Obtained dismissal of a $24 million lawsuit filed against Cooperative Bank of Wilmington

CHRIS HINNANT (Wilmington) and MELODY JOLLY (Wilmington) obtained dismissal of a $24 million lawsuit filed against Cooperative Bank of Wilmington, now First Bank, in the federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.  The complaint in the case – over 200 pages and 1300 paragraphs long – was filed on behalf of 130 purchasers of lots in coastal development communities in North Carolina and South Carolina, and named Cooperative as a defendant along with developers, marketers, six other mortgage lender banks, and others.  The plaintiffs alleged violations by Cooperative of the Interstate Land Sales Act (ILSA), the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, as well as conspiracy and fraud.  The seven lender banks and one developer moved for dismissal of all claims. MR. HINNANT AND MS. JOLLY produced memoranda in support of dismissal based upon extensive research and drafting by MS. JOLLY , sorting out and analyzing complex issues of jurisdiction, statutory construction, conspiracy, and fraud raised by the lengthy complaint.  On August 28 2009, U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee dismissed all claims against Cooperative and the other lending banks, with prejudice and without leave to amend.