North Carolina

  • December 05, 2025

    NC Restaurants Hit With DOL Suit Over Pooled Tips

    Two North Carolina restaurants have, for four years, kept and pooled tips from front-of-house employees, while unlawfully distributing them to tip-ineligible, back-of-house employees in order to offset labor costs, the U.S. Department of Labor told a North Carolina federal court.

  • December 05, 2025

    Man Says Insurer Served Shooting Coverage Suit Too Late

    The father of a mass shooter said his home insurer failed to serve him timely with a suit seeking to avoid coverage for an underlying action brought by the shooting victims and family members of decedents, telling a North Carolina federal court that the claims against him must be tossed.

  • December 05, 2025

    Supreme Court Halts Immigration Judges' Free Speech Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday stayed a Fourth Circuit decision reviving a free speech suit from an immigration judges union challenging a policy barring them from speaking publicly about immigration without approval.

  • December 05, 2025

    COVID Loss Insurance Suit Trimmed, But Eateries Can Refile

    A North Carolina federal judge trimmed two of four claims in a COVID-related insurance coverage lawsuit filed by four restaurants against Cincinnati Insurance Co. after the insurer denied coverage for financial losses during the pandemic, but told the restaurants they could refile their complaint. 

  • December 05, 2025

    BofA Says Northrop 401(k) Suit Toss Backs 4th Circ. Appeal

    Bank of America urged a North Carolina federal court Friday to let it appeal an earlier decision denying dismissal of a proposed class action alleging forfeitures were misspent from workers' employee 401(k) plan, arguing a Virginia federal court's decision tossing similar claims against Northrop Grumman supported its bid.

  • December 05, 2025

    Berry Grower Sues Norfolk Southern Over Drifting Weed Killer

    Toxic herbicides sprayed along sections of Norfolk Southern Railroad Co. track in Georgia are drifting into a commercial blueberry grower's adjacent property and damaging its crops, the grower said in a new federal suit. 

  • December 05, 2025

    Pharma Co. Says Ex-Staff Used Secrets To Compete

    Pharmaceutical supplier New Life Medicals (USA) Inc. told a North Carolina state court that a former warehouse manager, a freelance contractor and a business partner conspired to steal confidential information to form a competing venture only 10 miles away.

  • December 05, 2025

    Judges Beat Ethics Suits For Dropping Retirement Post-Trump

    A Fourth Circuit judge and two district court judges have defeated ethics complaints from a conservative legal organization alleging they improperly reversed their decisions to take senior status after President Donald Trump was elected.

  • December 05, 2025

    Mortgage Insurer's $650K ERISA Deal Clears First Hurdle

    A North Carolina federal judge gave the initial nod Friday to a $650,000 deal a mortgage insurance company reached with a worker to close a proposed class action claiming the business didn't do enough to prevent a retirement profit sharing plan from facing a $1.3 million loss.

  • December 05, 2025

    Justices Take On State Court Review Doctrine Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to consider whether an appellate court correctly invoked the doctrine blocking federal courts from reviewing state court judgments in a case concerning an involuntary hospital commitment.

  • December 04, 2025

    'Gun At My Head': Jury Hears From NASCAR Contract Holdout

    Team owners felt strong-armed into signing their 2025 race agreements with NASCAR despite the "egregious" terms, owner Bob Jenkins told a federal jury in North Carolina Thursday on his second day testifying in the high-profile antitrust case against the league.

  • December 04, 2025

    Supreme Court Allows Texas Redistricting Map To Stay For Now

    The U.S. Supreme Court gave Texas a green light Thursday to adopt its redrawn congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, staying a decision by the lower court that blocked the new maps as the case plays out.

  • December 04, 2025

    NC Court Blocks AI Tech Rollout Amid Trade Secret Dispute

    A North Carolina federal judge agreed with Canada-based Atlas Power Technologies Inc. that its multimillion-dollar technology for data centers using artificial intelligence will be endangered by the launch of a parallel product from a board member in coming weeks, granting the company's request for a temporary restraining order.

  • December 04, 2025

    Pharma Cos. Denied Early Win In States' Price-Fixing Suit

    Twenty-six pharmaceutical companies failed to secure a quick win on overarching conspiracy claims in an antitrust case by the attorneys general of Connecticut and most other states, with a federal judge finding the "substantial bulk of evidence" points toward a broad industry scheme to fix 98 dermatology drug prices.

  • December 04, 2025

    Traffic Safety Exec Joined Rival After $77K Bonus, Court Told

    A traffic safety company has alleged in North Carolina federal court that the person who was in charge of expanding its business in the Southeast resigned just hours after receiving a $77,000 bonus check and took a trove of trade secrets, a slew of employees and customer lists to his new job for a rival.

  • December 04, 2025

    Senate Confirms 4th NC Federal Judge This Week

    The Senate on Thursday confirmed its fourth federal judge this week for North Carolina.

