A major case settled in the North Carolina Business Court in April as new lawsuits emerged, including a complaint by health information technology company IQVIA Holdings Inc. accusing its former top brass of orchestrating a corporate raid and defecting to a competitor.

Meanwhile, embattled Florida real estate company MV Realty reached a $4.5 million agreement with the North Carolina attorney general ending claims it tricked consumers in the state into predatory list agreements.

A group of out-of-state attorneys were also chided for failing to abide by Business Court rules when they asked to be appointed as interim co-lead counsel in a series of data breach class actions, with a judge characterizing the litigation as "fraught with problems."

In case you missed those stories and others, here are the highlights.

Rulings

Judge Mark A. Davis pared down a dispute between former business partners over a soured real estate deal involving thousands of acres of land in Hawaii, leaving intact a lone breach of contract claim and dismissing all but one of the defendants from the suit. The case is DT Lulana Gardens LLC v. SDCK I LLC, case number 2025CVS16426.

A $5 million lawsuit accusing a public relations company of issuing a false press release about cybersecurity firm Cycurion Inc. that allegedly caused its stock to plummet does not belong in the North Carolina Business Court, Judge Michael L. Robinson ruled, finding the case involves only a "tangential relationship" with securities, and designation was therefore not appropriate. The case is Cycurion Inc. f/k/a WAVS v. Access Newswire Inc., case number 2026CVS12490.

Judge Matthew Houston sanctioned and entered default judgment against cigar lounge managers accused of stealing from the business and locking their partners out of the establishment, saying they falsified information in their affidavits and flouted court orders. The case is Kjet Ventures LLC v. Jamison et al., case number 26CVS002630.

Judge Houston refused to pause an insurance squabble challenging whether two brothers who were falsely convicted of murder are entitled to collect judgment from law enforcement's insurers in their wrongful imprisonment case, reasoning that the Business Court case is not affected by a parallel lawsuit playing out in federal court. The case is Lexington Ins. Co. v. State of N.C., case number 2022CVS646.

The discharged director of real estate and insurance company Chalk & Gibbs Inc. won partial summary judgment in his dispute with family members over his ousting from the business, with Judge Julianna Theall Earp ruling that the family did not comply with at least some portion of the company shareholders' agreement when they bought out his shares. The judge also granted partial summary judgment to the family members on the director's counterclaims for discrimination, retaliation and wrongful discharge. The case is Chalk v. Chalk, case number 2023CVS946.

Judge Adam M. Conrad threw out a pharmaceutical product seller's fraud and unfair competition claims against a company with which it contracted to design an aseptic bag filling system, finding the complaint did not plead either claim with sufficient particularity. The case is Exela Pharma Sciences LLC v. REI Automation Inc., case number 2024CVS158.

Judge Houston rejected a bid to consolidate six cases and appoint lead counsel in data breach class actions targeting a radiology practice, chiding counsel for not following rules and filing a procedurally deficient motion. The case is Anderson v. Triad Radiology Associates PLLC, case number 2026CVS3166.

A North Carolina hydrogeologist won an almost $629,000 default judgment against his former investment advisor and an advisory firm for allegedly lying to him about the status of his investments, making risky investments on his behalf, failing to disclose conflicts of interest, and hiding an SEC investigation, Judge Houston ruled. The case is Hart v. DWM Advisors LLC, case number 2021CVS15763.

Judge Davis trimmed a lawsuit from an insurance marketing organization's former agents alleging they were trapped in bad contracts, finding that one of the plaintiffs must bring her claims as counterclaims in parallel litigation in which the company has accused the agents of stealing trade secrets. The case is The Assurance Group LLC v. Shackelford et al., case number 2025CVS662.

Judge Davis said he won't force trusts and estates law firm Cobin Law Group PLLC to send notices to thousands of clients that founding partner R. Daniel Brady is no longer with the firm, finding he didn't move quickly enough in asking the court for a preliminary injunction, and he otherwise failed to show that his clients had a hard time getting ahold of him. The case is Brady v. Cobin Law Group PLLC, case number 2025CVS28388.

