Reporting on Judicial Decisions of Significance to Business & Shareholders
The Court denied a motion for "alternative service of process" on a foreign defendant, ruling that the Plaintiff had not shown it had exhausted the traditional means of service available under Rule 4(j3) by attempting service through the means specified in the Hague Convention.
The Court further stated that if Plaintiff could not with due…
This was a dispute between insurance agents and an insurer for which they had sold policies.
Plaintiff asserted that the Court had personal jurisdiction over a parent company with an indirect subsidiary in North Carolina based on the alter ego doctrine. The Court held that "if [the parent] has dominated and controlled. . . a second…
Service of process can be made by leaving the Summons and Complaint at the Defendant’s residence, even though not in literal compliance with Rule 4, if the Defendant has evaded service.
The Defendant will waive an objection to service (and to jurisdiction) by filing a Notice of Designation to the North Carolina Business Court, because "the…
The Court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction based on their lack of minimum contacts with the State of North Carolina. The Court found that defendants had not made a general appearance in the case, and thereby waived their right to contest jurisdiction by participating in discovery, by asking the Court…
The Court found that it lacked personal jurisdiction over out-of-state doctors and dentists who had allegedly sent internet advertising to plaintiff, a North Carolina resident. The Court rejected plaintiff’s argument that there was jurisdiction under N.C.G.S. §1-75.4(4)(a), which allows for the assertion of jurisdiction when “solicitation or services activities were carried on within this State…
The out of state defendant, who had received payments from the plaintiff on a promissory note, was subject to personal jurisdiction in North Carolina. Money was a "thing of value" within the meaning of the North Carolina long arm statute. The Court further found that it had specific jurisdiction over the defendant with regard to…
In this class action against an automobile manufacturer, plaintiffs claimed that the manufacturer had committed fraud by advertising the safety of its vehicles even though they did not have a brake shift interlock system. Plaintiff sought damages — even though they had suffered no injury as yet — and an injunction ordering a recall of…
Action by plaintiff alleging that defendants had engaged in action in violation of statute was rendered moot by amendment of statute. The Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction as a result of the amendment.
An alleged threat made over the telephone by was sufficient for the court to exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant.