Construction Law Section Honors David Layton With Evelyn M. Coman Award for Distinguished Service
David Layton accepts award from Nan Hannah.
David A. Layton of Gastonia is the ninth recipient of the Evelyn M. Coman Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Construction Law. The award was established by the NCBA Construction Law Section in 2002 in memory of Coman, a founding member and past chair of the section.
Nan Hannah, who is also a past chair of the section and current member of the section council, nominated Layton and presented the award during a special ceremony in Charlotte on Thursday, May 5.
“I am absolutely overwhelmed,” Layton said in accepting the award. “I am so appreciative of this award. I never thought anything like this would ever happen.”
Layton, as denoted in his law firm biography, is a shareholder with Gray, Layton, Kersh, Solomon, Furr & Smith, P.A. and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC School of Law. He served as chair of the Construction Law Section’s Lien Law Committee from 2001-05, leading the way to the 2005 revisions to the North Carolina Lien Law, and from 2009-11 chaired the section’s Lien and Bond Law Revision Committee.
Hannah noted these contributions extensively in her presentation.
“Our honoree devoted significant amounts of his time to lead this section’s efforts to revise the Lien Law at times where it was in great need of updating,” Hannah said. “In an environment where the construction industry and title companies were butting heads in all directions, our honoree marshalled consensus, worked tirelessly with a committee of lawyers, and then with various industry groups to not only draft, but to shepherd legislation through the General Assembly leading to the first significant revisions to Articles 2 and 3 of Chapter 44A since Dudley Humphrey led such an effort in 1969.”
Elaborating on Layton’s contributions to the 2005 lien law revisions, Hannah borrowed from the “History of the North Carolina Bar Association Construction Law Section” which was published in 2012 to commemorate the section’s 25th anniversary.
“In that book,” Hannah said, “we asked past chairs to share their thoughts as to milestones of the section. The late Bill Gammon offered this thought”:
The Chair of the Section’s Lien Law Committee, David Layton, testified to the House Judiciary Committee that his appointment as chair of the Lien Law Committee followed his making the “mistake” of asking a question of the then-chair in a Council meeting. His “mistake” was good fortune for the Section as the chair put forth incredible effort in conjunction with other members of the Section and the NCBA’s Director of Governmental Relations, Michelle Frazier, to push through the proposed legislation during the 2004-2005 session of the N.C. General Assembly.
In the summer of 2009, Hannah continued, the section reconstituted the committee and once again asked Layton to lead it.
“This effort had a fair sense of urgency, and the land title association was attempting to end the ‘relation back’ aspects of the lien law,” Hannah said, “while the Eastern District Bankruptcy Court had issued rulings that prohibited the filing of liens after a party in the lien chain had filed a bankruptcy petition. All of this on top of the economic downturn which exposed issues from hidden claimants (second- and third-tier subcontractors and suppliers) on state and local projects (payment bond claims).”
Layton, she added, organized his committee into working groups to tackle the various issues.
“David moderated lively discussions in section council meetings as the potential legislation began to take shape,” Hannah said. “David worked tirelessly with his committee in drafting and vetting the proposed legislation and in identifying trade groups throughout the construction industry who could be included during the drafting process to come up with a proposal that had a chance in the legislature.
“David stuck with this process through the introduction of H489 and as it worked through the legislature. Younger lawyers who might not have been practicing prior to 2012 should go back and check out the 2012 revisions. David’s efforts were Herculean. He will tell you he did not do it alone, and he would be correct, but David Layton is one of the most professional, calmest, most gentlemanly cat herders you will ever meet. Not once but twice, he successfully shepherded complicated but important legislation through the General Assembly.”
Hannah also recognized Layton’s contributions to the section and the construction law practice as a mentor as well as his service to the community. She concluded with an excerpt from her nomination letter comparing Layton to the award’s namesake.
“Having known Evelyn Coman,” Hannah stated, “I see similarities between the two – dogged, but quiet determination, Southern gentility, willing listeners, exceptional talent and intellect, and really nice people.”
The Evelyn M. Coman Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Construction Law “recognizes a lawyer in North Carolina who has made a significant contribution in the field of construction law through case law or other professional achievement, exhibited a strong record of volunteerism, or has consistently upheld the highest ideals of their profession through a dedicated career in construction law.” Previous recipients of the award are:
2003 – Walter L. Hannah
2004 – E.K. Powe
2005 – John L. Shaw
2006 – Dudley Humphrey
2010 – Fenton T. Erwin
2011 – John B. “Jack” Taylor
2017 – Holt Gwyn
2018 – Richard Conner
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.