NEWS
JURY PUNISHES SALON OWNERS FOR DIVERTING FUNDS FROM LLC MEMBER WITH CANCER
April 22, 2026—A Brunswick County jury hit two hair salon owners with $191,000 in compensatory damages and $700,000 in punitive damages to a Reiss & Nutt client.
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The verdict came after a trial that began April 14 in the lawsuit filed by Sherilyn Higgins, a partner in Oak & Ivy, LLC, a Calabash salon that more recently became Evolution Hair Design.
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This is a great victory for Sherilyn, a wonderful client and someone who could not be more deserving of justice and vindication.
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The jury found that Bruce and Rhonda Anders, who are married and controlled the company, had conspired to remove Sherilyn as an owner after she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer, which required treatment while she also was carrying her first child. The evidence showed Rhonda Anders belittled Sherilyn and her health condition among others and falsely told clients that she had quit without notice, when in fact they had removed her as a member of the limited liability company with her knowledge.
The jury found the Anders diverted profits to themselves, withheld profits from Sherilyn, and defamed her to sever her client relationships.
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APPEALS COURT AFFIRMS SEVERE SANCTIONS
June 18, 2024—The North Carolina Court of Appeals on Tuesday declined to overrule severe sanctions a trial judge entered at the request of Reiss & Nutt against opponents caught manufacturing evidence and committing other procedural violations shortly before trial.
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The Court of Appeals affirmed an order striking the three offending parties’ answers to claims that they took advantage of an elderly and incompetent man to obtain his 141 acres of land in Chatham County.
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Reiss & Nutt represents Randy Vickrey, best friend of Julius Woody and the trustee of a trust that held title to the elder man’s family farm. Vickrey has been fighting a legal war against three people who convinced Woody, age 88 at the time, to deed over his land after moving onto his property and convincing him that his family and friends were his enemies.
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Within a month of the trio led by Chad Gaines, an active-duty military police officer, moving onto Woody’s property, Woody executed numerous legal instruments meant to transfer his property to Gaines. Vickrey took steps to protect his friend’s property and litigation ensued.
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A forensic psychiatrist has determined that Woody was not competent and was under the influence of the interlopers when he executed the deeds and other instruments.
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Reiss & Nutt discovered that photographs the opposing parties produced to show conditions on Woody’s property long before the litigation began were actually taken much later. The trio also withheld important documents that should have been produced in discovery and pled the Fifth Amendment in their depositions. The Trial Court faulted Gaines for invoking his right to remain silent until after having an opportunity to see all the evidence and then giving testimony on his own behalf.
A Superior Court judge ruled in June of 2022 that discovery violations warranted the most powerful sanction available—striking the opponents’ answers to Vickrey’s claims, leaving only issues of damages for trial.
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The case began in 2017. Since a guardian ad litem was appointed for Woody and Vickrey regained control over the property during the litigation, Woody has reunited with many members of his family and community.
AD AGENCY, OWNER PAY, AVOID FRAUD TRIAL
January 30, 2024—An advertising agent, her company, and her parents agreed on Monday to pay Wilmington-based Plan A Advertising, LLC a $100,000 settlement to avoid trial on fraud, contract interference, and other claims.
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Laura Gates, formerly known as Laura Kinkead, her company Cobalt Creative & Marketing, LLC, and her parents agreed to pay voluntarily rather than face a jury in a trial set to begin that morning.
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Plan A, represented by Reiss & Nutt, accused Gates in a lawsuit of fabricating invoices that she submitted for payment by Plan A clients but were really to purchase musical equipment for another defendant, Taylor Lee. Lee is a local bass player with whom Gates, then working for Plan A, had a personal relationship. Lee resold most of the equipment.
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Plan A’s owner, Angi Israel, terminated Gates, informed the affected clients, and credited accounts for the musical equipment.
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Gates then formed Cobalt, a competing marketing agency, installing her mother as owner and her father as vice president. Plan A alleged Gates violated a non-solicitation agreement by taking clients with her, and that she and Cobalt caused some of those clients not to pay outstanding invoices they owed to Plan A—but to pay Cobalt instead.
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W. Cory Reiss, lead counsel for Plan A, said Gates could have settled for a fraction of the final amount if she had seen the light sooner.
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Minutes before trial was to begin, Gates initiated settlement discussions. She did not admit liability.
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“Paying $100,000 to avoid a jury,” Reiss said, “doesn’t advertise confidence in a favorable verdict.”