When Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, was discovered off the North Carolina coast in 1996 after a decade of searching, whatever treasure might have been with it when it found a watery grave in 1718 had been lost to
It’s Just Business
Analysis of North Carolina Business Court Decisions (and other musings)
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JNOV is a Tough Road, but it’s Not a One in a Million Shot
A party seeking to unseat a verdict by JNOV “bears a heavy burden under North Carolina law.” Only a “scintilla of evidence” is needed to support the elements of the prevailing claim. But as the Business Court reminded in Emrich…
Check your Receipts at Summary Judgment: Court Awards Attorney’s Fees Against Party that Pressed on with “Meritless” Claim After Close of Discovery
After a “hotly contested” four-year litigation that resulted in mutual, without prejudice dismissals, the plaintiff in Vitaform, Inc. v. Aeroflow, Inc., 2023 NCBC 76, said it would refile and try again. But first, the Business Court entertained defendants’ claim…
A Bitter Dish in the Dessert Industry: Company Pays Litigation Expenses for a Corporate Officer who Won Dismissal of Its Misappropriation Claims
PreGel America makes and distributes products used in the gelato, ice cream and pastry business. But it alleges a far less than sweet experience with its former CEO, who the company says approved unauthorized personal salary hikes, misused corporate resources,…
Third Time’s the Charm. Mostly.
Maybe the third time is really only the charm in Baltimore. But at least sometimes a third shot at a sufficiently pled complaint in North Carolina can still carry the day. In Trail Creek Invs., LLC v. Warren Oil…
A Publicly Filed Court Document Does Make a Sound, Even if No One is Around to Hear It
When an amended complaint renders the arguments of a motion to dismiss moot, what effect does it have on the public’s ability to view the parties’ filings on the motion? In Karriker v. Harpoon Holdings, L.P., 2023 NCBC 67,…
When Employees Become Competitors, NC Business Court Keeps a Careful Watch on Disturbances in Marketplace Force
Joshua Langley worked for Autocraft, Inc. for more than five years and rose to have wide access to its business affairs and “substantial responsibility for its overall operations.” While still employed there, he opened LB Metalworx, LLC to compete with…
11th Annual NC Business Court CLE is October 20, 2023
Another fall, another amazing CLE for complex business litigators across the State: The Mecklenburg County Bar’s 11th Annual North Carolina Business Court CLE will take place on October 20, 2023. See the agenda here.
The in-person event this year…
North Carolina Supreme Court Unpacks a Service Contract and Finds a Potential Software Sale Lurking Within
If a company contracts to acquire software which it then licenses to a third party as a component of a lucrative service package, did it “sell” the software? In Value Health Solutions, Inc. v. Pharmaceutical Research Associates, Inc., 891 S.E.2d…
In Planning a Law Firm Exit, Business Court Commends Attention to the Things that Go Unspoken
A Charlotte area law firm alleged it struck a necessary, and rather ordinary, deal with departing partners to divide fees on contingent cases transitioning among firms based on time expended by each, with an included true up of costs. But…