I had no idea that utility companies trim trees with saws hanging from helicopters. That’s going to make me all the more certain to look up when I hear a helicopter.

I learned this interesting tidbit from one of the new cases (with a plaintiff aptly named "Aerial Solutions") of the six designated to the North Carolina Business Court in December 2009. Those are listed below.

The total for new cases designated to the Business Court during 2009, by my count, was one hundred and eleven.

Allen Smith Investment Poperties, LLC v. Barbarry Properties, LLC (Mecklenburg)(Diaz): dispute among partners in limited partnership. Claims for breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of funds, and fraud.

Aerial Solutions, Inc. v. Lail (Columbus)(Jolly): unfair competition claims against former helicopter pilot for an aerial tree-trimming business, including breach of non-competition agreement and providing co-defendant with confidential information regarding Plaintiff’s "patented Aerial Power Saw."

Arky v. Variable Annuity Life Ins. Co. (Durham)(Jolly): enforceability of non-solicitation provision in registered representative agreement, including claim that customer identities and account information are trade secrets.

Mark v. Wachovia Bank, N.A. (McDowell)(Tennille): claims against real estate developers and banks asserting false and misleading sales tactics and that the parties "conspired with each other to artificially inflate the value of the subject lots through knowingly overstated appraisals."

NRC Golf Course, L.L.C. v. JMR Golf L.L.C. (Carteret)(Jolly): Dispute between the parties over terms of a lease and option to purchase a golf course.

Yodle v. WebVisible, Inc. (Mecklenburg)(Diaz):plaintiff, which says that it is "an industry leader in providing local online advertising services to business around the country," makes claims of unfair competition against a competitor including raiding of employees, theft of trade secrets, and false statements to plaintiff’s customers.