Complaints

A medical supply firm has taken its pursuit of a U.K. company over alleged lost profits from the sale of COVID-19 test kits to the North Carolina Business Court, after a federal judge dismissed the case in an order that's now on appeal to the Fourth Circuit. The case is FS Medical Supplies LLC v. TannerGAP Inc., case number 2026CVS18254.

A creditor is suing to have a receiver appointed over a defunct historic hotel in Asheville, arguing the borrower defaulted on an $8.7 million loan and abandoned the property, forcing the city to clean it up and place a lien on it. The case is AFF V Mountaineer LLC v. Radify Asheville LLC, case number 2026CVS2640.

IQVIA Holdings Inc. has accused three former executives of violating their restrictive covenants by allegedly selling off their holdings in the company, defecting to a rival and initiating a corporate raid that resulted in the loss of one customer worth at least $180 million. The case is IQVIA Holdings Inc. v. Panagos, case number 2026CVS9791.

A former sales representative for a packaging and equipment company stole customer lists, invoicing and pricing data and customer preferences when she allegedly decamped for a competitor, according to a trade secrets lawsuit the company filed. The case is Caliber Packaging & Equip. LLC v. Stewart, case number 2026CVS3309.

The co-owner of a company that installs signage for billboards has accused his partner of converting company assets for his own benefit and refusing to pay out distributions in violation of their operating agreement, saying the partner has since opened his own competing business and is diverting clients and sales away from their shared company. The case is Barbee v. Poarch, case number 2026CVS21670.

Litigation financing firm Curiam Investments 3 LLC is suing its insurer for allegedly wrongly refusing to pay out $200 million in coverage for an unpaid loan that it claims is covered by a financial guarantee policy. The case is Curiam Investments 3 LLC v. Series 1 of Oxford Insurance Co. NC LLC, case number 26CV011429-910.

The owner of a North Carolina gym alleged in a new complaint that a minority stakeholder fired two essential employees, including the head trainer and the operations manager, locked other managers out of the facility's operating system and possibly stole money from the business. The case is High Point BBC LLC v. Arvelo, case number 2026CVS11377.

A venture capital fund accused a beauty technology company of reneging on an investment by allegedly failing to make cash flow payments when they came due and then failing to follow through on later agreements to remedy the issue. The case is Resilient Ventures Fund I L.P. v. Techturized Inc., case number 2026CVS3864.

The minority owner of a trucking company has accused the other two members of absconding with the insurance proceeds from a fire that destroyed a company building and equipment, saying none of the money went to rebuilding or replacing the destroyed equipment and the members have failed to provide him with an accounting of the books to explain what happened to it. The case is McCormick v. Haynes, case number 2026CVS334.

In Brief

The pharmacy benefits manager for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is looking to have a "copycat" lawsuit brought by the health insurance giant thrown out, saying in a request for judgment on the pleadings that it sued first in Minnesota and that case should take precedence. The benefits manager is seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars that Blue Cross allegedly wrongfully retained under their contracts. The case is Blue Cross & Blue Shield of N.C. v. Prime Therapeutics LLC, case number 2025CVS13956.

Resolutions

MV Realty will pay $4.5 million to resolve the North Carolina attorney general's lawsuit alleging it locked homeowners into decades-long listing agreements with predatory rates, punctuating nearly three years of litigation. The case is State of North Carolina v. MV Realty PBC LLC, case number 2023CVS6408.

For the Record

"The court will not facilitate the unauthorized practice of law or otherwise reward out-of-state counsel for failing to seek pro hac vice admission, and the court sees no good reason at this time that the lead attorneys for this putative North Carolina class action should be attorneys who are not licensed in the state and have demonstrated a blatant disregard for applicable rules and statutes." —Judge Houston in an order denying a request to appoint lead counsel in a data breach class action.

--Additional reporting by Abigail Harrison, Mike Curley and Hope Patti. Editing by Adam LoBelia.

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