Wal-Mart Stores East, Inc. v. Hinton

STROUD, Judge.

Plaintiff Wal-Mart Stores East, Inc. appeals from an order entered 4 January 2008 granting summary judgment in favor of defendant. We affirm.

I. Background

Viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, the evidence tended to show the following facts: 1

Plaintiff Wal-Mart Stores East, Inc. (“W-M SEI”) operates WalMart retail stores in North Carolina and in 29 other states. At all times relevant to this action, plaintiff was wholly owned by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (“W-M SI”), a publicly traded corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

At the beginning of 1996, all of the…