Let's say you are a corporate lawyer. You spend your pitiful and lonely life surrounded by marked up papers and red pens, drafting or revising agreements. You send your final versions out to your clients to sign, with those...more
6/10/2013
- Condition Precedent Contribution Agreements Signatures
It's been nearly ten years since the North Carolina Supreme Court decided a case involving the attorney-client privilege. That case was In re Miller, 357 N.C. 316, 584 S.E.2d 772 (2003), which raised the question whether the...more
6/4/2013
- Attorney-Client Privilege Confidential Communications
The Fourth Circuit doesn't get into matters of LLC law very often, but it did last week in Painter's Mill Grille, LLC v. Brown. The LLC and its members were suing their landlord for discriminating against them on the basis of...more
5/30/2013
- Discrimination Landlords LLC Racial Discrimination
The issue in Johnson v. American United Life Insurance Co., decided last week by the Fourth Circuit. was whether the Plaintiff's husband's death from a car wreck while driving intoxicated was an "accident" under his life...more
5/29/2013
- Car Accident Drunk Driving DUI Insurers
Maybe you've wondered whether a claim for legal malpractice can be assigned. Maybe you haven't. But yesterday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals answered that question. In Revolutionary Concepts, Inc. v. Clements Walker...more
5/9/2013
You've undoubtedly prevailed in a federal case -- either at summary judgment or after a trial -- and you have probably struggled with what you are entitled to recover as costs under 28 U.S.C. ยง1920. And recently, your client,...more
5/2/2013
- Discovery Electronically Stored Information Legal Costs
The Court of Appeals in February 2011 ordered Judge Jolly to dissolve Mitchell, Brewer, Richardson, Adams, Burge & Boughman, a law firm organized as a member-managed professional limited liability company. The dissolution was...more
3/11/2013
- Attorney's Fees Contingency Fees Corporate Dissolution LLC
If you are in NC state court and want to take the deposition of an out-of-state non-party, the Order last week in Out of the Box Developers, LLC v. Logicbit Corp. carries a few lessons.
Serving A Subpoena. You can't...more
3/6/2013
- Depositions Non-Parties Personal Jurisdiction Subpoenas
When I last wrote about SCI North Carolina Funeral Services, LLC v. McEwen Ellington Funeral Services, Inc., Judge Murphy had entered a TRO against the Defendants for trademark infringement over their use of the McEwen name...more
2/28/2013
- Infringement Likelihood of Confusion Trademarks
The Order Wednesday of last week in Patriot Performance Materials, Inc. v. Powell, 2013 NCBC 10 was appropriately timed for the day before Valentine's Day.
Powell, the Defendant, had a 50% interest in several businesses...more
2/18/2013
- Corporate Gifts Third-Party Unjust Enrichment
The case of Blythe v. Bell is like the gift that keeps on giving. It generated two significant opinions last year, and this week a third and a fourth. The July 2012 opinion was a major e-discovery decision, and the December...more
2/14/2013
- Blythe v Bell Damages Expert Testimony Lost Profits
If you are a lawyer practicing in the Middle District of North Carolina, you will be excited about Standing Order #2, issued by the Judges of the Court on January 8th....more
1/11/2013
- Cell Phones
The lesson in the Business Court's first opinion of the year, Allen Smith Investment Properties, LLC v. Barbarry Properties, LLC, 2013 NCBC 1 is to be ready to present your calculation of damages at the summary judgment stage...more
1/8/2013
- Damages Dismissals Summary Judgment
Today's post is really a thank you to Judge Gale for delivering the Christmas gift I requested in last week's post: a decision from the North Carolina Business Court on an open question of North Carolina's corporate law to...more
12/11/2012
- LLC Transfer of Interest
Premier, Inc. v. Peterson, 2012 NCBC 59, decided last Friday by Judge Murphy, turned on a strict application of the parol evidence rule.
At issue was whether the defendants were entitled to a substantial earn-out payment...more
12/10/2012
- Parol Evidence Stock Purchase Agreement
If you are a derivative action plaintiff, and you make a demand on an LLC to take action which is then considered and rejected, may you still pursue your claims? Judge Murphy answered that question, and others relating to...more
12/6/2012
- Derivative Suit Fiduciary Duty
If you've ever made a Motion for Costs following a win at summary judgment or a win at trial you know that the law on such motions is a quagmire. Does the trial court have discretion in determining whether to award costs to a...more
12/4/2012
Maybe one day North Carolina will be the center of the business litigation universe, but for now the center of that universe remains in Delaware.
The Order last week in Justewicz v. Sealy Corp., 2012 NCBC 57 -- in...more
12/3/2012
- Class Action Order to Stay
