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Attorneys – Contract – Agency – Tort/Negligence – Legal Malpractice – Damages
Opsitnick v. Crumpler (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-02-0378, 6 pp.) (James Dever III, J.) 5:13-cv-00835; E.D.N.C. Holding: Plaintiffs’ contract was with J. Allen Crumpler, III, Attorney at Law, PLLC, but plaintiffs […]
Arbitration – First Impression – Corporate Principals – Piercing the Veil – Defunct Corporation – Breach of Contract Claim
Cold Springs Ventures, LLC v. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-15-0328, 21 pp.) (John Jolly Jr., Ch.J.) 2014 NCBC 10 Holding: In order to determine whether plaintiffs, as principals […]
Civil Practice – Evidence – Expert Opinion – Thought Experiment – Tort/Negligence – Contract – Separate Duty – Damages
Severn Peanut Co. v. Industrial Fumigant Co. (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-02-0257, 11 pp.) (Terrence Boyle, J.) 2:11-cv-00014; E.D.N.C. Holding: Even though plaintiffs’ experts have not conducted physical experiments, they have […]
Civil Practice – Res Judicata – Contract – Home Construction – Added Features – Separate Contracts – Breach of Warranty Claim
Harris v. A-1 Builders of NC, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-16-0219, 12 pp.) (Rick Elmore, J.) Appealed from Randolph County Superior Court (L. Todd Burke, J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: […]
Doctors, developer defeat bank’s recovery effort
A recent verdict by a Union County jury found a group of doctors and a developer not liable for damages of nearly $3 million after a bank foreclosed on their commercial loan. CML-NC Waxhaw, LLC had purchased the loan with an “as is” disclaimer and notice that the loan had multiple problems associated with the previous lenders, the jury concluded.
Civil Practice – Statute of Limitations – Breach of Contract – Corporate – Bankruptcy
Coderre v. Futrell Individual plaintiff Shane Coderre was not a party to the contract that he alleged defendants breached, nor did he allege that he was an intended third-party beneficiary of the contract; therefore, Coderre had no standing to file the breach-of-contract complaint. Since Coderre’s complaint was a nullity, its amendment to include the corporate plaintiff – which was a[...]
Insurance – Disability – Breach of Contract – Civil Practice – Statute of Limitations – Constructive Fraud
Lawley v. Liberty Mutual Group, Inc. If defendants breached their disability insurance contract with plaintiff, they did so when they denied her claim on March 28, 2003, not every time a monthly disability payment was due. Plaintiff’s June 27, 2011 complaint was not timely filed.
Civil Practice – Statute of Limitations – Miller Act – Breach of Contract – Subcontractor’s Continued Performance
United States ex rel. Burkholder v. Connelly Even though a second-tier subcontractor who was hired by plaintiff -- a first-tier subcontractor -- continued to work after the prime contractor ordered plaintiff off the construction site, the statute of limitations started running when plaintiff was ousted from the site, not when the second-tier subcontractor finished his work a few days late[...]
Bankruptcy – Adversary Proceeding – Core vs. Non-Core – Breach of Contract
Somerset Properties SPE LLC v. LNR Partners, Inc. In this adversary proceeding, the lenders’ claims against the debtor’s manager are not “related to” matters under 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b). A ruling on the lenders’ state-law claims against counterclaim defendant Kevin Wilk would not have an impact on the bankruptcy estate; therefore, the court does not have jurisdiction to decide th[...]
Insurance – Fire – Tort/Negligence – Bad Faith Refusal to Settle Claim – Unfair Trade Practices – Breach of Contract
Kielbania v. Indian Harbor Insurance Co. Based on a drawn-out appraisal process that ignored some losses and changed the value of others without explanation, plaintiffs have presented a jury question as to their claims of unfair insurance settlement practices and bad faith refusal to settle a claim.
Tort/Negligence – Professional Liability – Real Property – Appraiser – Indirect Reliance – Attorneys – Revenue Stamps Amount – Developer — Breach of Contract – Fraud
Anderson v. Coastal Communities at Ocean Ridge Plantation, Inc. Where the plaintiff-buyers alleged, at most, that they relied on the bank’s acceptance of an appraisal report in making their decisions to buy property from the defendant-developers, such indirect reliance is insufficient to state a professional negligence claim against the defendant-appraisers.
Banks & Banking – FIRREA – Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies – First Impression — FDIC Receivership – Purchase – Tort/Negligence — Real Property – Breach of Contract
Front Street Construction, LLC v. Colonial Bank, N.A. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), as receiver for failed bank Colonial Bank, N.A., entered into a purchase and assumption agreement (PAA) with Branch Banking and Trust Co. Some of plaintiffs’ claims against BB&T arose from acts or omissions by Colonial and were not addressed in the PAA. As to those claims, plaintiffs must e[...]
Legal Tech
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Top Legal News
- Legally Speaking: How communication failures turn disputes into lawsuits
- AG Jackson refuses to sign Duke Energy rate settlement
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- Judges’ pick for Seattle’s federal prosecutor sues Trump after ouster
- US judge approves Anthropic’s $1.5 billion settlement of copyright lawsuit
- The legal confusion surrounding e-bikes
- Two Charlotte women file federal claims against immigration agents after Operation Charlotte’s Web arrests
Commentary
- Legally Speaking: How communication failures turn disputes into lawsuits
- We tore out our own backup generator
- When is a PIP an adverse employment action?
- Legally Speaking: What spring can teach us about active listening
- A useful patent management government notice
- Opinion: NC judges have enormous power. Be sure to vote in November
- The third option: Why your best employees are quietly losing their edge
- AI divorce is real, but family law can still save itself
