Three managers of two LLCs found themselves up a creek without operating agreements. They couldn’t agree on the ownership shares of one of them, and two of the managers thought the third had been extensively self-dealing. In Bronson v. Burnham, 2026 NCBC 45, the Business Court was left to sort out a failed pub, its million-dollar renovation, and a piano that couldn’t find a home. The plaintiffs, John and Paul Bronson, advanced derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty and constructive fraud,…More

The Town of Carrboro is a small place with big legal ambitions about combatting climate change. It’s been hard at work seeking to reduce its own carbon emissions, and reports adoption of policies it hoped would encourage transitions to renewable energy sources and other positive changes. Yet, in Town of Carrboro v. Duke Energy Corp., 2026 NCBC 13, Carrboro took a much bigger swing at a utility company seeking redress for cracked roads, potholes, erosion, and other harms linked to…More

The journey from a Letter of Intent to a final agreement is often perilous, with the parties’ discussions and intentions wrangled by lawyers and company executives to memorialize deals with merger clauses. In Apex Health, Inc. v. Atrium Health, Inc., 2026 NCBC 10, plaintiff Apex learned from the Business Court that failing to adequately tether the agreement to what was set forth in an LOI was a potential $62 million problem. The dispute centered around Medicare Advantage plans which private insurers…More

On February 27, the Delaware Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the state’s major revision to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) that fundamentally changed the rules for transactions between corporations and their controlling stockholders. Given the varying states of incorporation employed by companies that do business in North Carolina, a compliance check by inside and outside counsel may well be appropriate. Our Delaware-based corporate litigation partner, Kasey DeSantis, breaks down the court’s decision and some of its ramifications here.…More

The Business Court’s docket is jammed full of disputes among entrepreneurs, joint venturers, and hopeful co-owners that go off the rails. Typically, counsel are along for each side to guide the dispute through litigation. In Law Off. of Ashley-Nicole Russell, P.A. v. McLawhorn Legal Servs. PLLC, 2026 NCBC 4, the Court faced an esquire-palooza. The litigants were lawyers and law firms, represented by lawyers and law firms, to resolve disputes about which lawyers and law firms could make claims against…More

Judge A. Todd Brown has announced he will retire from the Business Court effective March 3, 2026. In a February 19, 2026 press release, Chief Justice Paul Newby announced that Special Superior Court Judge Graham Shirley will replace Judge Brown on the Business Court. Judge Shirley served as a Resident Superior Court Judge in the Wake County Superior Court from September 2015 to January 2025, and was designated to his current role by the General Assembly in February 2025. Before…More

Drue Moore was co-founder of a company at the center of today’s high-finance college coaching carousel. Defendant Winthrop Intelligence, LLC used public records to aggregate university data, including coaching salaries, and sold access to its database to those interested in monitoring the money that drives the college sports industrial complex. Along the way, Moore – a North Carolina resident – sought asset protection advice from a Wyoming attorney, Scott Robinson, that included establishing Wyoming entities that took advantage of that…More

We focus a lot at the blog on ways in which the Business Court sets the boundaries for conduct of business within the State to provide a more settled landscape for companies to assess risks and opportunities. There are occasions, though, in which the Court is just as likely speaking to the commercial litigation bar that appears before it. In Oak Grove Techs., LLC v. Seventh Dimension, LLC, 2025 NCBC 50, the Court dealt with a motion to dismiss between defense…More

The war over TikTok has many battle lines. A Biden era law that would have banned TikTok as of January 1, 2025 if it didn’t find a U.S. owner for its operations here was aimed at national security concerns. Congress passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to protect the data of U.S. users of the social media platform from the Chinese government and deter its ability to manipulate TikTok’s content. A deal to spin those operations…More

Investment advisors defending fraud claims from a former client recently asked the Business Court to place them within the three-year statute of limitations applicable to those who provide professional services. In Pridgen v. Carlson, 2025 NCBC 36, the advisors contended that “because investment advisory services are considered professional services” they are “in essence claims for professional malpractice.” Id. ¶ 80. Under N.C.G.S. §1-15(c), a malpractice claim “arising out of the performance of or failure to perform professional services” gets a three-year…More