A recent decision by the North Carolina Business Court highlights an important—and counterintuitive—limit on the scope of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-1.1. Section 75-1.1 says expressly that it applies to practices “in or affecting commerce.” Courts have interpreted this phrase as narrowing the fact patterns that the statute covers. The employment […]
Although courts sometimes describe N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-1.1 as an outgrowth of antitrust law, most 75-1.1 claims do not arise from antitrust fact patterns. SiteLink Software, LLC v. Red Nova Labs, Inc. is an exception. That case involves overlapping antitrust claims and section 75-1.1 claims. In this setting, the […]
Bank and financing fees are a prime target for alleged violations of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-1.1. Indeed, one of the seminal cases on section 75-1.1 concerns fees charged in a refinance transaction. Of course, the fact that a bank, lender, or any other financing company charges a fee is […]
Plaintiffs who prove violations of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-1.1 are automatically entitled to treble damages under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-16. The automatic trebling of damages for 75-1.1 claims often leads to substantial verdicts and settlements. It raises several questions: Why are plaintiffs allowed to automatically recover treble damages? […]