The collapse of the much-publicized Believer Meats cultured-meat facility in Wilson County has now moved from construction disputes into full-blown insolvency administration. But rather than filing a federal bankruptcy case under Chapter 11, Subchapter V, or even Chapter 7, the parties instead proceeded through North Carolina’s Commercial Receivership Act. That strategic choice may ultimately become the most interesting aspect of this case.
In this sweeping Consent Judgment, the North Carolina Attorney General effectively finishes what the North Carolina Business Court had already begun in its earlier summary judgment ruling against MV Realty: dismantling the company’s attempt to transform exploitative listing agreements into purported “covenants running with the land.”
SummaryIn Allianz v. BLV Ascend, the North Carolina Business Court (Chief Judge Michael Robinson) delivers a clean, practical ruling on a somewhat over-lawyered problem: whether a plaintiff needs court permission to dismiss a guaranty claim—and whether doing so might jeopardize an already-in-place receivership.
In Warren v. Cielo Ventures, the North Carolina Supreme Court delivers a sharply divided opinion on whether a contractual one-year limitation period can override the four-year statute of limitations for claims under the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (UDTPA).
The majority (Justice Berger) answers that question with a firm yes.
