108 Grace, LLC v. Riverbend 1, LLC

CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedJune 3, 2026
Docket25-659
StatusUnpublished
AuthorJudge April Wood

This text of 108 Grace, LLC v. Riverbend 1, LLC (108 Grace, LLC v. Riverbend 1, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
108 Grace, LLC v. Riverbend 1, LLC, (N.C. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute controlling legal authority. Citation is disfavored, but may be permitted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 30(e)(3) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA

No. COA25-659

Filed 3 June 2026

New Hanover County, No. 22CVS004378-640

108 GRACE, LLC, Plaintiff,

v.

RIVERBEND #1, LLC, Defendant.

Appeal by Plaintiff from judgments entered 7 February 2025 and 26 March

2025 by Judge Quintin McGee in New Hanover County Superior Court. Heard in the

Court of Appeals 26 February 2026.

Equitas Law Partners LLP, by Thomas S. Babel and Corrie Faith Lee, for the Plaintiff-Appellant.

Murchison, Taylor & Gibson, PLLC, by Andrew K. McVey and John H. Anderson, Jr., for the Defendant-Appellee.

WOOD, Judge.

108 Grace, LLC (“Plaintiff”), appeals from judgment entered following a jury

verdict and subsequent judgment entered denying its motion for judgment

notwithstanding the verdict (“JNOV”) or in the alternative a new trial or amendment

to judgment. On appeal, Plaintiff argues the trial court erred by denying its motion 108 GRACE, LLC V. RIVERBEND #1, LLC

Opinion of the Court

for a directed verdict, overruling its objection to a jury instruction, and denying its

motion for JNOV or in the alternative for a new trial or amendment to judgment. For

the reasons stated herein, we affirm the trial court’s judgments.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

In 2015, Riverbend #1, LLC (“Defendant”) initiated negotiations to purchase a

parking lot (“Property”) from Plaintiff. Plaintiff operates as an entity to buy and hold

real estate; the Property was utilized by Louis Allen Ross (“Ross”), a marketeer of

plastic and glass laboratory supplies for analytical chemistry instruments, as parking

for himself, visiting customers, and visiting suppliers. The Property contains

fourteen parking spaces, but allegedly could be configured for more. Defendant

sought to acquire the Property and other real estate surrounding it to build a Publix

grocery store and parking deck. On 31 December 2015, James Kirkpatrick

(“Kirkpatrick”), the sole member of Defendant, electronically signed a purchase

agreement (“Contract”) for the Property on behalf of Defendant; Ross signed on behalf

of Plaintiff as Member Manager. Parties used North Carolina Realtors’ Standard

Form 580-T, consisting of eight pages, as the template for the Contract. Plaintiff

purports the Contract includes an additional page of terms of the agreement labeled

“Exhibit B.” During negotiations each party was represented by a real estate agent;

Michael Rokoski (“Realtor Rokoski”) represented Defendant and Todd Toconis

(“Realtor Toconis”) represented Plaintiff.

On 29 January 2016, a general warranty deed was recorded transferring the

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Property from Plaintiff to Defendant. Defendant never developed the Property and

Plaintiff continued to use it as it had prior to the transfer of title. In 2022, Plaintiff

learned Defendant planned to sell the Property and other surrounding parcels to New

Hanover County (“County”).

After learning about the impending sale of the Property, Plaintiff filed a notice

of lis pendens on the Property seeking to recover “the twenty-two (22) parking spaces

[from Defendant] as agreed to in the [Contract]” (“Parking Rights”) on 30 December

2022. On 13 January 2023, Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendant alleging

breach of contract and requesting specific performance. Plaintiff alleged the Contract

entered into on 31 December 2015 incorporated the terms and conditions set forth in

“Exhibit B,” thus, under the terms of the Contract:

Defendant agreed to provide to Plaintiff a lease for “twenty- two (22) parking spaces” on the Property. The lease was for parking spaces in a parking structure that was to be built by Defendant on the Property and the term of the lease was for a “term of ninety-nine years, subject to three automatic renewal extensions for a period of ninety-nine years each.” During the time period before the parking structure was built, Defendant agreed to allow Plaintiff “exclusive and continuous use of the Property” and “if during construction overlap Buyer will pay for Seller’s parking up to 22 spaces short term in the public deck if Buyer cannot provide comparable parking during construction.”

The complaint further alleged that the Contract included for the Parking Rights to

be “included as a restriction in the vesting deed to Buyer.” However, no restrictions

were included in the 29 January 2016 deed which transferred title.

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Plaintiff alleges that on or about 22 November 2022, counsel notified

Defendant of the omission of the Parking Rights in the deed and requested a new

deed or other instrument be recorded to correct the omission and protect Plaintiff’s

Parking Rights as set out in Exhibit B. Plaintiff asserts it filed the lis pendens and

the complaint because it was under the belief Defendant would not correct the alleged

error. Plaintiff attached a copy of the Contract and Exhibit B to the complaint; this

copy of Exhibit B contains an electronic signature purportedly belonging to

Kirkpatrick timestamped within minutes of the electronic signatures on eight pages

of the Contract.

On 6 February 2023, Plaintiff filed its first amended complaint adding a second

cause of action for a declaratory judgment asserting Plaintiff was entitled to a

declaration that “(a) the Contract, and the lease therein, is a legally enforceable

agreement; (b) Plaintiff has the Parking Rights; and (c) Defendant has an obligation

to record a memorandum of lease, deed restriction, easement, and other encumbrance

on the Property whereby the Parking Rights are protected.”

On 16 February 2023, Defendant filed a motion to cancel notice of lis pendens

alleging that Exhibit B was not part of the Contract, Exhibit B was not executed

under seal, and the applicable statute of limitations has run. Further, Defendant

alleged “[t]here currently is no parking structure on the property. Thus, there is no

lease in effect and, if Plaintiff’s contentions are wholly accepted by the Court as true,

what Plaintiff currently has is nothing more than a right to use the property of

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unspecified duration.” Defendant further asserts Plaintiff’s counsel prepared the

deed that transferred title, thus, it was Plaintiff’s responsibility to include the

restrictions contained in Exhibit B in the deed.

On 13 March 2023, Plaintiff filed a second amended complaint to include

additional factual allegations and that Defendant has “breached, or anticipatorily

breached, the Contract.” On 15 March 2023, the trial court entered an order denying

the motion to cancel lis pendens and certified it as affecting a substantial right. On

3 April 2023, Plaintiff filed a motion to amend its complaint after Defendant objected

to the filing of the second amended complaint. The motion states that on 28 March

2023 parties conducted early mediation but concluded in an impasse. Plaintiff’s

motion to amend was granted.

In April 2023, Defendant and the County executed an amendment to their

initial purchase agreement which carved out the Property from the other parcels

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
108 Grace, LLC v. Riverbend 1, LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/108-grace-llc-v-riverbend-1-llc-ncctapp-2026.