Labor & Employment – Public Employees – Civil Practice – Administrative – Judicial Review — Writ of Certiorari

Gasper v. Board of Trustees (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-16-0180, 12 pp.) (Robert N. Hunter Jr., J.) Appealed from Wake County Superior Court. (Howard E. Manning Jr., J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Click here for full-text opinion.

Holding: Since there were no policies provided by Halifax Community College or by statute to establish procedures for the review of a decision by HCC’s board of trustees to dismiss an employee, in order to obtain judicial review of his termination, plaintiff could only petition for writ of certiorari. The superior court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiff’s complaint.

We affirm the superior court’s order granting defendant’s motion to dismiss under N.C. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1).

Although Judge Jolly had already denied defendant’s summary judgment motion when Judge Manning granted defendant’s Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss, the summary judgment motion did not raise, and Judge Jolly did not rule upon, the issue of subject matter jurisdiction. Judge Manning’s ruling did not contradict Judge Jolly’s previous ruling.