North Carolina

  • May 15, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: Infrastructure Districts, UpCodes, Tariffs

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including the rising popularity of infrastructure districts to meet funding needs, tech-based solutions for developers to navigate building laws, and one BigLaw leader's view of how tariffs are affecting capital in real estate deals.

  • May 15, 2026

    4th Circ. Halts Md. Law Banning Electricity Greenwashing

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday halted a Maryland law aimed at preventing electricity companies from falsely marketing their power as environmentally friendly, saying it may be overly broad in a likely violation of the First Amendment.

  • May 15, 2026

    Lindberg Wants Credit For Time Served Applied To Sentence

    A billionaire insurance magnate convicted on charges of bribery and fraud is asking a North Carolina federal judge to apply credit for time he's already spent behind bars at his upcoming sentencing hearing, where he plans to ask for concurrent sentences of four years each.

  • May 15, 2026

    4th Circ. Hands Express Scripts Jury Trial In W.Va. Opioid Suit

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday issued a writ of mandamus backing Express Scripts Inc.'s right to a jury trial in litigation over the pharmacy benefit manager's alleged role in contributing to the opioid crisis in West Virginia.

  • May 15, 2026

    Realty Co. Workers Lose Bid To Fight Collective Cert. Denial

    A North Carolina federal court declined to let employees alleging a property management company shortchanged them on overtime wages haul a recent order denying a bid for collective certification into the Fourth Circuit. 

  • May 15, 2026

    Coach Not Covered In $10M Sex Abuse Case, NC Judge Says

    A North Carolina federal judge said a swimmer who won a $10 million judgment against a swim coach who sexually assaulted her cannot seek that payment from the coach's insurer because neither the coach nor the swim club he operated are covered under the policies.

  • May 15, 2026

    NC Social Worker Wants Resentencing In Medicaid Fraud Suit

    A clinical social worker in North Carolina serving more than 11 years in prison on healthcare fraud charges is challenging her sentence in the Fourth Circuit, saying Thursday that a lower court used overly generalized findings to apply a vulnerable victim sentence enhancement.

  • May 15, 2026

    Soda Bottler Strikes Deal To End EEOC Disability Bias Suit

    A North Carolina soft drink bottling company has agreed to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it refused to permanently hire a probationary employee with multiple sclerosis, according to a federal court filing.

  • May 15, 2026

    Balancing The Scales: Justices To Revisit Sentencing Rules

    The U.S. Supreme Court will take a closer look at a circuit split over the deference that should be allotted to U.S. Sentencing Commission commentary, and a man convicted in the killing of an infant has been released after 27 years served over evidence that points to pneumonia as the likely cause of death.

  • May 14, 2026

    NC Republicans Want Fetal Personhood Question On '26 Ballot

    Two Republicans in the North Carolina House who have a history of advancing so-called fetal personhood bills have made another attempt to put a constitutional amendment to voters in November to decide if life begins at fertilization.

  • May 14, 2026

    United Rentals, Ex-Worker Strike Deal In Noncompete Suit

    United Rentals Inc. on Thursday asked a Connecticut federal judge to approve a permanent injunction blocking a former North Carolina salesperson from working for a competitor within 100 miles of United's Raleigh branch office through mid-January 2027, ending a 4-month-old noncompete suit.

  • May 14, 2026

    4th Circ. Says Tribe Can Reclaim Boarding School Remains

    The U.S. Army must repatriate the remains of two Indigenous children from a former Indian boarding school cemetery in Pennsylvania, a split Fourth Circuit panel determined Thursday, saying the site qualifies as a holding or collection under a federal law designed to protect Native American burial sites.

  • May 14, 2026

    NC Healthcare Workers Get Final Nod On $1.5M Wage Deal

    A federal judge has given final approval to a $1.56 million settlement with the owners of several North Carolina hospitals and healthcare facilities accused of manipulating workers' time sheets to skirt overtime requirements.

  • May 14, 2026

    Lover's Ex-Wife Fights Sinema's Request For Therapy Notes

    A bid by former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to unearth notes and communications from a therapist working with her lover's ex-wife should be summarily denied, as the ex-wife, Heather Ammel, told a North Carolina federal court Thursday that the request is a clear overreach.

  • May 13, 2026

    4th Circ. Judge Flags Energy Shortage Harms In Pipeline Fight

    A Fourth Circuit judge on Wednesday appeared less than pleased with counsel for a collection of environmental groups during a hearing to consider halting construction on an interstate pipeline, calling attention to the "one sentence" devoted to the public harm of ongoing energy shortages.

  • May 13, 2026

    Atkore's $136M Deals In PVC Pipe Antitrust Row Get Initial OK

    An Illinois federal judge Wednesday granted preliminary approval to two settlements totaling over $136 million that Atkore Inc. has agreed to pay to resolve allegations it conspired with other polyvinyl chloride pipe producers to fix prices.

  • May 13, 2026

    NC Personal Injury Firm Blasts 'Baseless' Claims In DQ Bid

    A personal injury law firm in North Carolina is rebutting allegations that it engaged in nefarious activity on the dark web to solicit plaintiffs for a data breach class action, saying it received the data legally from a cybersecurity consulting expert and should not be disqualified from the suit.

