On July 21, 2015, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a ruling emphasizing the importance of executing cohesive estate documents and appointing a trusted fiduciary to execute the testator’s wishes.[1] Dwight Jordan died testate with four children, and his will instructed the estate to be divided between them in equal shares. Mr. Jordan named one of his sons, Raymond Baxter Jordan (“Defendant”), as the executor, and designated him as his attorney-in-fact. The same day he executed the will, Mr. Jordan and the Defendant converted Mr. Jordan’s bank account to a joint account with rights of survivorship. The bank account comprised…
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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…
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The Line Between Cyber-bullying and Freedom of Speech
The intersection of free speech and safety on social media has been a hotly debated topic for many years. Because cyber-bullying takes many different forms, it is difficult to define. While several states criminalize cyber-bullying, the language of these statutes vary greatly and are just recently being challenged under First Amendment grounds. In June, the North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld the state’s cyber-bullying statute over a First Amendment challenge.[1] This decision is noteworthy because it contrasts a 2014 New York Court of Appeals decision striking down an Albany County cyber-bullying statute.[2] While the statutory language of these cyber-bullying statutes differ to some degree, the respective state…
