The motion, however, did not state how any of these rules applied to the facts of this case. The trial court denied Defendants' motion for new trial. The record does not contain the trial court's ruling on Defendants' motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. I Defendants argue they were entitled to a directed verdict on the issues of waiver, novation, and estoppel because Plaintiffpresented no evidence of these equitable defenses. A defendant is entitled to a directed verdict when, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, there is no substantial evidence to support the plaintiff's claim.
Defendants first contend the record contains no evidence of waiver.
A noteholder who repeatedly accepts late installments will be held to have waived the right to accelerate the debt on that ground unless the payor is first notified that prompt payment will be required in the future. 63 N.C. App. 116 N.C. App. Plaintiff's schedule of payments, however, shows that, other than in the first year, Plaintiff did not make his payments according to the payment schedule provided for in the note. Rather, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, the record establishes a pattern of approximately seventy-two payments made at various times for various amounts.