North Carolina

July 11, 2025
Nonparties Object To 'Oppressive' Subpoenas In Contract Suit

An apartment complex and a contractor told the North Carolina Business Court that a construction company that filed suit, seeking to prove it was jilted by a subcontractor on more than $13 million worth of electrical work, is overreaching in its request for communications from them.
July 10, 2025
Original BBQ Joint Lays Claim To TM In Fight With Franchise

The original location in a North Carolina chain of barbecue restaurants has shot back at a trademark infringement suit brought by the company that runs its sister restaurants, arguing it never lost ownership of the marks after the two entities split ways two decades ago.
July 10, 2025
NC Officials Reject Protest Of $81.5M Helene Contract

The North Carolina Department of Commerce rejected a Morrisville company's protest of its decision to award an $81.5 million contract for disaster recovery operations in connection with Hurricane Helene to an out-of-state vendor.
July 10, 2025
Unions Defend Block On DOGE's Social Security Data Access

The full Fourth Circuit should affirm a Maryland federal judge's decision to block the White House's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Social Security Administration data, two unions and a retirees' advocacy group argued, saying that dissolving the injunction would violate their members' right to privacy.
July 10, 2025
4th Circ. Pauses Air Quality Suit As EPA Rethinks W.Va. Plan

The Fourth Circuit on Thursday granted a request to pause West Virginia's ozone regulation lawsuit so the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can reconsider the state's air quality compliance plan.
July 10, 2025
Airline Mogul Resolves Hacking Case Against NC Investigator

Aviation executive Farhad Azima has resolved his long-running lawsuit accusing a North Carolina private investigator of leaking his emails as part of an international hacking conspiracy, according to a joint motion dropping the case filed in federal court.
July 10, 2025
Judge Blocks Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Nationwide

A New Hampshire federal judge on Thursday issued a nationwide block of President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, and granted certification to a nationwide class that will cover all affected children born in the U.S.
July 09, 2025
NC Man Gets 15 Years For Leading Sham $17M Loan Scheme

The ringleader of a $17 million loan scheme has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after federal prosecutors in North Carolina said he defrauded banks by directing a network of conspirators to file dozens of bogus loan applications on other people's behalf.
July 09, 2025
Woman Claims Unwanted Insanity Defense Prejudiced Jury

A woman who was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2023 has urged the North Carolina Supreme Court to reverse a lower court's opinion that she is not entitled to relief after the possibility of an insanity defense was introduced into her trial against her wishes.
July 09, 2025
4th Circ. Won't Rehear NASCAR Charter Injunction Loss

The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday declined to revisit its recent decision scrapping an injunction that had let two race teams, including one co-owned by NBA great Michael Jordan, keep their charter status while pursuing antitrust claims against NASCAR.
July 09, 2025
US Chamber Backs Anheuser-Busch's 4th Circ. Class Fight

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce backed Anheuser-Busch LLC's bid to flip a Virginia federal court's decision granting class certification to workers alleging the brewing giant failed to pay for mandatory pre- and post-shift work, telling the Fourth Circuit that the workers didn't clear certification standards.
July 09, 2025
4th Circ. Rejects Machinery Co.'s 3rd Try At Trade Secrets Suit

The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday shot down a Taiwanese manufacturer's third attempt to pursue claims of trade secrets theft against its North Carolina distributor, rebuffing the idea that a manufacturer can hold distributors liable for misappropriation if they sell a rival's product.
July 08, 2025
Breaking Down Stewart's Nonstop Discretionary Denial Orders

Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart inundated the patent community in May and June with dozens of rulings altering the landscape of discretionary denials at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Here, Law360 goes through what you should know.
July 08, 2025
Pot Smell May Be Hemp So No Probable Cause, 4th Circ. Told

A North Carolina man urged the Fourth Circuit on Monday to revive his challenge of a police officer's search of his car based on the smell of marijuana, saying the government is wrongly asserting the search was legal because there are legal forms of hemp with an indistinguishable odor.
July 08, 2025
Copter Pilot's Death Suit Revived By 4th Circ. After Rehearing