  • May 13, 2026

    NC Charter School Defeats Black Teacher's Racial Bias Suit

    A public charter school in North Carolina scored a pretrial victory in a Black teacher's racial discrimination suit after a federal judge found race was not a determinative factor in his termination and the school board had a legitimate reason to fire him for unsatisfactory job performance.

  • May 13, 2026

    Couple Settles Annuity Fraud Suit With Ameritas, Ex-Agent

    A retired military officer and his wife have agreed to end a lawsuit against Ameritas and a former insurance agent alleging a fraudulent investment scheme based on the sale of unsuitable equity-indexed annuities, according to a notice filed Wednesday in North Carolina federal court.

  • May 12, 2026

    Tribal Lender Says Immunity Bars Putative RICO Class Action

    A tribal lending company alongside its officers and members of the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians of the Big Valley Rancheria have asked a North Carolina federal judge to toss a proposed class action against it, arguing the predatory loan suit can't survive.

  • May 12, 2026

    4th Circ. Allows $3.6M Seizure In IPhone Trafficking Case

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Tuesday that federal prosecutors can seize over $3.6 million in assets from a North Carolina man who was convicted on multiple counts of selling illegally obtained iPhones and other electronics to buyers overseas.

  • May 12, 2026

    Drone Co. Skirts Unfair Biz Practices Claim In Ex-VP's Pay Suit

    North Carolina's Business Court pared down a dispute between a company that makes emergency response drones and its former vice president of sales, finding his claim that the company misled him about its intent to pay him a bonus doesn't rise to the level of an unfair or deceptive business practice.

  • May 12, 2026

    Tobacco Giant RJ Reynolds Sued Over Telemarketing Texts

    Cigarette and e-cigarette giant R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. was accused in North Carolina federal court of violating federal law by texting residential telephone numbers listed on the National Do Not Call Registry.

  • May 12, 2026

    NCAA Wants Final Whistle On 1983 Team's Appeal Of NIL Suit

    The National Collegiate Athletic Association urged North Carolina justices to keep out of bounds a name, image and likeness lawsuit from members of a 1983 North Carolina State University championship basketball team, arguing that a lower court was right to find the suit several decades expired.

  • May 12, 2026

    Nurse's Family Fights Workers' Comp Loss Over COVID Death

    The family of a North Carolina nurse who died from COVID-19 is challenging the denial of their workers' compensation claim, saying the state incorrectly determined she most likely contracted the virus in the community despite federal standards indicating healthcare workers faced an increased risk of exposure at work.

Expert Analysis

  • A Framework For Habeas Relief After 5th Circ. Bond Ruling

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    Following the Fifth Circuit’s recent Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi decision foreclosing statutory bond for detained nonimmigrants not deemed admitted to the U.S., lawyers should adopt a framework that requests habeas relief pursuant to the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • 4th Circ. Ruling Will Rewrite Class Action Litigation Strategies

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Oliver v. Navy Federal Credit Union is the first from a federal circuit court to hold that motions to strike are inappropriate vehicles for challenging class allegations at the pleading stage, invalidating a tactic that had been used for decades, says Jim Francis at Francis Mailman.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

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    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • Nexstar Offers A Cautionary Tale On State-Level Deal Scrutiny

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    State-enforcement challenges to the $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna merger remind legal practitioners that federal approval isn't always sufficient to deliver certainty on closing, integration and timetable assumptions, says Brett Story at Britehorn Securities.

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    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • Where The Preemption Fight Over Prediction Markets Stands

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    While the Third Circuit's recent ruling in Kalshi v. Flaherty remains a significant win for the federal government in its quest to regulate prediction markets, the Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Circuits appear more skeptical, indicating that this fight is likely headed for the Supreme Court, says Johnny ElHachem at Holland & Knight.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • Employer Tips After 4th Circ. Rejects Trimmed Suit Deadlines

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent holding in Thomas v. EOTech that employers cannot use contractual provisions to shorten statutory filing periods for Title VII or Age Discrimination in Employment Act claims offers a warning for employers to review any such documents and reassess their litigation risk, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • Heppner Ruling Left AI Privilege Risk For Lawyers Unresolved

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    While a New York federal judge’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner resolved a privilege question surrounding client-side artificial intelligence use, it did not address how to mitigate the risks that can arise when confidential information enters the operative context of an AI system used by an attorney, says Jianfei Chen at Quarles & Brady​​​​​​​.

  • The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

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    With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • Notable Q1 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    Notable insurance class action decisions from the first quarter of the year included reminders about the statute of limitations as a key defense for claims relating to allegedly deficient forms, the importance of focus on the specific contract at issue and further guidance on the contours of Rule 23, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

  • Arguments Show Justices Vacillating On Geofence Warrants

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    Questions and statements by the justices during recent oral arguments in Chatrie v. U.S., probing the Fourth Amendment limits of geofence warrants, revealed a Supreme Court that is skeptical of the government’s most sweeping claims, uncomfortable with the petitioner’s broadest theories and searching for a narrow off-ramp, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • Series

    Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

  • A Core Weakness In The Challenge To Birthright Citizenship

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    The government’s recent oral arguments against birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara would have the Supreme Court use modern immigration classifications as markers for a constitutional boundary that is not expressed in the Fourteenth Amendment, making the theory easier to administer but weaker as a matter of text and history, says attorney Tara Kennedy.

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