Mortgage Co. Strikes $9M Deal In NC Phone-Pay Fee Suit

By Sydney Price

A certified class of North Carolina borrowers on Wednesday asked a federal judge to preliminarily approve a $9 million settlement to resolve claims their Illinois-based mortgage servicer Dovenmuehle Mortgage Inc. charged them excessive processing fees to pay their bills over the phone.

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Joe Gibbs Racing Adding To Claims Rivals Stole Trade Secrets

By David Steele

Joe Gibbs Racing LLC has asked a North Carolina federal court to let it add allegations to its suit against a rival NASCAR team, to prove that its employee was hired away specifically to bring its trade secrets with him.

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BofA Can Shield OT Docs In Mortgage Officers' Suit

By MJ Koo

A North Carolina federal judge has sided with Bank of America in a discovery dispute over documents the bank withheld as privileged in a mortgage loan officers' overtime lawsuit, finding the materials were part of a protected legal review process.

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Lindberg Says He Owes 'Zero' Despite $1.6B Restitution Report

By Abigail Harrison

Beleaguered insurance mogul Greg Lindberg asked a North Carolina federal court to reject a special master's report recommending he pay $1.6 billion in restitution to companies he's accused of defrauding, arguing he should instead pay zilch.

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NC Court No Place For Smoothie-Shop Stroke Suit, Panel Says

By Abigail Harrison

A smoothie shop manager's negligence suit should leave North Carolina's state court system, an appellate panel ruled Wednesday, finding that injuries from a stroke that left him on a bathroom floor for hours occurred during the course of employment and that the North Carolina Industrial Commission has exclusive jurisdiction.

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PE Firm Says Hemp Co. Hid State Probe In $1.5M Countersuit

By Jonathan Capriel

A hemp company run by a North Carolina state lawmaker claims it has more than enough proof — including fake wire transfer confirmations — to show that a group of hemp distributors allegedly cheated it out of more than $1.5 million, the company said, urging a federal court not to throw out its claims.

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NC Man Pleads Guilty To Doxxing Justice's Home Address

By Bonnie Eslinger

A North Carolina man who posted the home address of a U.S. Supreme Court justice online and suggested violence against members of the high court pled guilty Wednesday to a "doxxing" charge with the intent to "threaten, intimidate, or incite a crime of violence" against the justice.

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NC Insurance Dept. Properly Revoked Appraiser's License

By Hope Patti

A North Carolina state appeals court on Wednesday affirmed the state Department of Insurance's revocation of the license of a motor vehicle damage appraiser, finding he violated ethical standards by disparaging other appraisers.

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High Court Rejects Apple's Bid To Pause App Store Ruling

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected Apple's request to pause a mandate in the case from Epic Games that directs a lower court to determine what commission Apple can charge developers for purchases made outside of its app store through links.

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Agency Says Rival Poached NCAA Player During Buyout Talks

By Melanie Dorsey

An Arkansas-based sports agency sued a North Carolina rival in Michigan federal court on Wednesday, accusing the company of using acquisition negotiations as a pretext to obtain confidential client information and poach a basketball player with lucrative name, image and likeness, or NIL, opportunities.

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4th Circ. Frees Noncitizen From Deportation, Faulting Judges

By Ganesh Setty

The Fourth Circuit vacated the final removal order for a man the federal government wants to deport to Liberia despite his never living there and his fear of persecution due to his sexuality, finding that he didn't get a fair immigration hearing.

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4th Circ. Appears Unpersuaded By $22M Tax Fraud Appeal

By Hayley Fowler

Two attorneys and an insurance agent faced a Fourth Circuit panel Wednesday that seemed hard-pressed to overturn their convictions for orchestrating a $22 million tax avoidance scheme, with the judges casting doubt on their venue objections and claims that the false tax returns contained truthful information.

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4th Circ. Says 'Solvent Traps' Are Silencers Under NFA

By Parker Quinlan

The Fourth Circuit has upheld the jury conviction of a Virginia man for possession of three unregistered firearm silencers, rejecting the man's arguments that the devices were actually used for cleaning guns and finding they were illegal under federal law.

