Mack Sperling reports this morning in his Business Litigation Report that the General Assembly is toying with “modernizing” the North Carolina Business Court.  Several significant changes are being proposed, but of particular interest to our readers is a proposal that could dramatically expand the docket of the Supreme Court.  If this portion of the bill is adopted, appeals from all final judgments issued by the Business Court in mandatory complex business cases would bypass the Court of Appeals and proceed directly to the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Mack is unaware of any case originating in the Business Court that has ever reached the Supreme Court—an interesting tidbit both from the perspective of what types of PDRs are being granted, but also considering that a Court of Appeals’ dissent creates an appeal of right to the Supreme Court.

What are your thoughts on this proposed bill, particularly the expansion of the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction? Are you aware of any case that originated in the Business Court that reached the Supreme Court? 

-Beth Scherer