The North Carolina Business Court is a specialized superior court that is designed to handle complex business cases and high-stakes litigation with expertise and efficiency. There are only three business court judges in North Carolina, with a fourth judge to be appointed in 2016. These judges sit in major cities in the state: Raleigh, Charlotte, and Greensboro, and they are selected to sit on this special court due to their experience and reputation in handling commercial and business legal matters.
North Carolina allows several types of cases to be designated to the Business Court by choice:
- Disputes involving the law governing corporations
- Disputes involving securities
- Disputes involving Antitrust Law
- Disputes involving trademark law
- Disputes that involve ownership or use of intellectual property, such as computer software, pharmaceuticals, or biotech products and technology
- Disputes involving trade secrets
- Contract disputes where at least one plaintiff and at least one defendant is a business entity, the complaint asserts a claim under a contract, the amount of money involved in the controversy is at least one million dollars ($1 million), and all parties consent to the designation to the business court.
There are also cases in North Carolina that mandatorily fall under the Business Court’s jurisdiction:
- Cases that involve a contested tax issue, or cases where there has been a constitutional challenge to a tax statute
- Cases that fall in to one of the permissive categories above where the amount of money in controversy is at least five million dollars ($5 million)
At Miller Law Group, our attorneys are well versed in the rules and cases that come before the Business Court, and are prepared to tackle all manner of corporate, complex business litigation, trade secret litigation, and contract disputes that you or your business may be experiencing. For a free consultation, contact Miller Law Group today.
