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I couldn’t pass on writing about a Business Court Order that the Court itself described as “Sua Sponte Order on Abusive Language.”  This is In re SE Eye Ctr, 2023 NCBC Order 15.

Abusive language?  That might be too complimentary a description of the stream of vitriol let loose by Mark McDaniel, a “contingent debtor” of Southeastern Eye Center, in his court filings.  McDaniel, not a physician (nor a lawyer), is the former Executive Director of the Center. He is proceeding pro se.

Judge Bledsoe laid out a…

Continue Reading NC Business Court Castigates Pro Se Claimant For Abusive Language

This is Part 2 of an examination of the 100+ “Orders of Significance” dropped by the NC Business Court late last year.  Part 1 of this series (on designating cases to the Court) is here.  If you haven’t heard anything about the Orders of Significance, look here.

There are a couple of Orders of Significance dealing with attorney-client privilege that are significant enough to be written about on this blog.  The first is Judge Conrad’s Order on a Motion to Compel in Kelley v. Charlotte Radiology, P.A. 2019 …
Continue Reading Part 2 of __ of the Business Court’s Orders Of Significance: Attorney-Client Privilege

If you ever look at the Business Court’s website, you’ve noticed that the Court added late last year a new category of rulings, which it has dubbed “Orders of Significance.”  There are 118 of these Orders, stretching back ten years, to 2010.

The Court is statutorily mandated to publicly post a number of its rulings, per N.C.G.S. § 7A-45.3, which obligates the Court to issue a written Opinion on rulings rendered per NCRCP 12, 56, 59, and 60, but these Orders of Significance don’t fall into those categories.

I…
Continue Reading NC Business Court Adds More Than One Hundred New Orders On Its Website

State law antitrust claims in North Carolina seem to go together with unfair and deceptive trade practices claims (Chapter 75 claims) like peanut butter and jelly.  Section 75-2 of the General Statutes says that “any act, contract, combination in the form of trust, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce which violates the principles of the common law” is a violation of the unfair and deceptive trade practices law.

So why did Business Court Judge Robinson dismiss the UDTPA claim in the antitrust lawsuit (at the Rule 12…
Continue Reading NC Business Court: Something For Antitrust Lawyers

Judge Robinson boldly went where no North Carolina Judge writing published Opinions had gone before last month in the case of Wheeler v. Wheeler, 2018NCBC117.  The subject was a corporate officer’s right to the advancement of legal fees incurred in defending against a lawsuit.

Judge Robinson noted that there was only “one case in which our appellate courts have dealt with the issue of advancement.”  Op. ¶1 & n.1.  That case was inapplicable to the Wheeler decision.

Advancement (the right for an officer, director, agent or employee of…
Continue Reading NC Business Court Steps Into Uncharted Territory On Advancement And Indemnification For Corporate Officers

Detail of dirty hands – blacksmith

The  Business Court Opinion last month in Shaw v. Gee, 2018 NCBC 108,  deals with two interesting trial procedure issues: how to preserve all your arguments for making motions for judgment not withstanding the verdict and for a new trial.

Shaw had won at trial on one of his claims (that Gee had breached his fiduciary duty), but the jury had not considered damages (finding that Shaw’s claims were barred by his “unclean hands”).  Shaw moved for a judgment…
Continue Reading NC Business Court Deals With “Unclean Hands”

This hurricane — Florence — has proved so far to be underwhelming in Greensboro.

But North Carolina is nevertheless taking this hurricane very seriously.  It’s seen as so devastating that the Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court has issued blanket extensions of time in cases pending in 14 Counties, most on the coast or not far inland.  The Counties mentioned in his Order are Beaufort, Brunswick, Carteret, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Hyde, Jones, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Sampson, and Tyrrell.

Here’s the deal: if you have a case…
Continue Reading Chief Justice Of NC Supreme Court Issues Blanket Order Extending Time In Fourteen Counties Due To Hurricane Florence

I have been complaining about  the fees approved by the NC Business Court for those lawyers obtaining disclosure only settlements since there was a Wachovia Bank.  Some of you may not be old enough to remember that venerable bank.

Now, at last, Judge Gale has found a disclosure only settlement to have yielded (almost) immaterial disclosures, and slashed the attorneys’ request for fees (by more than 50%) and expenses (to zero).  The Opinion, delivered last month, is In re Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. Shareholders Litig., 2018 NCBC 58.

Fee …
Continue Reading It May Not Be Worth It For Plaintiffs’ Lawyers To Come To North Carolina And To Seek Fees Based On Disclosure Only Class Settlements

The title of Judge Bledsoe’s Opinion in Carolina Home Solutions 1, Inc. v. Crystal Home Solutions, Inc., 2018 NCBC 57, is ominous in itself.  It is titled “Order and Opinion Denying Pro Hac Vice Admission and Referral to the Georgia and North Carolina State Bars.”

How hard is it to get a pro hac vice (PHV) admission in the Business Court?  Not very.  You just have to comply with N.C. Gen. Stat. §84-4.1.  Who even gets denied pro hac admission to the Business Court?  (It happens.  Judge …
Continue Reading Don’t Do This If You Are Out-of-State Counsel Appearing in The NC Business Court

The attorney for the Plaintiff in Preiss v. Wine and Design Franchise, LLC, 2018 NCBC 53, apparently didn’t bother to read the Business Court’s Rules on what must be done in order to file a document under seal.  That lawyer failed on three separate occasions to comply with the Court’s procedures for sealing a document.

So Judge McGuire took the Plaintiff’s lawyer to school, though pretty gently.  He said:

On the charitable assumption that Plaintiffs counsel’s continued failure to comply with the applicable BCR regarding filing under seal is

…
Continue Reading NC Business Court Schools Plaintiff’s Attorney On How To File A Document Under Seal In The Court