County of Lenoir ex rel. Dudley v. Dawson

BECTON, Judge.

I

The issues on appeal concern evidentiary matters, denial of defendant’s motion for directed verdict, the trial court’s use of an “Allen Charge”1 when the jury indicated that it had not reached a decision, whether the trial court expressed an opinion to the jury during its jury instructions, and the trial court’s failure to make a specific finding that defendant was the father of the child before accepting the jury’s verdict and entering a judgment requiring defendant to pay child support. We resolve the “Allen Charge” issue in defendant’s favor and grant a new trial. Because…