For anyone who has agonized over a decision between moving to dismiss or moving to compel arbitration, your strategic torment may be over. A short but important order from the Business Court yesterday ruled that the two options are not mutually exclusive.
In Triad Group, Inc. v. Wachovia Bank, N.A., a bond swap lawsuit filed
The insolvency of prominent contractor Bostic Construction, Inc. has been a fertile source of Business Court litigation over the last couple of years in three cases against the company’s officers and directors. A recent Bankruptcy Court decision from the Middle District permits the Business Court cases to proceed, holding that they are not barred by
The City of Richmond was kind to the City of Greensboro last week. After nearly a decade of litigation and arbitration, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s rejection of a challenge to a nearly $15 million arbitration award against the general contractor of a wastewater treatment facility.
The published opinion in MCI Constructors, LLC v. City of
For almost 30 years, minority shareholders in North Carolina have sought relief from corporate oppression via so-called Meiselman actions. An important Business Court opinion released Tuesday discusses the limits of Meiselman claims, which will be less appropriate the larger the number of shareholders and the greater the corporate governance in operation.
In the Meiselman case
A few points to keep in mind when the world of pro se plaintiffs meets the world of closely held entities in the Business Court, courtesy of Monday’s decision in Bodie Island Beach Club Ass’n, Inc. v. Wray:
The Business Court granted summary judgment last week to a company and dismissed claims brought by its former CEO for breach of a severance agreement, fraud, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.
In McKinnon v. CV Industries, Inc., the defendant (CVI) owned a number of subsidiaries which manufactured, among other things, high-end residential furniture (Century) and
The sealing of a complaint due to confidentiality concerns is more than an administrative exercise, according to a Business Court order last week. Parties seeking to maintain a complaint under seal will face a heavy burden, and the Court signaled a willingness to revisit orders of other courts, both inside and outside North Carolina.
In
We can’t say it better than Mack Sperling did about eight months ago: "If you are thinking of designating a case to the Business Court because the Complaint raises allegations that the corporate veil should be pierced, stop. Those types of allegations, without more, aren’t enough to invoke the mandatory jurisdiction of the Court. "
In
An award of damages for breach of a noncompete agreement, like any other damages award, requires evidentiary support. In a judgment issued yesterday after a bench trial, the Business Court awarded the plaintiffs nominal damages absent such evidence.
In HILB Rogal & Hobbs Co. v. Sellars, the Court faced a common factual scenario: a former vice president
The North Carolina Business Court was formed in 1995, largely inspired by Delaware’s Chancery Court. Our state recently returned the favor: Delaware now has created its own business court division of its Superior Court, sparked by the experiences of North Carolina and sixteen other states. Delaware’s new Complex Commercial Litigation Division (“CCLD”) shares some common