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Sunday Best: Catch Up On the Week’s Top NCBarBlog Posts

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Here’s what NCBarBlog readers found most interesting on our pages this week:

Court of Appeals Allows Section 75-1.1 Claim in Context of Residential Real Estate Transaction

An Untapped Source of Savings for State and Local Government Owners of Property

A 12(b)(6) Motion Asserted As Part Of An Answer Will Not Suffice, At Least Not In The NC Business Court

Launching the Appellate Practice Section Blog with Exciting News!

Say Hello To the Small Firm & Technology Section

A Win For Arbitration in 2018

A 12(b)(6) Motion Asserted As Part Of An Answer Will Not Suffice, At Least Not In The NC Business Court

By Rick Conner

Have you ever included a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss in your answer, with the intention of filing a more formal motion or submitting a detailed brief later? If so, you should be aware of a recent decision by Judge Michael L. Robinson of the North Carolina Business Court which casts further doubt on the legal legitimacy of this practice.

In New Friendship Used Clothing Collection, LLC v. Katz, 2017 NCBC 71 (N.C. Super. Ct. Aug. 18, 2017), one of the defendants, Katz, filed an answer on the response deadline which indicated that his first defense was a “Motion to Dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6).” Three days later, he filed a more lengthy 12(b)(6) motion with a supporting brief. Plaintiffs contended that Katz’s motion should be denied because the motion, filed after Katz’s answer, was untimely under Rule 12(b).

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