Blog posts | Your North Carolina Bankruptcy Expert

By Ed Boltz, 20 April, 2026

N.C. S. Ct.: Warren v. Cielo Ventures- Contract Trumps Statute of Limitations for UDTPA Claim

Summary:

In Warren v. Cielo Ventures, the North Carolina Supreme Court delivers a sharply divided opinion on whether a contractual one-year limitation period can override the four-year statute of limitations for claims under the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (UDTPA).

The majority (Justice Berger) answers that question with a firm yes.

By Ed Boltz, 17 April, 2026

N.C. Ct. of App.: Yurk v. Terra Center- Possession may be 9/10ths of the Law, but Holding It Hostage Gets Expensive

Summary:

The Court of Appeals largely affirmed a substantial judgment against a storage operator that:

Took and held a debtor’s property for over three years
Moved it multiple times
Refused return unless the owner signed a liability release

Result:

Conversion, trespass to chattels, and UDTPA → affirmed

By Ed Boltz, 16 April, 2026

N.C. Ct. of App.: Figueroa v. Monsivais: When Dirt Meets Equity: Unrecorded Deals, “Desperate” Sellers, and the Limits of North Carolina’s Race Recording Statute

Summary:

The Figueroa v. Monsivais decision reads like a law school exam question—but with very real consequences for families who paid cash, moved in, and still ended up without title.

The Setup: Cash Paid, Possession Taken—But Nothing Recorded

By Ed Boltz, 15 April, 2026

Bankr. W.D.N.C.: Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants v. DBMP- Attorney-Client Privilege Issues in Bankruptcy

Summary:

What Judge Edwards has done in the DBMP decision—and what In re Wolbert foreshadowed years earlier—is to remind us that attorney-client privilege in bankruptcy is not a static shield. It is a conditional protection, one that can erode—sometimes quickly—once the debtor crosses the line from considering bankruptcy to committing to it.

And that line matters.

By Ed Boltz, 14 April, 2026

Law Review: Herrine, Luke, The Destabilizing Politics of Student Debt (February 09, 2026). Forthcoming in Illinois Law Review

Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6378922

By Ed Boltz, 14 April, 2026

4th Cir.: Cook v. Trustee- Fourth Circuit Reins in Equitable Mootness in Chapter 13 — And Quietly Preserves Appellate Rights Post-Bullard

Summary:

The Cook v. Chapter 13 Trustee decision is one of those deceptively modest Chapter 13 cases that, on closer inspection, carries outsized importance for consumer practitioners.

By Stafford Patterson, 13 April, 2026

Law Review (Note): C. Sam D’Alba- Defining the Undefined: Reimagining the “Undue Hardship” Standard in Light of Its Harmonious Interpretation

Available at: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/lawreview/vol99/iss3/7/

Abstract:

Drupal blog posts

N.C. S. Ct.: Warren v. Cielo Ventures- Contract Trumps Statute of Limitations for UDTPA Claim

Summary:

N.C. Ct. of App.: Yurk v. Terra Center- Possession may be 9/10ths of the Law, but Holding It Hostage Gets Expensive

Summary:

N.C. Ct. of App.: Figueroa v. Monsivais: When Dirt Meets Equity: Unrecorded Deals, “Desperate” Sellers, and the Limits of North Carolina’s Race Recording Statute

Bankr. W.D.N.C.: Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants v. DBMP- Attorney-Client Privilege Issues in Bankruptcy

Law Review: Herrine, Luke, The Destabilizing Politics of Student Debt (February 09, 2026). Forthcoming in Illinois Law Review

4th Cir.: Cook v. Trustee- Fourth Circuit Reins in Equitable Mootness in Chapter 13 — And Quietly Preserves Appellate Rights Post-Bullard

Bankr. W.D.N.C. : In re Perez- No Shortcuts to Appeal—Rule 54(b) Requires More Than “Magic Words” in Perez Adversary

EDNC: Steinke. v Harris ventures- “Effective Date” Means Confirmation — and Post-Petition Events Matter

W.D.N.C.: Carter .v Primelending- Another Foreclosure, Another Federal Detour

Law Review (Note): C. Sam D’Alba- Defining the Undefined: Reimagining the “Undue Hardship” Standard in Light of Its Harmonious Interpretation