In Bethea v. Equifax (W.D.N.C. Dec. 19, 2025), Judge Kenneth Bell offers both a procedural refresher and a cautionary tale for consumer litigants hoping to convert technical missteps into instant victory.
The Business Court addressed what happens when one party in multi-party commercial litigation files bankruptcy — here, Pine Gate Renewables’ Chapter 11 filing — while litigation continues between the remaining parties.
Judge Houston held:
Claims against Pine Gate are stayed under §362.
The stay does not extend to Meridian’s contract and tort claims against Birch Creek.
Judge Laura Beyer’s decision in In re Holland drives home a now-settled point in North Carolina bankruptcy practice: if a debtor does not intend to keep collateral and make payments, then the debtor does not get to deduct those payments on the Chapter 7 means test.
In this Western District case, the pro se plaintiff, Brittney Moseley, brought what has become a fairly common species of Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation — alleging that a lender “pulled” her credit report without authorization and, in the process, violated both the FCRA and North Carolina’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
In yet another chapter of what is becoming a running series on pay-to-pay mortgage fees, Chief Judge Catherine Eagles has issued a significant opinion certifying a statewide class of North Carolina homeowners against Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc. (DMI). The ruling allows claims under both the North Carolina Debt Collection Act (NCDCA) and the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (UDTPA) to proceed on a class-wide basis.
This case ties directly back to earlier discussions here:
In November 2022, the Department of Justice and Department of Education announced sweeping reforms designed to make student loan bankruptcy discharge more accessible to struggling borrowers.
This case began as an interpleader filed by a closing attorney caught in the middle of a family property dispute — wisely deciding not to referee a fight over sale proceeds while trying to deliver clear title.
In In re Granite City Mechanical, Inc., the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina (Judge Laura T. Beyer) held that the United States may offset unpaid Employee Retention Tax Credits (ERTCs) against a debtor’s outstanding COVID-19 EIDL loan owed to the SBA.
In Hultz v. Bisignano, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the denial of Social Security Disability benefits to Crystal Hultz, a claimant whose primary disabling condition was fibromyalgia. Relying heavily on its earlier decision in Arakas v.
While this decision is, on its face, a fairly ordinary residential rental dispute—replete with mold allegations, maintenance requests, and implied-warranty skirmishing—the part that should actually catch the attention of consumer and bankruptcy attorneys is the Court’s treatment of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act and its companion Debt Collection Act provisions.
