In a unanimous decision on December 5, 2023, the state Court of Appeals threw out an injunction and a charging order related to a $600 million judgment against Lindberg.
The Appellate judges took a significant step by overturning an injunction and charging order that had previously imposed restrictions on the amount of money Lindberg could withdraw from the limited liability corporations under his ownership or control. The unresolved concerns raised by the Appeals Court now shift the focus to a Durham County judge who will need to address and navigate the intricacies of the case.
Appeals Court judges agreed that ULICO failed to follow the proper procedure to secure an injunction against Lindberg.
“The officer who signed the writ checked a box stating, ‘I did not serve this Writ of Execution,’ and he made a separate handwritten notation: ‘Per plaintiff’s attorney, writ requested to be served unsatisfied,’” Judge Jeff Carpenter wrote for the Appeals Court. “Further, the writ shows the date of receipt and date of return are the same: 21 September 2022.”
“In other words, Plaintiff merely asked the deputy to check a box and return the writ — a far cry from the required attempted execution,” Carpenter added. “Because Plaintiff did not attempt to execute the writ, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to enter the Injunction.”
Appeals Court judges also questioned the charging order. “Defendant argues the Charging Order is erroneous because it includes LLCs in which Defendant has no ‘economic interest.’ We agree,” Carpenter wrote.
“There are discrepancies in the record concerning the number of LLCs in which Defendant has an economic interest,” Carpenter explained. “Defendant does not challenge the validity of the Charging Order concerning 73 LLCs, as Defendant admits to being a member of those companies. Plaintiff, on the other hand, says Defendant is a member or manager of 190 LLCs, and has an economic interest in the remainder. An affidavit filed with the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, by a third-party licensed attorney, lists 329 LLCs of which Defendant is a member or manager. Yet the Charging Order says Defendant has an ‘economic interest’ in 626 LLCs.”
“There is conflicting evidence in the record concerning how many LLCs Defendant is a member of, but all evidence suggests it is fewer than 626,” Carpenter wrote. “And there is nothing in the record detailing how many ‘economic interests’ have been legally assigned to Defendant.”
O’Foghludha “erred by including 626 LLCs in the Charging Order,” the appellate judges determined. “The record indicates Defendant was an interest owner in far fewer. On remand, the trial court must reduce the number of LLCs in the Charging Order to the number of LLCs of which Defendant is a member or an assignee of an economic interest.”
Additional coverage:
Lindberg notches win in $500 million insurance case
WRAL News
December 5, 2023
https://www.wral.com/story/lindberg-notches-win-in-500-million-insurance-case/21181856/
