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Meet Our Professionals

Brian D. Darer

Partner
Raleigh | 919.890.4170
Fax | 919.835.4540

With more than 20 years of experience, Brian Darer has successfully represented creditors in hundreds of bankruptcies, foreclosures, and workouts. He is a North Carolina State Bar board certified specialist in business bankruptcy. He has substantial experience litigating in federal and state courts, as well as arbitration, mediation, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.

His clients include Fortune 500 companies, national, regional and community banks, nontraditional lenders, finance companies, and lessors.

Brian is also a successful advocate for construction industry professionals, including owners, contractors, architects, and engineers, on all aspects of a construction project such as contract negotiation, litigation and arbitration.

Representative Experience

  • Represented a national bank in multiple bankruptcies filed by related developers and builders in North Carolina and South Carolina; successfully argued issues over the use of cash collateral generated by the sale of homes and lots, and defeated the debtors’ challenge to the bank’s loan documents, ultimately leading to the grant of relief from the automatic stay and foreclosure of the bank’s collateral.
  • Successfully represented an unsecured creditors committee in a large bankruptcy filed by a technology-based company; achieved a 100 percent dividend payout to all unsecured creditors – an increase from an estimated 20 percent when the case was originally filed.
  • Advised various banking institutions on hundreds of out-of-court workouts, obtaining favorable and timely results without the legal expenses associated with protracted court battles in state, federal, and bankruptcy courts.
  • Represented several businesses purchasing the assets of a bankrupt entity through a § 363 sale; negotiated and drafted asset purchase agreements and represented clients in bankruptcy court seeking approval of the sales.
  • Successfully represented a regional bank on an appeal from an order of the bankruptcy court confirming a debtor’s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization; successfully represented the bank on appeal, resulting in a reversal of the order confirming the plan.
  • Defended an international engineering company in a large construction dispute concerning delay claims in connection with the construction of a bridge – claims against the client alleged that design defects caused delays and cost overruns; successfully resolved the matter on terms favorable to the client.
  • Obtained a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent the purported general manager and operating manager of a company from acting without the consent of the majority of the company’s management committee. The management dispute put at risk the ability of approximately 150 Chinese nationals to obtain permanent residence status in the U.S. through green cards.
  • Reversed a “partial dirt for debt” Plan of Reorganization confirmation. SunTrust Bank v. Bannerman Holdings, LLC (In re: Bannerman Holdings, LLC), 7:11-CV-00009-H (E.D.N.C. 2011)
  • Reversed a dismissal of a lender’s federal court action to compel arbitration, finding that the lender had standing to compel arbitration. Republic Bank & Trust Co. v. Kucan, 2007 WL 2376927 (4th Cir. 2007)
  • Reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of a blasting subcontractor regarding whether the general contractor could assume the risk of blasting. Vecellio & Grogan, Inc. v. Piedmont Drilling & Blasting, Inc., 644 S.E.2d 16 (N.C. App. 2007)
  • Successfully represented a client in a case affirming grant of judgment on the pleadings in favor of surety on a payment bond. Beachcrete, Inc. v. Water Street Center Associates, L.L.C., 615 S.E.2d 719 (N.C. App. 2005)

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Honors & Awards

  • The Best Lawyers in America in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2021-2025
  • North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Business Bankruptcy
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers in Bankruptcy/Restructuring, 2010-2024
  • Business North Carolina magazine’s “Legal Elite” in Bankruptcy, 2010-2011, 2014, 2019, 2022
  • North Carolina Super Lawyers, 2011-2020, 2024; Rising Star, 2009-2010
  • North Carolina Bar Association "Citizen Lawyer," 2007
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent™ in Bankruptcy; Construction Law
  • Order of the Coif
  • Virginia Law Review

Memberships

  • North Carolina Creditors Bar Association, Membership Chair, 2017
  • North Carolina Bar Association Bankruptcy Section, Former Council Member