  • December 04, 2025

    Mortgage Insurer Inks $650K Deal To End ERISA Suit

    A mortgage insurance company has agreed to pay $650,000 to close a worker's proposed class action filed in North Carolina federal court claiming its mismanagement of an employee retirement profit sharing plan caused a $1.3 million loss.

  • December 04, 2025

    4th Circ. Says Iranian Researcher's EEOC Charge Too Narrow

    The Fourth Circuit refused to revive a suit from an Iranian ex-research assistant who claimed she was berated and forced to resign from her university job, ruling her allegations strayed beyond the scope of her pre-suit U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge.

  • December 03, 2025

    NASCAR Contracts Sped Up Team's Financial Woes, Jury Told

    The longtime owner of a race team suing NASCAR for antitrust violations alongside fellow team owner Michael Jordan told a federal jury in North Carolina Wednesday that his team has never turned a profit in 22 years, with the losses allegedly worsening after the advent of the charter system.

  • December 03, 2025

    USPTO Gets Earful On Plan To Restrict Patent Reviews

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed new rules to limit America Invents Act patent reviews have generated scores of forceful comments, with supporters saying the proposal will curb redundant challenges and opponents arguing it would bar legitimate reviews and exceed the office's power.

  • December 03, 2025

    Chemours Monopolizing Refrigerant Market, Court Told

    DuPont spinoff The Chemours Co. FC LLC is clutching on to monopolistic control of the refrigerant gas market in order to fend off a competitor's emerging gas reclamation business, the competitor's counsel told a North Carolina federal court in a Wednesday hearing.

  • December 03, 2025

    Camp Lejeune Plaintiffs Want Base's Muster Roll Info

    Veterans and family members suing over injuries from toxic water at Camp Lejeune have urged a North Carolina judge to compel the federal government to produce muster rolls for the base, saying the government has refused to give up the information with no explanation.

  • December 03, 2025

    4th Circ. Upholds 25-Year Sentence For Bomb Instruction

    A man sentenced to 25 years in prison for teaching an informant how to use explosives to repel federal agents cannot argue the law used to convict him is unconstitutional, the Fourth Circuit ruled on Wednesday, with a dissenting judge worried the decision could have the effect of "chilling" free speech.

  • December 03, 2025

    AGs Say Sun, Taro Settlement Mustn't Touch State Claims

    State attorneys general have asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to again ensure their claims remain untouched by a settlement between private plaintiffs and generic-drug makers in sprawling price-fixing litigation, this time focusing on a $200 million deal between Sun Pharmaceutical, Taro Pharmaceuticals and employee benefit plans.

  • December 03, 2025

    Troutman Atty Is 3rd NC Federal Judge Confirmed This Week

    The Senate voted 57-41 on Wednesday to confirm Matthew Orso, a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, to the Western District of North Carolina as a federal district judge.

Expert Analysis

  • AI Litigation Tools Can Enhance Case Assessment, Strategy

    Author Photo

    Civil litigators can use artificial intelligence tools to strengthen case assessment and aid in early strategy development, as long as they address the risks and ethical considerations that accompany these uses, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

    Author Photo

    In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.

  • When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

    Author Photo

    Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Texas, One Year In

    Author Photo

    A year after the Texas Business Court's first decision, it's clear that Texas didn't just copy Delaware and instead built something uniquely its own, combining specialization with constitutional accountability and creating a model that looks forward without losing touch with the state's democratic and statutory roots, says Chris Bankler at Jackson Walker.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

    Author Photo

    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

  • 5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty

    Author Photo

    As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

    Author Photo

    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

  • Series

    Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

  • SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

    Author Photo

    The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • Compliance Steps To Take As FCRA Enforcement Widens

    Author Photo

    As the Fair Credit Reporting Act receives renewed focus from both federal and state enforcers, regulatory and litigation risk is most acute in several core areas, which companies can address by implementing purpose processes and quick remediation of consumer complaints, among other steps, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Opinion

    High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal

    Author Photo

    As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

  • Series

    Traveling Solo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Traveling by myself has taught me to assess risk, understand tone and stay calm in high-pressure situations, which are not only useful life skills, but the foundation of how I support my clients, says Lacey Gutierrez at Group Five Legal.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Client Service

    Author Photo

    Law school teaches you how to interpret the law, but it doesn't teach you some of the key ways to keeping clients satisfied, lessons that I've learned in the most unexpected of places: a book on how to be a butler, says Gregory Ramos at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • Where 4th And 9th Circ. Diverge On Trade Secret Timing

    Author Photo

    Recent Fourth and Ninth Circuit decisions have revealed a deepening circuit split over when plaintiffs must specifically define their alleged trade secrets, turning the early stages of trade secret litigation into a key battleground and elevating the importance of forum selection, say attorneys at Skadden.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the North Carolina archive.