Because it means every future case you bring in Durham County is going to be an uphill battle. Every motion you file will be scrutinized twice as carefully. Every argument you make will be met with skepticism. Professor, I didn't go to law school to be liked.
I went to enforce the law. If that makes me difficult, fine. She could hear the smile in his voice. Good answer.
Just remember, document everything. This isn't over. It's just starting. He was right.
That afternoon, Camille received an email from Alana Reeves, the junior associate who'd introduced herself in court. The subject line read, "Case law help." Hi, Camille. I saw you're working on the Hughes appeal.
I thought this might help. Attached is Mitchell v. Davidson County. It supports your argument about notice requirements. Good luck.
Alana. Camille opened the attachment. Read the case. Mitchell v. Davidson County decided by the North Carolina Court of Appeals 12 years ago. The holding was clear.
Landlords could not contract around statutory notice requirements, and any lease clause purporting to do so was void. Perfect. Exactly what she needed. Too perfect.
She opened Shepherd's Citations and ran Mitchell v. Davidson County. Red flag overruled.
State v. Henderson, 367 N.C. 171 decided 3 years ago. The Supreme Court had explicitly overruled Mitchell, holding that under certain circumstances, notice waivers were enforceable.
Camille read Henderson carefully. The case was distinguishable. It involved commercial leases, not residential, and the court had specifically noted that residential tenant protections remained intact. But if she'd cited Mitchell without checking Shepard's first, Elliot would have eviscerated her on appeal, made her look incompetent, destroyed her credibility.
And Alana was a junior associate at the city attorney's office. She knew how to run Shepherd's citations. She'd gone to law school, passed the bar. This wasn't an innocent mistake.
This was sabotage. Camille screenshot the email, saved it to her growing courthouse access folder. Then she replied, "Alana, thanks for the suggestion. I noticed Mitchell was overruled in State v. Henderson, 367, North Carolina, 171.
Were you aware? Just want to make sure we're both citing good law." Best Camille. She sent it, waited, no response.
That night, she created a new section in her case file. Professional misconduct. Under it, she filed the screenshot of Alana's email with a note. Attempted sabotage via bad law.
Junior associate at opposing counsel's office sent overruled case with no warning about its status. Either gross incompetence or intentional misconduct. Given her position and legal training, intentional seems more likely. She saved the file and made three backup copies.
The next four weeks passed in a blur of legal research and procedural battles. The Court of Appeals scheduled oral arguments for March 4th, 5 months away. In the meantime, the stay prevented Mrs. Hughes's eviction, but Greenfield Properties filed motion after motion trying to dissolve it. Motion to reconsider the stay, denied.
Motion to modify the stay to require Mrs. Hughes to pay ongoing rent. Granted partially, Mrs. Hughes had to pay current rent, but not the back rent. Motion for sanctions against Camille for filing a frivolous appeal. Denied, but Judge Hargrove's written order included language about overzealous advocacy by inexperienced counsel.
And through it all, Travis Mundy was at the security checkpoint every single time Camille visited the courthouse. October 24th. Secondary screening 13 minutes.
October 31st. Secondary screening. 15 minutes. Travis made her remove her shoes, belt, and jacket.
Then had her stand against the wall while he searched her bag compartment by compartment. November 7th. Secondary screening. 14 minutes.
Travis questioned why she was visiting the courthouse. When she said she was filing a brief, he demanded to see it first.
November 14th, secondary screening, 16 minutes. Travis made her stand with her arms extended while he ran the wand over her body three times.
November 21st, secondary screening, 12 minutes. She documented every single one. Date, time, duration, reason given, comparison to other attorneys.
By Thanksgiving, she had 11 incidents logged, statistical pattern undeniable, and then came the parking garage. December 5th, Friday afternoon. Camille had just finished filing a response to Greenfield Properties' latest motion. It was getting dark early now, winter coming on.
The parking garage was mostly empty at 4:30. She was halfway to her car when she heard footsteps behind her. Heavy quick. Hey.
She turned. Travis Mundy. Out of uniform, jeans, t-shirt, Durham Bulls cap, no badge, no name tag, nothing identifying him as law enforcement except the tactical watch she'd seen him wear at the security checkpoint. Excuse me.
He stopped about 10 ft away. You got a lot of nerve. Camille took two steps back, maintaining distance. Her hand moved to her bag, finding her phone.
I'm not interested in having this conversation. Well, I'm interested in having it. Travis took a step closer. You walk into that courthouse every week like you own the place, filing your motions, citing your cases, making trouble for people who are just trying to do their jobs.
I'm representing my client. If that's trouble, maybe you should ask yourself why. Sharon's a good person. 20 years she's been working here.
20 years of doing everything right. And you come in with your law school attitude and make her look bad. I didn't make anyone look bad. I cited the rules.
If following the rules makes someone look bad, that's not my problem. Travis took another step. 8 ft. Now you think you're smart.