Summary:

While Discover Bank v. Mustafaa, No. COA26-284 (N.C. Ct. App. Aug. 5, 2026), is unpublished and not controlling authority, it is still a useful warning for consumer attorneys: counterclaims in a collection suit can be compulsory, and a late attempt to add them can cost the client those claims entirely.

Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=7383038 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.7383038

Summary:

In Campbell v. TitleMax of Virginia, Inc., the North Carolina Court of Appeals has again affirmed arbitration awards in favor of North Carolina consumers who crossed state lines to obtain vehicle title loans from TitleMax.

The decision is unpublished and extremely short. But its significance comes precisely from how little the Court thought needed to be said.

In Outer Banks Ventures, Inc. v. Currituck County, No. COA25-798 (N.C. Ct. App. June 3, 2026), the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that a contract requiring recurring semiannual payments was not an installment contract for statute-of-limitations purposes. Because the plaintiff knew by 2011 that Currituck County was not making the required payments, its 2023 action was barred by the two-year limitations period in N.C.G.S. § 1-53(1) applicable to this contract claim against a local government.

Available at (ABI Membership Required): Chapter 13 Sales: Estate Property and Co-Owned Assets

McDaniel v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., et al., No. 3:26-CV-00500-KDB-MTO (W.D.N.C. Aug. 31, 2026)

In McDaniel v. Experian, the Western District of North Carolina provides a useful reminder of an increasingly important distinction in Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation: a consumer’s dispute over whether she should have to pay a debt is not, standing alone, an “inaccuracy” in her credit report.

Summary:

The Western District of North Carolina has denied DBMP LLC leave to take an interlocutory appeal from Bankruptcy Judge Ashley Austin Edwards’ extensive rulings requiring production of hundreds of documents in the long-running DBMP asbestos bankruptcy.

Abstract:

The authors document that the costs of student debt extend beyond borrowers to their parents. Exploiting the student loan federal payment moratorium, which paused payments for a subset of borrowers, the authors estimate the effect of children's debt relief on parental finances. Parents of treated borrowers experience a 5.7% reduction in installment delinquencies, a 6.4% decline in bankruptcy, and increased mortgage, installment, and home equity borrowing.

Summary:

In Williams v. Drexel University, Chief Judge Wendy Beetlestone allowed a former Drexel University student’s claims to proceed based on Drexel’s alleged use of academic records and access restrictions to collect unpaid tuition—including while the student was in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

The case is a useful reminder that a university wearing an academic cap does not necessarily stop being a creditor, and withholding a transcript can be debt collection just as surely as sending a collection letter.