Raleigh-based law firm Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers LLP secured a $13,500 victory in the North Carolina Supreme Court when the justices found that a father's emails to the firm satisfied the state's fraud statute requirement that a contract "be in writing."
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Emails Enough For Law Firm To Secure Fee, NC Justices Rule

By Abigail Harrison

Raleigh-based law firm Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers LLP secured a $13,500 victory in the North Carolina Supreme Court when the justices found that a father's emails to the firm satisfied the state's fraud statute requirement that a contract "be in writing."

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Law Firm Refiles 'Beer Law Center' TM Suit In Colorado

By Elliot Weld

A law firm that uses the "Beer Law Center" trademark refiled an infringement suit in Colorado federal court against a firm that dubbed itself "Beer Law HQ," suing after a case in North Carolina was dismissed over a lack of ties to the state.

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NC Justices Split On Wage Act Elements In Earth Fare Appeal

By Hayley Fowler

North Carolina's highest court has upheld a six-figure unjust enrichment verdict favoring the founder of the organic supermarket chain Earth Fare in a split decision that set off a debate among the justices about what is required to prove a state Wage and Hour Act claim.

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Duke Health's $3.7M Pixel Privacy Deal Gets Initial OK

By Abigail Harrison

Hundreds of thousands of Duke University Health System Inc. patients are one step closer to securing a share of a $3.7 million settlement stemming from a health data tracking suit involving Meta's Pixel, after a North Carolina federal court granted preliminary approval of the class action settlement.

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Roundup

Injury Law Roundup: Meta Atty Uses Jane Doe Plaintiff's Name

By Y. Peter Kang

A Meta attorney's gaffe and Mark Zuckerberg's testimony in the closely watched social media addiction bellwether trial, and an announced $7.25 billion settlement by Bayer over Roundup weedkiller claims, lead Law360's Injury Law Roundup.

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NC High Court Nixes Mold Claims Over Contract Limit

By Mike Curley

The North Carolina Supreme Court has thrown out a couple's suit against a contractor over water and mold damage to their home, finding that a one-year limitation on claims in their work contract applies over the four-year statute of limitations in the state's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

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LITIGATION

Pediatric Data Breach Class Action Can Stay In NC Biz Court

By Hayley Fowler

A consolidated class action alleging a pediatric medical practice failed to protect minor patients' data from hackers can remain in the North Carolina Business Court, a judge ruled in finding the lawsuits were properly designated to the state's specialized superior court for complex business matters.

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Hemp Co. Pans 'Scattershot' Counterclaims In Soured Biz Deal

By Sam Reisman

A North Carolina industrial hemp distributor has urged a federal judge to toss counterclaims lobbed against it from a state lawmaker's CBD company, alleging that all the fraud claims are too "wide-ranging" and "scatter-shot" to pass muster.

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FOURTH CIRCUIT

4th Circ. Finds Mortgage Docs Didn't Violate Bankruptcy Stay

By Emily Lever

The Fourth Circuit has declined to revive a debtor's lawsuit claiming his mortgage servicers violated bankruptcy protections, finding that none of the monthly account statements, payoff statements and tax statements the servicers sent him were related to debt collection. 

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POLICY & REGULATION

Democratic AGs Demand IEEPA Tariff Refund Legislation

By Jack McLoone

A group of Democratic state attorneys general pushed congressional leaders to enact legislation that would require timely refunds of all duties levied under the now-invalidated International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs, including interest.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

DOJ Says Gov't Attys Can't Be Punished Over ICE's Actions

By Ryan Boysen

The Trump administration says a Minnesota federal judge erred by holding a government attorney in contempt after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flouted a court order, claiming the lawyer was "wrongfully held captive to induce ICE's compliance."

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Judicial Conference Backs Latest Judge Newman Suspension

By Jack Karp

The federal judiciary on Tuesday upheld the latest extension of Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's suspension and the decision not to transfer her case to another circuit, finding neither to be unconstitutional.

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Goldstein Seeks New Trial, Citing 'A Series Of Legal Errors'

By Emily Sawicki

SCOTUSblog founder and appellate icon Thomas Goldstein has filed a lengthy motion for a new trial or acquittal after his conviction on a dozen criminal charges related to tax evasion, alleging his trial was marred by improper jury instructions, improper exclusion of evidence and inadequate evidence, among other things.

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Analysis

Fraud Task Force May Boost White Collar Defense Work

By Phillip Bantz

A new federal anti-fraud task force involving at least a dozen federal agencies could soon expose more state and local governments, contractors, companies and others to compliance risks, particularly in healthcare fraud and False Claims Act cases, experts say.

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Fla. Judge Faces Discipline For Remark About Shooting Attys

By David Minsky

A Florida state judge is facing a public reprimand after admitting to becoming frustrated with attorneys in an estate dispute and saying that he "would like to tell the deputy to pull his gun and shoot all three of you," according to records filed Tuesday in the state's high court.

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Senate Confirms Chief Of New DOJ Fraud Division

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 52-47, along party lines, on Tuesday to confirm Colin McDonald to the newly created assistant attorney general for fraud role.

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Reed Smith's Silence On Depo 'Speaks Volumes,' Ex-Atty Says

By Jake Maher

A former Reed Smith LLP attorney suing the firm for underpaying her based on her gender criticized the firm for its "inexcusable delay and attempted meandering" in seeking to resume deposing her years after her last deposition date.

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Beasley Allen Says NJ Justices Review Of Talc DQ 'Essential'

By George Woolston

Beasley Allen urged the New Jersey Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a lower court's decision to disqualify it from representing plaintiffs in multicounty litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, arguing that the court's immediate review of the interlocutory order is "essential."

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Ahdoot & Wolfson

Baker & Hostetler

Barnes & Thornburg

Beasley Allen

Boies Schiller

Brooks Pierce

CR Legal Team

Carmagnola & Ritardi

Chestnut Cambronne

Chipman Glasser

Covington & Burling

Craige Jenkins

Dilworth Paxson

Faegre Drinker

Foley Hoag

Hall Booth

Hogan Lovells

Lockridge Grindal

McGuireWoods

Miles & Stockbridge

Mullen Coughlin

Munger Tolles

Nelson Mullins

O'Melveny & Myers

Parry Law PLLC

Reed Smith

Sills Cummis

Siri & Glimstad

Smith Debnam

Thompson Hine

Troutman

Whitcomb Selinsky

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

American Bar Association

Bayer AG

Bayview Financial LP

Boston University

Burke Inc.

CACI International Inc.

Cielo SA

Duke University

Duke University Health System Inc.

Google LLC

Instagram Inc.

Johnson & Johnson

McDonald's Corp.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Monsanto Co.

National Academy of Sciences

New Civil Liberties Alliance

New Jersey Transit Corp.

Stanford University

The Hain Celestial Group Inc.

The University of Alabama System

YouTube Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Executive Office of the President

Federal Trade Commission

Florida Supreme Court

Judicial Conference of the United States

New Jersey Supreme Court

New York Attorney General's Office

Oregon Attorney General's Office

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Small Business Administration

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

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

U.S. Government Accountability Office

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

US Office of Management and Budget

United States District Court for the District of Colorado