North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein is asking the state's top court to review a decision that let lawmakers curtail his ability to fill judicial vacancies in appellate courts, arguing the ruling defies precedent as well as the state Constitution and must be reversed.
Law360
North Carolina
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

NC Justices Asked To Decide Gov.'s Power To Appoint Judges

By Hayley Fowler

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein is asking the state's top court to review a decision that let lawmakers curtail his ability to fill judicial vacancies in appellate courts, arguing the ruling defies precedent as well as the state Constitution and must be reversed.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Row Over Forensic Expert Testimony Hits NC High Court

By Brandon Lowrey

Prosecutors are urging North Carolina's highest court to uphold a drug conviction thrown out on appeal, saying an appellate court deemed a key forensic expert's trial testimony unconstitutional using a flawed interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 decision in Smith v. Arizona.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Vape Co. Seeks Stay Of $1.6M Judgment In Battery Blast Suit

By Mike Curley

A vape wholesaler is asking the North Carolina Supreme Court to stay a $1.6 million judgment it was ordered to pay to the estate of a man who suffered burns when a lithium ion battery exploded in his pocket, while the estate on Thursday filed an opposition to the stay.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LITIGATION

Elon University Says Sportswear Co. Using TM To Sell Clothes

By Abigail Harrison

Elon University told a North Carolina federal court that a Washington-based online apparel seller is willfully infringing on its trademarks, some of which are over a century old, and damaging the school by marring its reputation for high-quality apparel.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Pharma Exec Fights AGs' Quick Win Bid In Antitrust Case

By George Woolston

A former pharmaceutical marketing executive urged a Connecticut federal court to reject summary judgment sought against him by state attorneys general pursuing wider price-fixing litigation against most of the generic drug industry, arguing key cooperating witnesses' questionable credibility makes a trial necessary.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FOURTH CIRCUIT

Split 4th Circ. Denies Stay Lift In CertainTeed Unit's Ch. 11

By Vince Sullivan

A split panel of the Fourth Circuit on Wednesday upheld lower court rulings that left in place a stay of asbestos injury litigation facing the bankrupt affiliate of building material maker CertainTeed, with the majority ruling the debtor filed its case in good faith.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ENFORCEMENT

HPE Has 'No Grounds' To Hide DOJ Deal Bidders, AGs Say

By Bryan Koenig

Democratic attorneys general challenging the controversial Justice Department settlement permitting Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks have urged a California federal judge to let them see who's bidding for assets up for divestiture, arguing the would-be buyers are an integral part of the agreement's viability.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

EXPERT ANALYSIS

Series

Trail Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Navigating the muddy, root-filled path of trail marathons and ultramarathons provides fertile training ground for my high-stakes fractional general counsel work, teaching me to slow down my mind when the terrain shifts, sharpen my focus and trust my training, says Eric Proos at Next Era Legal.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LEGAL INDUSTRY

Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen a former U.S. defense contractor convicted of tax evasion face legal action, French football club Olympique Lyonnais sued following a $97 million ruling against its owner John Textor, consulting giant Kroll targeted by a South African airline, and H&M hit with a claim alleging it copied protected sunglasses designs. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

WilmerHale and Gillam & Smith LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Texas federal jury cleared Apple of infringement claims over patents covering 4G wireless technology, in a case that previously led to jury verdicts of $506 million and $300 million.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Indiana AG Declines Intervention In Posner Wage Suit

By Emily Sawicki

Indiana's attorney general has declined to intervene in a pro se plaintiff's suit seeking to revive $170,000 in wage claims against retired Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner, finding the case did not pose a "substantial" constitutional challenge to a state statute mandating that delayed contracts must be written and signed to be enforced.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Louisiana Atty Takes Responsibility For AI Usage Snafu

By Christine DeRosa

After facing the threat of sanctions alongside three of his co-counsel, a Louisiana attorney told a federal judge that he was solely responsible for an error-riddled brief written with the assistance of artificial intelligence. 

