Firm History

Loftin & Loftin celebrates its 60 years of service to Orange County and all of North Carolina. Thank you.

Going on 60 years, our family firm has been located in historic downtown Hillsborough, just one block from the courthouse. In 1959, fresh out of UNC School of Law, Dalton H. Loftin hung his shingle and founded the firm. Thirty years later, he was joined by his son John D. Loftin Sr. in 1989. For nearly 30 years, father and son practiced side by side until John D. Loftin II was later sworn in and joined the firm in 2019 exactly 30 years after his father in 1989, carrying on the family tradition. With deep roots in Orange County and North Carolina in general, Loftin & Loftin is dedicated to assisting their clients in navigating challenging circumstances with a human touch.

Our has produced (historically and recently) successful dispute resolution with and without litigation, such as:

• • • PERSONAL INJURY
      • $3,000,000 dollars in settlement of injuries sustained from defective and dangerous products
      • $2,750,000 dollars by verdict for a client’s personal injuries (at that time the largest jury verdict in Orange County history)
      • $1,000,000 dollars in settlement for a client injured by a trucking accident
      • Changing North Carolina workers’ compensation precedent in a victorious suit at the North Carolina Supreme Court
      • Victory of disputed $1,000,000 UM/UIM coverage at federal trial (*appeal pending as of 2020)
      • Undefeated in defense representation of Harrah’s Cherokee Casino premises liability (since 2004)
      • Successful litigation representation of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Tribal Court judiciary against Verizon in federal court
    • CIVIL LITIGATION
      • • Trust & Estate
          • $1,000,000 recovered in settlement of a will contest and trust-dissolution suit (lack of capacity)
          • $600,000 recovered in settlement of a will contest and trust-dissolution suit (breach of fiduciary duties)
          • $400,000 recovered in settlement challenging a will’s ambiguous language regarding a gift of stock
          • $140,000 recovered in settlement for a trust beneficiary (trustee misappropriation)
          • $100,000 of real property recovered in settlement with estate for heir cut out of deathbed will (undue influence and lack of capacity)
          • $80,000 recovered in settlement of will caveat and action to set aside deeds (undue influence and constructive fraud)
          • $50,000 recovered in settlement for a trust beneficiary of $50,000 (trustee misappropriation)
          • $30,000 recovered in settlement against a trustee (personally) due to egregious breach of fiduciary duties
          • $15,000 recovered in settlement of life insurance policy left payable (in error) to an ex-spouse
          • $10,000 recovered in settlement with executor (breach of fiduciary duties)
          • Recovery in settlement of lost family heirlooms improperly taken by a fiduciary
          • Repossession through jury trial of human remains unlawfully retained by a fiduciary
          • Removal of trustees for breach of fiduciary duties
          • Correction and remedy of trust administration when trustee failed to file taxes for over 20 years
        • Real Property
          • Reversal on appeal of trial court ruling in foreclosure matter
          • Recovery of damages against realtor negligence in residential sale
          • Litigation recovering land acquired by adverse possession
          • Successful representation of homeowner against HOA attempting to enforce unreasonable restrictions
          • Successful representation of HOA Board against homeowner persisting in willful violation of restrictive covenants
        • Employment
          • Successful representation of federal law enforcement officer wrongfully discharged, paving way for client’s re-employment (different employer)
          • Negotiation for confidentiality arrangements for terminated employees in education sector
        • Campus & Education
          • Administrative, federal trial, and federal appellate Title IX representation of someone accused of sexual harassment
          • Representation of students before honor / disciplinary tribunals
        • Business
          • Recovery of damages for fraudulent inducement between partners
          • Recovery of damages through bad faith insurance dispute against major insurance company regarding damaged personal property of a patron against a business owner
    • GENERAL PRACTICE
      • Family Law
        • Multiple awards of primary physical custody
        • Multiple awards of fathers securing joint physical and legal custody
        • Significant representation regarding grandparents’ custody rights
      • Criminal Law
        • Successful remand of a Capital post-conviction case before the North Carolina Supreme Court
        • Successful family law appellate advocacy before the North Carolina Court of Appeals and North Carolina Supreme Court
      • Trust & Estate Planning
        • Multiple emergency, deathbed hospital visitations for planning (when appropriate, based on competency and other factors)
        • Planning in light of impending trust or estate lawsuits, as informed by our extensive trust and estate litigation experience
        • Planning for blended and non-nuclear, non-traditional families, as informed by our family law litigation experience
        • Estate tax planning assistance for high net worth individuals
        • Partnership and corporate structuring planning
        • Needs-based government assistance estate planning (Medicaid, Special Needs)
        • Guardianship representation and advising
      • Residential & Commercial Real Estate
        • Thousands of sales and refinances
        • Boundary line correction
        • Easement disputes and drafting
        • Title exams

      *Disclaimer: Not all cases are typical; results vary.