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Womble Bond Adds Moore & Van Allen IP Trio in Charlotte

By Tracey Read

Three Moore & Van Allen PLLC intellectual property attorneys have moved to Womble Bond Dickinson's growing Charlotte, North Carolina, office, it was announced Tuesday.

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Alston & Bird Adds Ex-Katten Corporate Pro In Chicago

By Kevin Penton

Alston & Bird LLP has added a capital markets attorney previously with Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP as a partner in its Chicago office, the firm announced Thursday.

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FBI Assistant GC Joins FBI Alum At Fenwick

By Jack Rodgers

Fenwick & West LLP has hired the former assistant general counsel of the FBI, who will work as a counsel to support technology and life sciences companies and who is rejoining the former FBI director's chief of staff in the Washington, D.C., office.

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Toss Of Ex-Shkreli Atty's Deal May Be Error, 2nd Circ. Hints

By Pete Brush

A Second Circuit judge hinted Thursday that a trial judge may have erred in rejecting a retirement-fund garnishment deal that would have protected Martin Shkreli's convicted former lawyer from a potential $1 million "punitive tax event."

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Financial Cos. Say Atty Can't Represent Self In Securities Suit

By George Woolston

A group of financial services companies fighting an attorney's proposed securities class action has urged a New Jersey federal court to disqualify the attorney from serving as class counsel, arguing that precedent and ethical obligations prevent him from serving as both class counsel and the proposed class's named representative.

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King & Spalding Adds Congressional Health Policy Duo In DC

By Alison Knezevich

Two former congressional staffers experienced in health policy recently joined King & Spalding LLP in its Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced this week.

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Analysis

Why Compliance Is Getting Complicated In Latin America

By Phillip Bantz

White collar compliance is getting trickier for companies that do business in Latin America, according to experts, who say they are seeing big shifts in the region connected to cartel crackdowns and efforts to strengthen corporate regulations, including relatively recent pushes for voluntary self-disclosure.

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Comey Retains NC Criminal Defense Pro For 2nd Indictment

By Rachel Rippetoe

Former FBI Director James Comey has added a North Carolina white collar defense pro to his legal team fighting an indictment by the Trump administration over a social media post last year that prosecutors characterized as a threat of violence against the president, according to a court filing on Thursday.

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Broadfield Adds Corporate Partners From Sidley, Cooley In NY

By Tracey Read

Broadfield announced Thursday that two former BigLaw attorneys have joined the firm as partners in its U.S. corporate practice in New York.

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Judge Grants Additional Deposition Time In Retaliation Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

An attorney suing her ex-mentor and former law firm for sexual harassment and retaliation has been ordered by a Michigan federal judge to sit for two additional hours of deposition testimony after the court found that conduct during her first deposition impeded the examination and that further questioning is warranted based on developments in discovery.

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Shipman, Pullman Attys Among Dozen Added To Conn. Bench

By Brian Steele

Connecticut lawmakers confirmed 12 new judges to the Superior Court, including partners at Shipman & Goodwin LLP and Pullman & Comley LLC, as the 2026 legislative session wound to a close this week.

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NC Judge Tosses Atty's Suit Against State Bar Panel Member

By Andrea Keckley

A North Carolina federal judge dismissed a suspended attorney's lawsuit against a State Bar Disciplinary Hearing Commission member he accused of bias and due process violations, finding Thursday that the defendant is entitled to absolute quasi-judicial immunity.

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Ex-Jackson Walker Atty Seeks Breakup With Romance Suit

By Adrian Cruz

A former Jackson Walker LLP partner said Thursday that she should be dropped from a suit accusing her, a former Texas bankruptcy judge she had a secret relationship with and multiple law firms of fomenting "mass corruption" in Houston's bankruptcy court.

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Womble Bond Atty's 'Draconian' Penalty Gives 4th Circ. Pause

By Hayley Fowler

A Fourth Circuit panel seemed to struggle Thursday with what one judge described as a "Draconian" contempt order against a Womble Bond Dickinson partner, with the panel nudging counsel for both sides towards a simpler solution that wouldn't force the court's involvement.

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