The defendant, the trustee of a trust, hired lawyers to represent it with regard to a dispute between the income beneficiaries and the remaindermen of the trust. In the course of that dispute, the income beneficiary also sued the trustee for maladministration. The issue was the trust’s right to reimbursement for the fees incurred.

The…

Defendant sought a "prosecution bond," pursuant to N.C.G.S. §1-109, against the allegations made by plaintiff, a pro se litigant. The Court held that it was required to consider "(1) the relative merits of the case; (2) whether the costs in the case will be substantial; (3) the evidence, if any, of the plaintiff’s inability to…

Plaintiffs left their law firm, a PLLC, to start a new firm. They sought their share of the value of contingent fee cases being handled by the old firm. The old firm first contended that the plaintiffs had no standing, since they had withdrawn from the old firm before filing their action., and the North…

The Court grappled in this case with what it referred to as "the mysteries of the economic loss doctrine." The Court identified six "guideposts" regarding the scope of doctrine in North Carolina: (1) a tort action will generally not lie against a party to a contract who simply fails to perform the terms of the…

The Court considered a rarity here, a Motion to Dismiss an appeal. Trial courts have jurisdiction to consider such motions until the Record on Appeal is filed.

The Court granted the Motion to Dismiss because plaintiff had failed to take various actions required by the Rules of Appellate Procedure, including ordering a transcript, contacting opposing…

The Court denied plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend to add a claim for violation of the North Carolina RICO Claim, finding that it would be futile. The statute requires that a plaintiff allege "at least one act of racketeering activity other than (i) an act indictable under 18 U.S.C. § 1341 or U.S.C. § 1343 [prohibiting…

This was a Writ of Certiorari to the Business Court asking for the reversal of a zoning decision by a City. The City had issued a conditional use permit authorizing a proposed development. To the extent that there were claims of errors of law, the Court reviewed the matter de novo. To the extent that…

The Court refused to dismiss counterclaims against third party defendants as a result of the defendant’s failure to serve them with process, even though the third party defendants had filed a motion to dismiss before the service error was corrected.

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