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Civil Procedure

North Carolina Breach of Contract Civil Procedure Insurance Coverage

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Piedmont Roofing — Insurance-assignment contract claims survived pleading stage

/ November 4, 2026

The divided published panel affirmed dismissal of the tort theories but revived the breach-of-contract and declaratory claims. Anti-assignment provisions were enforceable, yet North Carolina’s notice-pleading rules allowed the contractor to prove facts showing a valid assignment and permitted gaps in the writings to be filled by parol evidence. Discovery could test whether the policy conditions were met; a partial dissent would have affirmed dism

North Carolina Appellate Procedure Civil Procedure Family Law

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Fey — Parenting coordinator could structure international-travel approval

/ November 4, 2026

The published panel affirmed. The parenting coordinator acted within statutory authority to help implement the existing custody order and did not alter fundamental custody, visitation, or support rights. Because the protocol supplied specific requirements within the order’s scope rather than modifying custody, no motion or finding of a substantial change in circumstances was required.

North Carolina Civil Procedure Employment Personal Injury & Tort

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Enrique — Staffing client was not worker’s special employer

/ November 4, 2026

The published panel affirmed partial summary judgment for the worker. The parties’ written arrangement did not establish the implied contract of hire required for special employment, so the Workers’ Compensation Act did not divest the superior court of jurisdiction. The panel dismissed immediate review of contributory-negligence and punitive-damages issues because the sawmill did not establish a substantial right.

North Carolina Civil Procedure Statutory Interpretation Trusts and Estates

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Kustra — Trust contest deadlines split beneficiaries’ claims

/ October 21, 2026

The published panel affirmed dismissal of the first claim and held a third claim time-barred under G.S. 36C-6-604(a), but reversed summary judgment on the second claim and remanded it. Because the ruling on the third claim resolved that controversy, the defendants’ limitations cross-appeal no longer had a practical effect and was dismissed as moot.

North Carolina Civil Procedure Consumer Protection Insurance Coverage

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Eagles — Insurer remained liable after refusing to defend

/ October 21, 2026

The published majority affirmed summary judgment and the fee orders. The insurer’s unjustified refusal to defend left it responsible for the resulting judgment, and the trial court acted within its discretion in setting attorney fees rather than using the requested contingency-based figure. With no additional proven injury, nominal UDTPA damages were proper. One judge dissented in part on notice and prejudice.

North Carolina Business Law Civil Procedure Real Estate

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Brinkley — Lake Norman LLC did not require judicial dissolution

/ October 21, 2026

The published panel affirmed summary judgment against dissolution. The record showed the LLC could continue operating consistently with its agreement, and liquidation was not necessary to protect the member’s rights under G.S. 57D-6-02. A trial judge’s oral reference to nonexistent motions did not displace the signed written orders.

North Carolina Administrative Law Civil Procedure Health Law

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Ave Maria — Medicaid provider termination affirmed

/ October 21, 2026

The published panel affirmed. Medicaid participation and audit rules did not make the asserted notice defects jurisdictional, and the Department’s notices identified data analysis as the ground for prepayment review while explaining the compliance standards applied. Federal rules did not require disclosure of audit details that could compromise program-integrity work.

North Carolina Civil Procedure Employment Personal Injury & Tort

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Jefferson — Temporary worker could sue site operator in tort

/ October 7, 2026

A divided published decision reversed partial summary judgment. No implied contract of hire existed between the worker and Johnson Concrete, so neither special-employment doctrine applied. The site operator could not claim exclusivity without the burdens and evidence of an employment relationship, and the civil case could proceed.

North Carolina Civil Procedure Employment Personal Injury & Tort

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Hembree — Coworker’s intentional strike fell outside workers’ compensation exclusivity

/ October 7, 2026

The published decision affirmed denial of dismissal. Intent for assault and battery concerns the unwanted contact or apprehension, not an intent to produce the precise resulting injury. Because the complaint alleged an intentional strike, the Pleasant exception to workers’ compensation exclusivity applied despite the negligence label.

North Carolina Breach of Contract Civil Procedure Contract Interpretation

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Superior Cranes — North Carolina law voided South Carolina forum clause

/ October 7, 2026

The Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of New-Indy’s venue motion. The agreement was formed when the North Carolina representative approved the purchase order, so it was entered in North Carolina. Even assuming incorporation, G.S. 22B-3 made the out-of-state forum clause void and unenforceable.