The Fourth Circuit has once again reinstated a lawsuit by the widow of a crop-dusting pilot whose helicopter became tangled in a steel cable stretched over the property, causing him to crash, ruling that a jury must be the one to decide whether the landlord should have known that the wire posed a danger, according to a published opinion issued Tuesday following a rehearing.
July 08, 2025
States Back Enviro Orgs. Bid To Block EPA's Halt Of $3B Grant

A group of Democratic attorneys general on Monday told a D.C. federal district court that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to terminate environmental justice grants deprives vulnerable communities of funding "necessary to achieve a healthy environment."
July 08, 2025
Poultry Farm Urges NC Justices To Reject Animal Cruelty Case

A North Carolina poultry farm lambasted a chicken welfare group as allegedly seeking a "third bite at the proverbial apple" by petitioning the state's highest court to revive its animal cruelty case, saying the state's animal protection statute doesn't apply to commercial farmers.
July 08, 2025
Wells Fargo Seeks Dismissal Of COVID-19 Mortgage Suit

Wells Fargo said a North Carolina woman's claims that the bank forced the short sale of her home by denying her forbearance on her mortgage as mandated under federal law at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic should be dismissed for several reasons, including that the short sale never actually occurred.
July 08, 2025
4th Circ. Revives Medical Device Co.'s Claim In Contract Suit

The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday revived a medical device maker's breach of contract claim alleging a company it hired to manage its patents globally overcharged for services, sending the case back to a Virginia federal court.
July 08, 2025
NC Atty Says Mistrial Order Puts Career At Risk In Appeal Bid

A property restoration company and its trial attorney told the North Carolina Court of Appeals that the attorney did not engage in "serious misconduct," and urged it to toss components of a lower court's mistrial order.
July 08, 2025
4th Circ. Won't Pause Ex-Naval Engineers' No-Poach Ruling

The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday sent a revived class action alleging that shipbuilding military contractors used no-poach agreements to suppress wages back to district court, rejecting the contractors' motion for a stay while they prepare to send a certiorari petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.
July 08, 2025
Medical Co. Wants High Court To Review Rushed Patent Case

A medical device maker has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear it out on claims that a North Carolina federal judge rushed the case to trial and violated the Fifth Amendment right to due process by shortening the amount of time for discovery.
July 08, 2025
Merits Not At Issue For Health Co. Wage Collective, Court Told

A healthcare facility operator is focusing too much on the merits of unpaid wages claims rather than whether it had common policies that detracted from employees' pay, a respiratory therapist told a North Carolina federal court, saying collective status is appropriate.
July 08, 2025
Clarity Sought On Tycoon's Trade Secrets In Hacking Suit

A federal judge has said he needs a clearer picture on whether aviation tycoon Farhad Azima owns the trade secrets he has accused a North Carolina private investigator of leaking as part of an international hacking conspiracy, ordering both sides to beef up their briefing on the issue.
July 08, 2025
Fishing Industry Alleges Feds Allow Red Snapper Overfishing

A group of commercial fishers and buyers is claiming in a new lawsuit that the National Marine Fisheries Service has failed to set proper catch limits and allowed the overfishing of red snapper due to massive "dead discards."

Expert Analysis

Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.
Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.
Series

Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.
How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.
NC Ruling Takes Practical Approach To Duty-To-Defend Costs

In Murphy-Brown v. Ace American Insurance, a case of first impression, the North Carolina Business Court adopted the commonsense rationale of many state courts in holding that policyholders' defense costs should be deemed presumtively reasonable when a insurer breaches its duty to defend, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.
How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.
Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.
Opinion

Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.
Series

Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.
Useful Product Doctrine May Not Shield Against PFAS Liability

Courts have recognized that companies transferring hazardous recycled materials can defeat liability under environmental laws by showing they were selling a useful product — but new laws in California and elsewhere restricting the sale of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances may change the legal landscape, says Kyle Girouard at Dickinson Wright.
Opinion

Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.
How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program

During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.
Series

Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.
Navigating FEMA Grant Program For Slope Fixes After Storms

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, it is critical for governments, businesses and individuals to understand the legal requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's grant programs to obtain funding for crucial repairs — including restoration of damaged infrastructure caused by landslides and slope failures, says Charles Schexnaildre at Baker Donelson.