Patrick Aul

Patrick McQuillan Aul focuses his practice on first-party and third-party insurance coverage litigation. He has substantial experience litigating issues relating to property and liability policies. He also routinely handles bad faith claims and litigation.

He has been involved in multi-million dollar coverage disputes relating to hurricane and wind damage, fire losses, construction defects, toxic mold exposure, and primary and excess policies. Patrick also often analyzes and provides opinions to insurance company clients on a wide variety of coverage issues, particularly in the first-party context.

In addition, Patrick has experience handling a variety of general civil litigation matters, including complex and catastrophic insurance defense cases, employment related claims, and commercial disputes. He has represented insurers and businesses in all stages of litigation in both trial and appellate courts.

He received his J.D. with honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law. During law school, he was a published staff member and editor-in-chief of the North Carolina Banking Institute Journal. He earned his B.A. with distinction in history and political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill prior to attending law school.

EXPERIENCE :

• Assisted with multiple successful dispositive motions on behalf of various clients facing employment related claims in North Carolina’s U.S. District Courts.
• Achieved dismissal of claims brought by an incarcerated plaintiff under Section 1983, the Federal Right to Privacy Act, the North Carolina Financial Privacy Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Truth in Lending Act from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
• Secured a dismissal of an appeal from the North Carolina Court of Appeals on jurisdictional and procedural grounds and, in the alternative, an affirmation of summary judgment as to the claims at issue in the matter on substantive grounds.
• Secured an affirmation of summary judgment from the North Carolina Court of Appeals in favor of appraisers and against real property purchasers who had brought claims of negligence, negligent misrepresentation, unfair trade practices, and civil conspiracy in connection with a failed subdivision development plan.
• Secured a complete dismissal of a plaintiff’s action from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina as a sanction for discovery abuses and violation of court orders, which dismissal was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

EDUCATION :

• University of North Carolina School of Law, J.D., with honors, 2009
• University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, B.A., with high distinction, 2006

BAR ADMISSIONS : North Carolina

COURT ADMISSIONS :

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• U.S. District Court — Eastern District of North Carolina
• U.S. District Court — Middle District of North Carolina
• U.S. District Court — Western District of North Carolina

AFFILIATIONS :

• North Carolina State Bar
• North Carolina Bar Association
• Appellate Rules Committee, North Carolina Bar Association, 2017-2018
• Twenty-Sixth Judicial District of North Carolina Bar
• Mecklenburg County Bar Association
• Hospitality Law Practice Group, ALFA International, 2013-2015
• North Carolina Banking Institute, Board of Directors, 2008-2010