Busted! The Secret Life of Your Backyard - Bill Layne Insurance Busted! The Secret Life of Your Backyard Is your personal oasis actually a courtroom waiting to happen? You see a swing set. A lawyer sees a retirement fund. Welcome to the high-stakes reality of North Carolina premises liability. Here in Elkin and across Surry County, we pride ourselves on our property. We spend weekends manicuring lawns, installing fire pits, and setting up play areas for the kids. It’s part of the American Dream. But there is a secret life to your backyard that most homeowners are blissfully unaware of until a process server knocks on their front door. Your backyard is not just a patch of grass; leg...

Bill Layne Agency Exclusive X-Ray Your House: Why "I Didn't See It" Isn't a Legal Defense in Elkin Ignorance isn't bliss—it's a lawsuit waiting to happen. Here is how to protect your assets in Surry County. Imagine this: You are sitting on your porch in Elkin, enjoying a glass of sweet tea. A delivery driver walks up your path, trips on a paver that has been slightly uneven for years, and shatters his wrist. Your immediate reaction is shock. Then, defensiveness. "I didn't even notice that stone was loose!" you exclaim. "Nobody has tripped there in ten years!" Here is the cold, hard truth that we at the Bill Layne Agency have to break to homeowners far too often: The law does not care th...