Ellis & Winters LLP

Jamie Weiss discusses a recent opinion about whether the economic-loss rule applies to a claim involving section 75-1.1 and, believe it or not, school lunch juice cups.

Lunch and Learn: More Economic-Loss Rule Uncertainty in Section 75-1.1 Claims, this Time with More Juice Cups | Ellis & Winters LLP Today’s blog post is about a recent Fourth Circuit opinion, Foodbuy LLC v. Gregory Packaging, Inc., involving the intersection of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-1.1 and everyone’s favorite school lunch item—juice cups. As a bonus, the Fourth Circuit also waded into the unsettled question of whether the...

In today's What's Fair? blog post, Steven Scoggan analyzes a recent Western District of North Carolina decision that demonstrates how preemption can be a potent defense in commercial disputes between competing drug and device businesses.

FDCA Preemption: A Powerful Defense in Commercial Litigation, Too. | Ellis & Winters LLP We’ve often discussed the power of preemption defenses to section 75-1.1 claims. Preemption is also a crucial issue in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, as the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act (FDCA) has been held to preempt a wide variety of products-liability and consumer-protection...

In today's What's Fair? blog post, Preetha Rini discusses a recent Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision.

Can Clickbait Cause Confusion? Purchasing AdWord Did Not Constitute Trademark Infringement or an Unfair Trade Practice | Ellis & Winters LLP In intellectual property disputes, the strength of a section 75-1.1 claim or an unfair competition claim often rises or falls with a trademark infringement claim. For instance, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 80-12 provides that a violation of state trademark law constitutes a per se violation of section 75-1.1....