The Business Court held that it had mandatory jurisdiction over a claim involving the interpretation and validity of the corporate bylaws of an electric membership cooperative. The bylaws were similar to those of a number of other electric membership cooperatives, and the Court held "that the disposition of this case may have an impact far
October 2008
First Decision Under North Carolina’s Identity Theft Act
Fisher v. Communications Workers of America, 2008 NCBC 18 (N.C. Super. Ct. Oct. 30, 2008).
The North Carolina Business Court decided today the first published opinion under North Carolina’s Identity Theft Protection Act, N.C. Gen. Stat. §75-60 et seq. The case, Fisher v. Communications Workers of America, also involves an interesting invasion of privacy…
Taking The Fifth Results In Adverse Inference And Entry Of Preliminary Injunction In Trade Secrets Case
The Defendant’s exercise of his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination was the basis for the North Carolina Business Court’s entry of a Preliminary Injunction on October 29th in Amacell LLC v. Bostic.
Plaintiff asserted that its former employee, a senior research scientist, had misappropriated trade secrets and violated a confidentiality agreement. The Defendant…
Plaintiff Seeking Expedited Discovery In Lawsuit Over Wachovia-Wells Fargo Merger
The Plaintiff in the would be class action seeking to enjoin the Wachovia and Wells Fargo merger is pursuing his effort to obtain expedited discovery. The parties have staked out the broad outlines of the claims and defenses in their briefs on that Motion. Plaintiff’s Brief is here, Wachovia’s Brief, filed yesterday afternoon, is here.…
Camper v. Brooks, October 27, 2008 (Diaz)(unpublished)
The parties failed to submit their designation of mediator to the Court by the deadline provided for in the Case Management Order, and also after an inquiry from the Court. The Court held that the parties had as a result "forfeited their right" to select a mediator.
The parties were also delinquent in filing their…
Business Court Allows Confidential Settlement Of Individual Claims In Class Action Suit
Thomas Cook Printing Co. v. Subtle Impressions, Inc., 2008 NCBC 17 (N.C. Super. Ct. Oct. 24, 2008).
On October 24th, the North Carolina Business Court approved the Plaintiff’s withdrawal of class action claims under the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (which prohibits the transmission of "unsolicited advertisements" to fax machines) and a settlement of…
Petitions For Discretionary Review In The North Carolina Supreme Court
You’ve lost a case in the North Carolina Court of Appeals, It was unanimous, 3-0. You are talking with your client about a Petition for Discretionary Review to the North Carolina Supreme Court.
What are your chances? Frankly, not very good at all. I took a look at the Supreme Court’s track record this year…
Shareholder Class Action Filed In North Carolina Business Court To Enjoin Wachovia-Wells Fargo Merger
The first Complaint I’m aware of seeking to enjoin the merger between Wachovia and Wells Fargo has been filed in North Carolina and designated to the North Carolina Business Court.
In the Notice of Designation to the Business Court of the case, Ehrenhaus v. Baker, the Plaintiff describes his claim as follows:
"This is a
…
Velocity Fiber Broadband, LLC v. Lang Mangement, Inc., October 14, 2008 (unpublished)(Tennille)
The Court found that a Complaint seeking commissions due which would require the interpretation of various infrastructure agreements concerning "the fiber optic infrastructure to support the provision of telecommunication and internet services" fell within its jurisdiction over matters involving "the internet and electronic commerce."
The Court found additional support for the designation in Defendant’s counterclaim…
Cruising And Recusing: Motion To Recuse Is Stricken By The North Carolina Business Court
This post is about an Order Striking a Motion for Recusal by the North Carolina Business Court, in J. Freeman Floor Company, LLC v. Freeman. The Motion was stricken because it was procedurally defective, but the factual allegations which the Plaintiff claimed warranted recusal were interesting, as was the way in which Judge Diaz…