North Carolina Appellate Procedure Civil Procedure Family Law

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Parente — Custody relocation order needed findings tied to the child

/ September 16, 2026

The Court of Appeals remanded for additional findings. A substantial change in circumstances must affect the child, and a relocation decision requires findings that permit review of advantages, parental motives, compliance with visitation, and the practicality of preserving the other parent’s relationship. The order supplied a visitation schedule but did not explain the claimed educational benefit, the child’s relationship with the stepfather, or

North Carolina Civil Procedure Evidence Property Law

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Moore — Christmas gift rules determined ownership of a dog

/ September 16, 2026

The Court of Appeals affirmed the award of ownership to the woman. Evidence supported donative intent and delivery, and credibility findings belonged to the trial court. Physical delivery did not require the donor to avoid all later possession or care while the parties cohabited; continued shared contact with gifted property did not divest the recipient’s title.

North Carolina Civil Procedure Evidence Family Law

North Carolina Court of Appeals

In re S.A. — Changed circumstances defeated grandparents’ termination petition

/ September 16, 2026

The Court of Appeals affirmed. Past neglect may inform whether future neglect is likely, but it does not end the inquiry when the children are not in the parent’s custody. Clear, cogent, and convincing evidence supported positive changes and the district court’s determination that repetition of neglect was not sufficiently likely. An isolated positive THC test did not compel a different result in light of the broader record.

North Carolina Appellate Procedure Civil Procedure Real Estate

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Alston — Attachment order did not justify an immediate appeal

/ September 16, 2026

The Court of Appeals dismissed the defendants’ appeal as interlocutory. The attachment did not essentially shut down the defendants’ business, applied to a single North Carolina asset, allowed a sale so long as proceeds remained secured, and could be discharged by bond. Because the defendants did not identify an irreparable injury that would be lost before final judgment, the order did not affect a substantial right supporting immediate review.

North Carolina Banking & Finance Civil Procedure Real Estate

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Perry — Mortgage plaintiffs cannot undo dismissal based on counsel’s disputed authority

/ September 2, 2026

The Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of Rule 60 relief. The trial court investigated the circumstances, assessed credibility, considered the available Rule 60 grounds, and could find that the record did not establish a void judgment or extraordinary circumstances. The appellate court emphasized its deferential abuse-of-discretion review and declined to substitute its credibility judgment for the trial court’s.

North Carolina Civil Procedure Eminent Domain Real Estate

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Great Smoky Mountains R.R. v. Mach 2 Invs. — Third Parties Cannot Attack a Railroad’s Deed from NCDOT, Even If State Conveyance Procedures Were Not Followed

/ July 15, 2026

The North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal in a railroad trespass and quiet-title action, holding that Mach 2 Investments and adjoining property owners lacked standing under the jus tertii doctrine to challenge Great Smoky Mountains Railroad’s 1996 deed from NCDOT. Even if the conveyance did not strictly follow state-lands procedures, only the State can mount that challenge—and any defect would render the deed merely voidable, not void. On remand, the trial court must address necessary parties and examine the scope of a historic “farm crossing” easement whose claimed use Mach 2 may have overburdened through subdivision.

North Carolina Breach of Contract Civil Procedure Municipal Law

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Outer Banks Ventures, Inc. v. Currituck County — Developer’s 1986 Water and Sewer Reimbursement Agreement Not an Installment Contract; Claims Against County Time-Barred

/ June 3, 2026

The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment dismissing a developer’s twelve-year-old breach-of-contract claim against Currituck County under an assumed water and sewer reimbursement agreement, holding that the 1986 developer agreement was not an installment contract because the county’s payment obligation was contingent on its own decision to connect customers, making the consideration unified and all claims time-barred under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-53(1)’s two-year limitations period.

North Carolina Civil Procedure Civil Rights Constitutional

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Doe v. Fulton — SAFE Child Act Revival Window Applies to School Board Sexual Abuse Claims; Ten-Year Repose Period in § 1-52(16) Limited to Latent Injuries

/ June 3, 2026

The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed denial of a school board’s motion to dismiss a SAFE Child Act revival claim, holding that the ten-year repose period in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16) applies only to latent injuries (not sexual assault) and that governmental immunity is not established at the pleading stage when the record leaves an unexplained gap in insurance coverage for any year in which the alleged abuse occurred.