The Court struck Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment because it violated Business Court Rule 15.2, which requires that "[]ll motions, unless made orally during a hearing or trial, . . . be in paper writing or electronic form and . . . be accompanied by a brief . . . set out in a separate paper." Defendants had incorporated their Motion and the arguments in support of the Motion into a single filing.
The Court granted leave to refile the Motion, but observed that it had been filed before the close of discovery, and stated that "[w]hile it is true that, pursuant to Rule 56, ‘[a] party seeking to recover upon a claim . . . may, at any time after the expiration of 30 days from the commencement of the action . . . move with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in his favor[,]’ N.C. R. Civ. P. 56(a) (2007), a ‘motion filed at the outset of a case that is not limited to purely legal issues should be carefully scrutinized because at least some discovery is usually warranted where factual contentions are in dispute,’ 2 G. Gray Wilson, North Carolina Civil Procedure § 56-7 (3d ed. 2007)."
The Court said that it would "carefully scrutinize any such Motion to determine whether it should be heard before the close of discovery."