BARBARA C. LATTA and NORMA B. ELLIS, Plaintiffs, v. JAMES L. "RIP" RAINEY, JR., Defendant., 202 N.C. App. 587

Summary

A corporation sold mobile billboard investments. The investors purchased units from the agent. They filed suit against him, alleging securities fraud, negligent misrepresentation, common law fraud, and conversion. The court of appeals held that the agent's testimony raised a triable issue of fact concerning the number of investors in North Carolina. Therefore, the trial court properly submitted the issue to the jury to determine whether the agent met his burden of proof under the North Carolina Securities Act, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 78A-18(b) (2009). The jury's finding that the agent violated the Act, N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 78A-8 and 78A-56 (2009), which were subject to the three-year statute of limitations, § 78A-56(f), supported its verdict. The investors not only asserted claims under the Act, N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 78A-24 and 78A-36 (2009), but also brought a claim for securities fraud under §§ 78A-8 and 78A-56. The jury could reasonably infer from the evidence that the agent's failure to ...