North Carolina

  • April 18, 2024

    Would-Be Whistleblowers Drop ER Service Overbilling Claims

    A North Carolina federal judge has granted two whistleblowers' request to drop their suit accusing a pair of healthcare companies and their affiliates of overcharging both state and federal Medicare and Medicaid programs for emergency services provided at multiple regional hospitals, dismissing the case without prejudice.

  • April 18, 2024

    Ousted Clerk Was A 'Loose Cannon,' NC Justices Told

    An attorney who started proceedings that led to the ouster of former Franklin County Clerk of Court Patricia Chastain urged the North Carolina Supreme Court to keep her out of office, arguing that she undermined judicial authority through a series of incidents, including a "vulgar" accidental call to a magistrate judge.

  • April 18, 2024

    NCAA Reforms Division I Transfer Rule, Upgrades NIL Policy

    The NCAA Division I Council voted unanimously to allow certain transferring student-athletes to be immediately eligible to play on the teams of their new schools, following a multistate antitrust lawsuit challenging current restrictions.

  • April 17, 2024

    'I Am Mad': Client Regrets Trusting Atty Accused Of Tax Fraud

    Emotions ran high Wednesday in a North Carolina federal courtroom as former clients unwittingly roped into an alleged tax fraud scheme took the stand, one of whom was openly exasperated at learning he'd been misled by the two attorneys and an insurance agent who are on trial.

  • April 17, 2024

    Wells Fargo Headed To Trial In Ex-Exec's COVID-Era ADA Suit

    Wells Fargo is headed to trial over a former investment director's Americans with Disabilities Act claim in a suit alleging he lost his job following an accommodation request after his employer prepared to mandate a return to office, with a North Carolina federal judge also trimming the former employee's age discrimination suit.

  • April 17, 2024

    NC Justices Fear UNC Doc Wants 'Dramatic' Immunity Expansion

    The North Carolina Supreme Court expressed concern Wednesday over a "dramatic" broadening of public official immunity if they accepted the arguments of a University of North Carolina doctor looking to escape a defamation lawsuit alleging he made up accusations to incite a vindictive investigation into a going away party for a subordinate.

  • April 17, 2024

    Shipping Co. Cuts Deal To Exit 401(k) Fee Suit

    A shipping and logistics company agreed to resolve a proposed class action a former employee lodged alleging it saddled workers' $766 million retirement plan with lofty administrative fees and failed to remove its expensive recordkeeper, a filing in North Carolina federal court said.

  • April 17, 2024

    ISP Frontier Inks $20M Internet Upgrade Deal For NC

    Frontier is going to spend $20 million improving its internet speeds in North Carolina as part of a settlement with the state's Department of Justice after hundreds of customers complained that the internet service provider was advertising one speed while actually providing another.

  • April 17, 2024

    Tax Challenge Viable In Court, Philip Morris Tells NC Justices

    A North Carolina administrative court has the power to find a state tax law unconstitutional, tobacco company Philip Morris USA has told the state Supreme Court in its attempt to avoid a more than $300,000 franchise tax bill.

  • April 17, 2024

    4th Circ. Affirms No Shield From IRS For Home In Bankruptcy

    A North Carolina man who filed for bankruptcy protection and owes federal tax debt cannot shield the house he owns with his wife from the Internal Revenue Service, which is pursuing the asset as a creditor in the proceedings, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Wednesday.

  • April 16, 2024

    Nothing 'Sinister' About Attys, Broker's Tax Plan, NC Jury Told

    Two St. Louis attorneys and a North Carolina insurance agent on Tuesday tried to poke holes in an undercover IRS agent's investigation of what the government has characterized as a criminal tax avoidance scheme, which defense counsel sought to paint for the jury as a legal interpretation of federal tax law.

  • April 16, 2024

    BofA Draws Scorn From Republican AGs Over 'De-Banking'

    Republican state attorneys general are calling out Bank of America over what they claim has been its discriminatory account closures of Christian religious groups and hostile treatment of conservative customers, allegations the banking giant strongly denies.

  • April 16, 2024

    NC Treasurer Backs FTC On Hospital Merger Challenge

    North Carolina's treasurer agreed Monday that Novant Health's $320 million plan to pick up a pair of hospitals is a bad idea, throwing its weight behind the Federal Trade Commission's challenge to the deal in federal court.

  • April 16, 2024

    Staffing Co. Drops Contract Fight With Panthers Stadium

    The Carolina Panthers' stadium operator and the event staffing company that accused it of wrongly pulling back from an arrangement the parties had made to staff the National Football League team's home games came together Tuesday to drop their dispute from North Carolina federal court.

  • April 16, 2024

    Ex-Minority Owner Of Commanders Sues BofA Over Team Sale

    A former minority owner of the Washington Commanders has accused Bank of America and affiliated entities of conspiring with the team's former majority owner to buy 40% of the franchise at a discount, only to turn around and later sell all of it for $6 billion.

