Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

It seems that new developments are always on the horizon in the world of the Clean Air Act and oil and gas development. Just over a year ago, on April 17, 2012, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”)…more

Last fall, I wrote an article for Carolina Banker magazine excitingly titled “Bank Liability to Non-Customers in a Ponzi Scheme.” The crux of it concerns the potential liability to banks in Ponzi schemes and the precautions…more

This is the first in a recurring series of articles examining the Dodd-Frank Act and its implications for community banks. This quarter’s selection takes a closer look at reforms related to corporate governance issues. In…more

On May 1, 2013, Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC, in conjunction with the North Carolina Bankers Association, held The Future of Community Banking Symposium in Greensboro, N.C. It was a day-long discussion of the issues facing and…more

In This Issue: - Conversation with a Community Banking Professional: Jillian Gibson - Future of Community Banking Symposium Highlights - Dodd-Frank Act Essentials: Corporate Governance Reforms -…more

WEST VIRGINIA LAND STEWARDSHIP CORPORATION - Enrolled Com. Sub for H. B. 2590. - Overview - Enrolled Com. Sub. For H. B. 2590 (hereinafter HB 2590) ) – to be known as the West Virginia Land Stewardship Act…more

On April 12, 2013, the West Virginia Legislature passed Senate Bill 243 which contained, among other West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) rules, the Rules Governing Horizontal Well Development 35-8…more

An intermediate appellate court in New York recently affirmed that a local government has the authority to enact zoning ordinances banning all oil and natural gas activities within municipal limits. In 2011, the Town of Dryden…more

In This Issue: - Finally -- Rules Governing W.Va. Horizontal Well Development - N.Y. Appellate Court: Municipalities Can Ban O&G Activity - Fracking Nearly Doubles Ohio Oil & Natural Gas Output - Excerpt…more

People have commented so often on the loss of opportunities actually to try cases that little more needs to be said about it. Discovery seems unrestrained, costing so much and taking up so much time that after paying for it, the…more

On April 12, 2013, the N.C. Supreme Court stepped into the ongoing dispute regarding the 7.2 percent rate increase sought by Duke Energy and approved by the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) in January 2012. Duke…more

America’s high school and college students will soon be finishing another school year, and employers across the country are gearing up to welcome many of these young adults as interns for the summer. Interns are staples in many…more

In 2012, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) set the business community atwitter when an administrative law judge in American Red Cross decided that an at-will disclaimer in an employee handbook violated the National Labor…more

On February 25, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its final rule (the Final Rule) setting forth standards for health insurance issuers under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the…more

Last month, the United States Supreme Court (Supreme Court) provided an unexpected gift to entities facing collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by holding that defendants may moot such a case by making an…more