Rick Pinto and Britney Millisor recently were successful in the N.C. Court of Appeals in defending a large fire loss claim brought by Intrepid Direct Insurance stemming from a fire at a Hardee’s in Stanley County, NC. The case is Intrepid Direct Insurance Agency v. Amerex Corp. and Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, LLC, Case No. COA 24-583.

On behalf of Pye-Barker, Rick and Britney contended that the subrogated plaintiff as named in the lawsuit, Intrepid Direct Insurance Agency, was not the real party in interest and was not the party that paid the loss of the property owner, Morning Star, LLC. At the trial court level, Rick and Britney filed motions to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, arguing that Plaintiff Intrepid Direct Insurance Agency, the broker for the insurance policy, was without standing to bring the initial Complaint because that company was not the proper party, and instead, Intrepid Direct Insurance Company was the proper party. They pointed out that while the companies were owned by the same people, they were distinct corporations and could not be substituted for each other on a motion by Plaintiff. They further argued that since the statute of limitations had run at the time Plaintiff moved to amend its complaint, such an amendment would be futile since the claims would not relate back to the original filing.  

The Trial Court agreed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed, stating that “[u]ltimately, Intrepid Agency was inadvertently named as Plaintiff instead of Intrepid Insurance at the time of the complaint’s filing, a mistake that deprived the trial court of subject-matter jurisdiction over the proceedings. Lacking subject-matter jurisdiction, the trial court was not authorized to rule upon Intrepid Agency’s motion to amend, and moreover, was bound to dismiss this matter.”