  • April 16, 2024

    NC Justices Hint Contractor Qualifies For Tax Break

    The North Carolina Supreme Court appeared ready to rule in favor of a contractor seeking a tax exemption reserved for manufacturers, with the justices concerned that hinging qualification on a sales percentage flouts the language of the applicable law.

  • April 16, 2024

    Zuckerberg Dodges Liability In Meta Addiction MDL, For Now

    A California federal judge has tossed certain fraud-by-omission claims seeking to hold Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally liable in sprawling multidistrict litigation over social media platforms' allegedly addictive design, but she allowed the plaintiffs to amend their allegations to assert a new theory of corporate officer liability against Zuckerberg.

  • April 16, 2024

    4th Circ. Slams Brakes On W.Va. Transgender Sports Ban

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday put the clamps on a West Virginia law barring transgender athletes from competing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity, finding that the restriction it placed on a trans middle schooler violated Title IX civil rights protections and may also violate the U.S. Constitution.

  • April 16, 2024

    Winston & Strawn Corporate Attorney Joins McGuireWoods

    McGuireWoods LLP has added a corporate lawyer from Winston & Strawn LLP as a partner in its securities and capital markets team in Charlotte, North Carolina, the firm said Tuesday.

  • April 15, 2024

    Tax Attys, Broker Peddled 'Financial Fantasy,' NC Jury Told

    A North Carolina federal jury on Monday heard a series of secret recordings at the start of a tax fraud trial in which an insurance agent and a St. Louis attorney unwittingly pitched an undercover IRS agent on a way to decrease taxable income — or what the government characterized as a "financial fantasy."

  • April 15, 2024

    4th Circ. Won't Let Borrower Pin Feds' Flub On Pa. Agency

    The Fourth Circuit refused Monday to revive a lawsuit brought by a borrower alleging that a state student-loan-servicing agency's misrepresentations thwarted a loan forgiveness opportunity, with a panel reasoning that the organization was immune from the lawsuit.

  • April 15, 2024

    Oil Co. Warns NC Justices Of 'Unfair' Results In Taking Case

    An oil company and two other former plaintiffs from a settled state government land-taking proposed class action have warned the North Carolina Supreme Court that if the justices affirm an intermediate appellate ruling in a similar case, they would be reinforcing "unfair, unequal, disparate and divergent" treatment of property owners.

  • April 15, 2024

    4th Circ. Upholds W.Va.'s Win In Coal Mine Cleanup Suit

    The Fourth Circuit on Monday affirmed a West Virginia federal court's order ending developers' allegations that the state's environmental regulators' reclamation efforts at an old coal mining site constituted illegal dumping, finding the lower court correctly concluded the efforts are exempt from regulations prohibiting open dumps.

  • April 15, 2024

    4th Circ. Affirms Timberland Boots' Trade Dress Bid Denial

    The Fourth Circuit decided Monday that a Virginia federal judge correctly denied trade dress registration for Timberland's Icon Boot, saying in a published opinion the lower court did not err in concluding the design elements the company wanted to register were ineligible because they had not acquired distinctive meaning in consumers' minds.

  • April 15, 2024

    Justices Won't Review ERISA Suit Over Heart Transplant

    The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the Fourth Circuit's decision only partially reviving a suit brought by the mother of a deceased airline worker whose employer refused to cover his heart transplant surgery until after his death.

Expert Analysis

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Earnout Contract Considerations After NC Good Faith Ruling

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    The North Carolina Supreme Court's recent Value Health Solutions v. Pharmaceutical Research decision, holding the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing did not apply in an earnout dispute related to an asset sale, demonstrates the need for practitioners to pay careful attention to milestone concepts in M&A transactions, says Benjamin Hicks at Wagner Hicks.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • The Self-Funded Plan's Guide To Gender-Affirming Coverage

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    Self-funded group health plans face complicated legal risks when determining whether to cover gender-affirming health benefits for their transgender participants, so plan sponsors should carefully weigh how federal nondiscrimination laws and state penalties for providing care for trans minors could affect their decision to offer coverage, say Tim Kennedy and Anne Tyler Hall at Hall Benefits Law.

  • Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes

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    Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys

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    Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.

  • Series

    Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.

  • How Executives' Deposition Standards Can Differ

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    The recent Trustees of Purdue University v. Wolfspeed Inc. decision granting a motion on a protective order for a high-level witness shows how courts can vary in the application of the apex doctrine and analysis under Rule 26 of the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, say Genevieve Halpenny and John Cook at Barclay Damon.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'

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    The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.

  • Opinion

    Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform

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    The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.

  • DeFi Enforcement Is Growing, Despite CFTC Dissonance

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s recently settled actions against operators of three decentralized finance protocols appear to be part of an enhanced enforcement push, though commissioners don’t agree on how to promote constructive regulation, say Michael Philipp and Sarah Riddell at Morgan Lewis.

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