Overview
Ben has a wealth of experience representing clients across a wide array of industries and has dedicated significant time in recent years defending clients in bankruptcy and employment litigation. His representative and longtime clients hail from the home repair, manufacturing, software, banking, and energy industries.
When a dispute cannot be resolved amicably and litigation is unavoidable, Ben helps his clients navigate the litigation process, primarily in federal court, and develop effective and efficient litigation strategies. Ben’s first step in every new matter is to identify and intricately understand the client’s specific goal(s) for legal action. In knowing where his client wants to be, he can then determine the most favorable solution and effective path to reach that solution. With a firm pulse on clients’ budgets and bottom lines, he ties every aspect of representation directly back to the preestablished end goal.
Ben’s bankruptcy experience includes litigating venue and other jurisdictional disputes, obtaining the appointment of trustees or examiners, obtaining relief from stay, fee and claim objections, contesting plan confirmation, and other contested matters. He has also litigated adversary proceedings involving, among other things, the defense of avoidance or preference actions, priority disputes among competing creditors, and fraudulent transfer actions.
In the employment litigation context, Ben has extensive experience enforcing and defending non-compete and trade secret disputes across the nation. Ben’s experience includes advising his employer clients on the front end regarding the enforceability or unenforceability of a particular non-compete agreement, aggressively pursuing injunctions and damages for violations of a non-compete on behalf of employers, and defending employers against claims from competitors for tortious interference or trade secret allegations resulting from the hiring of a competitor’s employees. Ben also has experience in successfully defending employers in actions alleging, among other things, wrongful termination, negligent hiring or supervision, and unpaid wages.
Ben has litigated in federal and state court trials and has handled appeals to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, the Virginia Court of Appeals, and the Fourth and Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has handled numerous arbitrations before private arbitration forums, including the AAA and FINRA.
Ben has represented individual securities brokers and investment advisors seeking unpaid commissions, minority and majority shareholders of close corporations in business divorce or fiduciary duty cases, employers and employees in matters involving trade secret misappropriation and non-compete enforcement, and buyers and sellers in cases involving undelivered or defective goods and services. Whatever the dispute, Ben seeks to understand his clients’ business and works tirelessly to tailor his litigation style to match their business needs and goals.
Ben launched his law career and established his roots in bankruptcy litigation at a well-respected boutique bankruptcy firm in Charlotte.
Prior to law school, Ben served in the U.S. Air Force for six years as an Airborne Communications Systems Technician flying combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Representative Experience
- Represent private equity and alternative investment firm as secured lender to a prominent Puerto Rico-based hospital in a high-profile chapter 11 proceeding pending in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Puerto Rico. This representation has given rise to potential issues of first impression, as it is highly atypical for a secured creditor to be deprived of notice of a debtor’s proposed sale of the secured creditors’ collateral in chapter 11.
- Represented a complex bankruptcy dispute related to ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings pending in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. The MVA team ultimately successfully negotiated a settlement that resolved the adversary proceeding as well as certain disputes related to the underlying bankruptcy proceedings.
- Portal de Caguas, Inc. v. SL Funding 3, LLC (In re Grupo HIMA San Pablo, Inc.), obtained favorable summary judgment ruling on declaratory judgment claims challenging validity, extent, and priority of secured debt, and vacating DIP financing order as to secured creditor. (Bankr. D.P.R. 2024)
- Teague v. Allen, obtained dismissal of claims asserted by former employee for negligent retention, contribution, and indemnification on a motion to dismiss. (N.C. Super. Ct. 2024)
- Gibson v. McKinley, Inc. et al., obtained summary judgment ruling in favor of employer dismissing claims for negligent hiring, retention, and supervision, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and punitive damages. (N.C. Super. Ct. 2022)
- Wilkinson, et al. v. Sheets, successfully represented purchaser of business obtaining summary judgment dismissing seller’s multiple counterclaims for, among others, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud, and successfully defending seller’s summary judgment motion seeking dismissal of purchaser’s claims for defamation. (N.D. Ind. 2021)
- Prassas Capital, LLC v. Blue Sphere Corp., successfully represented an investment advisor seeking unpaid commissions, obtaining multi-million judgment following a federal jury trial. (W.D.N.C. 2019)
- Settlers Edge Holding Co., LLC v. RES-NC Settlers Edge, lead counsel in state court bench trial in a bet-the- company case with $20 million in dispute. Obtained a favorable verdict following trial, which contributed to a favorable post-trial settlement. (N.C. Super. Ct. 2018)
- Legacy Data Access, Inc. v. Cadrillion, LLC, successfully overturned jury verdict on appeal and obtained dismissal of business torts asserted in conjunction with a contract dispute. (4th 2018)
Notable
Notable
- Best Lawyers in America, Litigation - Bankruptcy "Ones to Watch," 2024-2025
- Business North Carolina Legal Elite, Litigation, 2023
- North Carolina Super Lawyers "Rising Star", 2021-2022
- Active foster parent
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Education
J.D., University of North Carolina School of Law, with Honors, 2012
B.A., University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Psychology and Philosophy, summa cum laude
Admissions
- United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, 2017
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2015
- North Carolina, 2012
- United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, 2012
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina