For many moons, North Carolina was one of the few jurisdictions in which the losing party at the Court of Appeals could pursue an appeal as of right to the Supreme Court if the party managed to snag a dissenting opinion from...more
In appeals, the general rule is that litigants cannot appeal an interlocutory order until a final judgment is entered. But in North Carolina, a major statutory exception to the general rule exists: When the trial court’s...more
The trial judge who presides over a hearing or trial is supposed to, and usually does, sign the resulting written order. But what happens if that normal process is not followed? What options do the parties have? Last week,...more
The NC Supreme Court's jurisdiction over appeals from the Business Court expanded significantly with the passage of a bill by the NC General Assembly "modernizing" the Business Court in 2014. A party can appeal even...more
How does your appeal get dismissed when you've appealed to the "right", "appropriate", or "correct" court? In other words, your appeal was to the Court with jurisdiction over your appeal. It happened in the NC Court of...more
Today the Court of Appeals issued a decision addressing Session Law 2014-102, the 2014 Business Court Modernization Act, which requires that appeals in matters that are designated as mandatory complex business cases go...more
The road to an appellate court can be lined with unanticipated obstacles, You can avoid them if you follow the NC Rules of Appellate Procedure and you keep up with changes in the law regarding appeals. Or you might retain a...more