputes. Business litigation experience includes disputes between partners over ownership and fiduciary duties, as well as corporate minority shareholder rights disputes. Commercial litigation experience includes litigation and arbitration related to alleged breaches of sales and non-sales contracts, warranty claims, and enforcement of covenants not to compete. Product liability experience includes defense of manufacturers in major class actions and litigation related to claims of defective installation of construction materials.

As a North Carolina certified Superior Court Mediator from 2009-Present, averaged 25 mediations per year. Mediations and arbitrations have included all varieties of business disputes, with emphasis on construction disputes, including owner/contractor, owner/architect, contractor/architect, contractor/subcontractor. Disputes involve all types of projects including commercial, institutional, and residential. Arbitration experience also includes automobile accidents and complex business torts. The issues in mediated construction cases have ranged from product defects and installation errors to alleged design errors and changed site conditions resulting in delays. Mediated several dozen commercial disputes including business ownership issues, business torts and unfair trade practice claims.

Construction cases have included the following issues: design and construction responsibilities and liability; water intrusion; design errors and omissions; bid discrepancies and bid mistakes; personal injuries and insurance coverage (GL and Builders' Risk); delay claims; acceleration and mismanagement claims; wrongful termination claims; and various commercial and real estate disputes. Commercial and business cases mediated include disputed accounting of partnership and minority shareholder interests and breach of contract cases.

In my view, the mediator’s job is to be committed to keeping a conference going until the parties either reach a written settlement or to at a minimum make sure that every proposal that either party wishes to make has been revealed and communicated to the other party or parties. I do not to impose my opinions or recommendations on the parties, but I do encourage the parties to objectively evaluate their alternatives to a negotiated settlement including trial or arbitration, and to seriously consider every option presented by the other parties in the conference. To assist in reaching a settlement, I have to get the parties to engage in a dialogue about the issues and the alternatives to litigation. I also have to listen carefully to the parties and be able to communicate their position to the other parties. I find that a thorough understanding of the negotiation and mediation process is as important as the substantive knowledge of the mediator. The best lawyers have a very good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their case and often simply need guidance with the negotiation process.

Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University (JD); Wake Forest University (BA)

Admitted to the Bar: North Carolina (1993), South Carolina, (2005).

Fifth Judicial District Bar, Past President; New Hanover County Bar Association; North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys, Chair of the Construction Section; North Carolina Bar Association, Construction Law Section Council Member; North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission, Certified Member; Associated Builders and Contractors of the Carolinas, Member and prior Government Affairs, Committee Member; Wilmington Cape Fear Homebuilders Association, Member.

“The Kaleel Conundrum: Unsettled Questions Raised by Kaleel Builders, Inc. v. Ashby, 161 N.C. App. 34, 587, S.E.2d 470 (2003),” co-author with H. Mark Hamlet, W. Walter Rapp, and Jessica C. Tyndall: North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys’ 37th Annual Meeting and Seminar, June 12-15, 2014.

Hourly Rate: $375.00 Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: $250.00/hr Cancellation: $375.00/Day Cancellation Period: 3 Days Comment:

English

United States of America

Wilmington, North Carolina