We wrote last summer about a decision applying the trebling feature in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-16 to satisfy the minimum amount in controversy required to remove a case to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction. In that case, the court found that a removing defendant did satisfy the threshold […]
It has been some time since we have written about the attorneys’ fee provision in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-16.1(1). Back in 2015, we wrote about that section’s requirement for a fee award of “an unwarranted refusal” by the party charged with the violation “to fully resolve the matter.” Attorney […]
A prevailing defendant on a claim for violation of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-1.1 can obtain attorney fees, but the bar is high. The defendant must show that the plaintiff knew or should have known that the action was both frivolous and malicious. What facts can satisfy these standards? The […]
A party who shows a violation of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-1.1 can sometimes recover attorney fees under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-16.1(1). Section 75-16.1(1), however, imposes two substantive conditions on such a fee award: The party charged with the 75-1.1 violation must have “willfully engaged” in the conduct that constituted […]