concurring.
I concur in the majority opinion in full and write separately only to reiterate that our decision in this case should not be perceived as being inconsistent with the holding in Watson v. Dixon, 130 N.C. App. 47, 502 S.E.2d 15 (1998). To the extent that the Watson Court’s statement that “Rules 50 and 59 of our Rules of Civil Procedure implicitly provide that these post-trial motions cannot be filed until after entry of judgment” was not necessary to a determination of the issue before the Court, Watson, N.C. App. at 51, 502 S.E.2d at 19, said statement was dicta and, therefore, is not binding on the specific issue addressed in Section IV.A. of the opinion in the present case.