It's Just Business Blog
Brad is a founder and primary contributor to this blog, which provides analyses of North Carolina Business Court decisions and trends. The blog tracks and explains North Carolina’s effort to develop a body of case law about the rules and policies that govern the conduct of business in the state, and its specialized judicial forum for resolving disputes.
Recent Blog Posts
NC Business Court Relies on Political Question Doctrine in Dismissing Climate Change Lawsuit
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.,... Continue Reading…More
Got an LOI that Extols Close Cooperation Among the Parties? Make Sure the Surviving Agreement Says it Too.
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... Continue Reading…More
Delaware Supreme Court Upholds Major Rewrite of State’s Corporation Law
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... Continue Reading…More
Parties May Not Always Get Oral Argument on Business Court Motions, But It Doesn’t Hurt to Flag the Need for It
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... Continue Reading…More
Judge Graham Shirley to Replace Retiring Business Court Judge A. Todd Brown
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... Continue Reading…More
Out-of-State Attorneys Have Room to Argue their Work for North Carolina Residents Does Not Create “Minimum Contacts”
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 –... Continue Reading…More
Courts have Rods and Reels, But Don’t Make Them Fish for The Story
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... Continue Reading…More
TikTok’s New Domestic Owners Still Face an Array of State Consumer Protection Claims Over Unfairly Targeting Minors
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... Continue Reading…More
Providing Investment Advisory Services in North Carolina May be a “Profession,” But Doesn’t Get Limitations Period for Professional Negligence Claims
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... Continue Reading…More
We Get By With a Little Help from Our Friends*
*(Though Sometimes in Business, Maybe Not) Friends don’t let friends do business with friends. Among the key Business Court takeaways here at the blog, this maxim rings loud and clear. So, when decade-long friends Jared Londry and Daniel Farrar went into the real estate business together in Charlotte, it was at least on the bingo... Continue Reading…More
