A counterclaim plaintiff’s claims in a complex trade secret action involving the development of cell-cultured human milk suffered a rather pedestrian fate given the important technological stakes. The counterclaim defendants had actual notice of the claims, but defective service under Rule 4 ended them before they began.
In BIOMILQ, Inc.
Continue Reading A Rule 4 Service Drama: all FedEx, DHL and UPS Delivery Modes are not Created EqualWhen a “New-Wave” Stockholder Agreement Crashes into the Statutory Wall of a Board’s Corporate Control
So-called “new wave” stockholder agreements that purport to meaningfully limit a board’s authority to manage…
Continue Reading When a “New-Wave” Stockholder Agreement Crashes into the Statutory Wall of a Board’s Corporate ControlWhen Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, was discovered off the North Carolina coast…
Continue Reading A Pirate’s Story, it Turns Out, is Worth its Weight in GoldA party seeking to unseat a verdict by JNOV “bears a heavy burden under North…
Continue Reading JNOV is a Tough Road, but it’s Not a One in a Million ShotSubscribe to It’s Just Business
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An employee trading places among industry competitors allegedly provided his new employer with bidding and pricing information so critical that the receiving company’s CEO thought it was a “gold mine”…
Continue Reading A Trade Secret Tale: When a “Gold Mine” is not Worth the DiggingBusiness Court Holds Clause Curbing Limitations Period Means Exactly What Contracting Parties Said it Did
While an insurance carrier “labor[ed] valiantly” to rescue claims over $3.1 million in overpayments to a hospital in its network, the Business Court held it failed because the contract at…
Continue Reading Business Court Holds Clause Curbing Limitations Period Means Exactly What Contracting Parties Said it DidBusiness Court Rejects Effort to Eclipse Tax Credit Regime that Spurred NC Solar Farm Builds
The NC Department of Revenue sought to throw some shade at the financing regimes through which solar farm and other renewable energy projects are built by challenging the flow of…
Continue Reading Business Court Rejects Effort to Eclipse Tax Credit Regime that Spurred NC Solar Farm BuildsAn Expert that is Thorough, but Thoroughly Misses the Issues at Play, Gets No Say
When a party has a second chance for its experts to make a first impression on a court, it’s best to not plan on there being a third.
In Vitaform…
Continue Reading An Expert that is Thorough, but Thoroughly Misses the Issues at Play, Gets No SayWhen “Divorcing” Physicians Scuffle Over Contractual Plans to Honor Patient Choice, do they Render Medical Service?
The Palmetto Medical Group had a “messy divorce.”
Palmetto’s three physicians had settled into “mutual distrust” and got a good distance down the road toward separation by negotiating a Practice…
Continue Reading When “Divorcing” Physicians Scuffle Over Contractual Plans to Honor Patient Choice, do they Render Medical Service?Corporate Director Duty to at Least “Try” to Carry Out Oversight Functions May Soon Extend to Company Officers
Just last year, in assessing the extent to which a director has a duty to oversee a corporation’s business affairs, the Business Court noted the “limited guidance” afforded by state…
Continue Reading Corporate Director Duty to at Least “Try” to Carry Out Oversight Functions May Soon Extend to Company OfficersIf the Federal Trade Commission has its way, litigation fights like the one between IQVIA, Inc. and Circuit Clinical Solutions, Inc. over the job switch of executive Dana Edwards will…
Continue Reading A Swan Song for Noncompete Clauses?Half the Battle May be Just Showing Up, but in Business Court Giving Timely Notice that You’re Coming is an Unbending Rule
“You are remembered for the rules you break.”
Gen. Douglas MacArthur
First, this is certainly true. Second, when it comes to the exacting nature of the rules for getting a…
Continue Reading Half the Battle May be Just Showing Up, but in Business Court Giving Timely Notice that You’re Coming is an Unbending RuleIf a court “throws the book” at steadfastly uncooperative litigants, did it really happen if there’s no one around to take the hit? The Business Court tested that “tree falling…
Continue Reading Do Sanctions Against AWOL Litigants Make a Sound When they Land?About this Blog
Business decisions should guide your business decisions.
Rulings issued by the North Carolina Business Court often reverberate beyond the litigants, affecting businesses throughout the state and region. Staying on top of these cases – as well as other appellate and federal court decisions – is essential for companies that need to anticipate and respond quickly to changes in the law.