Property rights - Carolina Journal

State Supreme Court ruling promotes property rights, school choice

A decision promoting the "free use of land" ends up helping a charter school developer win a court fight with the town of Wake Forest.

Mitch Kokai

NC Senate can get back to business by passing protections from squatters

HB 984 proposes much-needed reforms that would simplify the eviction process, reduce the administrative burden on homeowners, and ensure that NC’s laws align with the realities of today’s housing market.

Thom Goolsby

Courts must rein in the North Carolina zoning police

Inherent in the right to own and possess property is the right to use it. And North Carolina cities and towns would be much better off if courts and local governments respected that right.

Ari Bargil

Unanimous NC Supreme Court revives lawsuit challenging Kinston condemnations

The state Supreme Court will allow plaintiffs to move forward with a lawsuit challenging Kinston’s condemnation program as racially discriminatory. The unanimous high court ruling Friday overturns a decision from North Carolina’s second-highest court.

Lawmakers file ‘anti-squatter’ legislation to protect the rights of property owners

Lawmakers file legislation that would protect the rights of private property owners.

Katherine Zehnder

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State Supreme Court skeptical of mandatory buffer for Orange County horse farm

Questions during oral arguments Wednesday suggest the North Carolina Supreme Court does not favor mandating a 30-foot buffer between an Orange County subdivision and a neighboring horse farm. Plaintiff Alison Arter sued the county and property owners involved with the Array subdivision in 2021.

With 580th case settled, NC land owners can finally move on from the MAP Act

Often at the end of something, one thinks about how it began. For me and my partners Paul Hendrick and Tim Nerhood, that “something” is 15 years of litigation against the North Carolina Department of Transportation over the Map Act — the law that allowed the NC DOT to reserve land for highways without paying for...

Matthew Bryant

Apex, property owner wage sewer pipe fight at highest NC court

The town of Apex and property owner Beverly Rubin have filed their latest competing briefs in their state Supreme Court battle over a disputed sewer pipe. Prior court rulings dating back to 2016 from Judge Elaine O’Neal determined that the town installed the pipe illegally under Rubin’s property. Rubin wants the pipe moved. The town argues that she must settle for compensation instead.

PLF, trial lawyers back homeowner in Apex sewer pipe fight

The Pacific Legal Foundation and North Carolina Advocates for Justice are supporting a homeowner in her dispute with Apex over a sewer pipe. The dispute has reached North Carolina’s highest court.

Apex, property owner prepare for sewer pipe fight at NC Supreme Court

Apex and a local property owner submitted written arguments to the state’s highest court this week in a nine-year battle over a disputed sewer pipe. The state Supreme Court agreed in October to take up the property rights case pitting the Wake County town against Beverly Rubin. The town had requested a Supreme Court review in 2021.

Map Act plaintiff opposes DOT appeal in Wake County case

A Wake County property owner involved in a Map Act dispute with the North Carolina Department of Transportation opposes DOT’s request to take the case to North Carolina’s second-highest court.