Justia North Carolina Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court modified and affirmed the decision of the court of appeals to uphold the judgment of the trial court refusing to grant a new trial to Defendant, who was held liable pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. 78A-56(a)(2), which prohibits a person from selling securities by means of false and misleading statements of material fact, holding that the court of appeals did not err by affirming the challenged judgment and orders.Defendant argued, among other things, that the trial court had erred in determining that Plaintiffs had sufficiently established that Defendant was liable pursuant to section 78A-56(a)(2). The court of appeals concluded that "any person who is a seller or offeror" of securities is liable pursuant to section 78A-56(a) and that Plaintiffs were not required to prove that Defendant acted with scienter. The Supreme Court affirmed as modified, holding (1) the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying Defendant's motion for a new trial; (2) Defendant did not preserve his challenge to the trial court's refusal to give an explicit "safe harbor" instruction to the jury for purposes of appellate review; and (3) Defendant was not entitled to relief from the trial court's judgment and orders on the basis of his primary liability and scienter claims. View "Piazza v. Kirkbride" on Justia Law