Rockingham County asks NC Supreme Court to toss casino-related rezoning lawsuit

Rockingham County’s attorneys filed a legal brief on July 20 asking the North Carolina Supreme Court to throw out a lawsuit challenging a 192-acre rezoning tied to a controversial casino project, according to WBT Charlotte.

The high court agreed last month to hear the case, Camp Carefree v. Rockingham County, after a unanimous three-judge Court of Appeals panel ruled in July 2025 that the suit could move forward, WBT reported. A trial judge had previously dismissed the lawsuit in 2024.

The suit was brought by operators of Camp Carefree, a nearby summer camp for children with chronic illnesses, along with other neighboring property owners and businesses who argued the county moved too broadly when it rezoned the 192-acre parcel from residential-agricultural to highway commercial in 2023, allowing uses, including a potential casino, that were previously prohibited in the area, according to WBT.

The central legal question before the high court is whether plaintiffs challenging a zoning decision must demonstrate “special damages” to establish standing to sue, WBT reported. County attorneys argued the appellate ruling contradicted longstanding precedent, citing a 1976 court decision, Taylor v. Raleigh, which addressed the standard for determining standing in legislative zoning challenges. The county warned that easing the standing threshold could trigger a wave of zoning challenges statewide, WBT reported.