In honor of the upcoming Veterans Day holiday, this blog post will discuss the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (the “SCRA”), which provides specific protections for those in active duty military service, as well as their dependents. The SCRA’s Specified Protections The SCRA was enacted in 2003 and recognizes that those in active duty military service may not be able to participate in certain civil affairs, and creates certain protections for those who qualify. Default judgment protection. In order to obtain a default judgment against a defendant who failed to make an appearance in the proceeding, the plaintiff must file an affidavit certifying whether or not the defendant…
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North Carolina Business Court Recognizes New Duty to Negotiate in Good Faith
While North Carolina has never recognized a fiduciary relationship between lenders and borrowers, in June the North Carolina Business Court did recognized a new cause of action: breach of a duty to negotiate in good faith.[1] The Court confined its decision to the particular facts present in the case, leaving many questions unanswered regarding this type of claim. BB&T gave two loans totaling $5.275 million to an experienced real-estate developer. BB&T and the client had a long (30 year) borrower-lender relationship, which the Court characterized as “multifaceted and unique.”[2] The loans needed restructuring, so BB&T and the borrower spent over eight (8) months extensively negotiating their terms. The negotiations…
