Drone technology and its wide applications have had a sweeping impact in military and civilian settings. They have helped even the odds for Ukraine in defending against Russia’s invasion, and become enough of a war narrative that it was big news recently when Ukraine unleashed long-range missiles on Russian manufacturers producing key drone components. Effects on the speed and reach of consumer deliveries seem not far behind. So, it’s little surprise that businesses competing in such a burgeoning industry are developing…More

Chief Justice Paul Newby has designated Judge Adam Conrad to serve as Chief Judge of the North Carolina Business Court, effective August 1, 2026. The announcement can be found here. Judge Conrad’s elevation comes at a transition point for the Court, which will see current Chief Judge Michael Robinson and Judge Julianna Earp retire on the same day. Judge Conrad has served on the Business court since 2016, and previously was in private practice as an associate and partner at King…More

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein signed budget legislation yesterday that resolved a long-standing stand-off between Republicans in the state House and Senate. Republicans in both chambers passed their own budgets in 2025 but couldn’t reach a final deal over employee raises and tax cuts. Buried beneath the headlines is a provision in the bill that takes the NC Business Court’s “specialty court” concept and applies it to “complex family financial” cases. Under the new article 6 in Chapter 50 of the…More

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