News

Court Rules on Discrimination Appeal

RALEIGH — Should a department head review an administrative appeal in a personnel matter in which he or she is personally accused of discrimination? The answer, says the N.C. Court of Appeals may be “yes.” Valerie Enoch, a black female, applied in 2001 for a promotion in the Alamance County Department of Social Services but a white male received the position. Enoch argued that she was the victim of racial and gender discrimination. An administrative law judge sided with the agency. The case then went to the Alamance DSS for a final determination, with the supervisor ruling on her own decision. Enoch contended that the procedure violated her due process rights.

Michael Lowrey
News

Court Rules on “Protected Class”

RALEIGH — In an April 20 decision, a divided panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower-court ruling that state employment law does not recognize domestic-abuse victims as a protected class. Soon after James Imes‘ wife shot him in a domestic dispute, he was fired from his job as a bus driver. He alleges that a supervisor informed him that the termination was because he was a victim of domestic violence. Under the state’s “at will” doctrine, an employer can legally fire a worker for virtually any reason — except on grounds that would violate an established public policy. The court rejectted Imes’ claim to qualify for the exception.

Michael Lowrey
News

Court Upholds NC Gun Ban for Felons

RALEIGH — A U.S. appeals court has upheld a 1995 change in North Carolina law limiting the right of felons to own handguns. Significantly, in doing so, the Richmond-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the law can be applied even against those convicted of felonies before the General Assembly’s passage of a 1995 amendment, which transformed a previous five-year ban on felons possessing handguns into a lifelong ban. The felon had challenged the retroactive application of the ban as an ex post facto law. But courts have distinguished between retroactive punishment, which is unconstitutional, and retroactive civil laws, which are not.

Michael Lowrey
News

When Is A Traffic Stop Legit?

RALEIGH — Is remaining stopped eight to 10 seconds at a traffic light after it turns green but otherwise not doing anything wrong enough justification for a cop to pull a motorist over? The answer, according to a March 2 decision by the N.C. Court of Appeals, is that it is not. The critical issue, the Court of Appeals noted, is whether a driver’s actions give rise to a “reasonable, articulable suspicion that criminal activity may be afoot.” While the standard for what constitutes such a suspicion is low, the N.C. Supreme Court has ruled that it must have some objective element and be more than an “unparticularized suspicion or hunch.”

Michael Lowrey
News

Appeals Court Open Door to Liability

RALEIGH — The North Carolina Court of Appeals has overturned a ruling absolving the N.C. Department of Transportation of liability in the deaths of two women in a car crash on Interstate 85. The women’s estates had contended that the NCDOT should be held liable for not installing median barriers on I-85, something the agency did do, after four years of inaction, in response to the accident. In returning the case to the N.C. Industrial Commission for reconsideration, the appeals court required that it consider the risk of injury against cost and budget considerations to determine whether the NCDOT's actions were negligent.

Michael Lowrey

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“Loser Pays” Already Used in Land Cases

RALEIGH — In general, each side of a legal dispute in North Carolina covers its own costs in pursuing or defending against lawsuits. The General Assembly has, however, approved some exceptions to this rule. One applies in condemnation proceedings, in which it is possible for the winning side to make the loser pay its costs. But it is not clear which specific costs can be recovered. A new N.C. Court of Appeals ruling on the subject, by the judges’ own admission, may only add to the confusion.

Michael Lowrey
News

NC Court Allows School Merger

CHARLOTTE — The North Carolina Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower-court ruling allowing the consolidation of the Kings Mountain School District into Cleveland County schools. The ruling comes after the Kings Mountain School Board and local parents challenged the merger, contending that it did not follow proper procedure. Three districts traditionally have existed in Cleveland County: Cleveland County Schools, Shelby City Schools, and Kings Mountain District Schools. In 2000, the State Board of Education approved a merger plan adopted by the Cleveland County Commission to combine the three districts.

Michael Lowrey
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