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Taking heat from Republican senators over not notifying members of Congress about subpoenas for their phone records, Verizon's general counsel has pledged that in the future, the company will fight gag orders requiring it to keep silent. And taking heat from shareholders and colleagues over her ties to Jeffrey Epstein, Goldman Sachs' chief legal officer has agreed to leave the firm in June.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Colorado Atty Delayed Filing, Gave Faulty Advice, Suit Says

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado attorney waited nearly five years to file a lawsuit on behalf of two clients and provided faulty advice, the former clients alleged Thursday in a malpractice lawsuit in state court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

'Acqui-Hires' In AI Drawing Antitrust Scrutiny, Tech Attys Say

By Bonnie Eslinger

Attorneys with Nvidia, Google and Uber took the stage at a conference hosted Thursday by Baker McKenzie to discuss emerging trends in antitrust enforcement, including how booming AI investment has produced new regulatory scrutiny of "acqui-hires," in which large companies acquire startups primarily to hire their teams.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

6th Circ. Says Ch. 13 Motion Came 84 Minutes Too Late

By Vince Sullivan

A 2-1 split panel of the Sixth Circuit affirmed two lower court rulings from Michigan federal judges denying a Chapter 13 debtor's motion to dismiss his bankruptcy case because the request came 84 minutes after a bankruptcy court converted the case to a Chapter 7.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Promo that reads 2025 Practice Groups of the Year

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Addleshaw Goddard

ArentFox Schiff

Baker Donelson

Baker McKenzie

Barclay Damon

Beasley Allen

Ben Crump Law

Brockstedt Mandalas

Brooks Pierce

Buchanan Ingersoll

CMS Cameron McKenna

Clyde & Co

Conyers Dill

Covington & Burling

DAC Beachcroft

DLA Piper

Dean Omar

Dentons

DiCello Levitt

Eichhorn & Eichhorn

Faegre Drinker

Fenchurch Law

Freshfields

Gage Spencer & Fleming

Gibbs Mura

Gibson Dunn

Gillam Smith

Gowling WLG

Greenberg Traurig

HJV Car Accident Personal Injury Lawyers

Hacker Stephens

Harrison Goddard Foote

Hedrick Gardner

Hogan Lovells

Homburger AG

Howes Percival

Jones Day

Jones Fussell

Keoghs LLP

Kessler Topaz

Kirkland & Ellis

LK Law Pty Ltd

Latham & Watkins

Leach & Walker

Lenz & Staehelin

Levin Sedran

Lieff Cabraser

Liskow & Lewis

Maune Raichle

Mayer Brown

MoloLamken

Morgan Lewis

Motley Rice

Nabarro LLP

Nelson Mullins

Niemeyer Grebel

Osborne Clarke

Penningtons Manches

Perkins Coie

Poisson Poisson & Bower

Quinn Emanuel

Reynolds Porter

Richardson Thomas

Riess LeMieux

Robinson Bradshaw

Seeger Weiss

Shapiro Arato

Sharp Law LLP

Sherin & Lodgen

Skadden Arps

Sullivan & Cromwell

Taylor Rose

Thompsons Solicitors

Trethowans LLP

Trowers & Hamlins

Tycko & Zavareei

Vincents Solicitors

Wagstaff & Cartmell

Waldrep Wall

Walker Morris LLP

Ward Hadaway

White & Case

WilmerHale

Womble Bond

Yetter Coleman

gunnercooke LLP

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

American Airlines Group Inc.

American Bar Association

American International Group Inc.

Apple Inc.

Association of Corporate Counsel

Aux

Barclays PLC

Binance Holdings Ltd.

British Broadcasting Corp.

ByteDance Ltd.

Collegiate Licensing Co.

Google LLC

H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB

HTC Corporation

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

Instagram Inc.

International Association of Better Business Bureaus Inc.

International Business Machines Corp.

Investments Ltd.

J Sainsbury PLC

Johnson & Johnson

Juniper Networks Inc.

Kyndryl Holdings Inc.

Laing O'Rourke

Leidos Holdings Inc.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group

LinkedIn Corp.

Lloyd's America Inc.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Monsanto Co.

NVIDIA Corp.

Nasdaq Inc.

Navy Federal Credit Union

PPG Industries Inc.

Sandoz International GmbH

Sling TV LLC

Snap Inc.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The Hershey Co.

The Home Depot Inc.

TikTok Inc.

Transocean Ltd.

Uber Technologies Inc.

Valaris

Verizon Communications Inc.

Vodafone Group PLC

W.R. Berkley Corp.

W.R. Grace & Co.

Walmart Inc.

Yelp Inc.

YouTube Inc.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Colorado Attorney General's Office

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Trade Commission

Financial Conduct Authority

Indiana Attorney General's Office

National Labor Relations Board

North Carolina Department of Justice

North Carolina Utilities Commission

Texas Attorney General's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

UK High Court

United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina