Free Newsletter
Municipal – County Budget Cuts – Legislative Immunity – Constitutional – First Amendment – Opposition to Ambulance Fees
Kensington Volunteer Fire Dep’t Inc. v. Kurtz A group of local volunteer fire and rescue departments cannot sue county officials on a claim the county reduced funding in retaliation for plaintiffs’ opposition to local legislation; the 4th Circuit affirms dismissal of the suit by the district court, who declined to inquire into defendants’ alleged illicit motive behind an otherwise f[...]
Municipal – Labor & Employment – Workers’ Compensation – Public Employees – Mail Carrier
Hutchins v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor A U.S. Postal Service letter carrier who won a personal-injury lawsuit against a South Carolina town after she fell into a manhole must reimburse the Department of Labor for benefits she received under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act; the 4th Circuit affirms a decision that the town qualifies as a “person other than the U.S.” under 5 U.S.C. [...]
Real Property – Condemnation – Municipal – Railroad Land
Southeast Shortlines, Inc. v. Rutherford Railroad Development Corp. It is true that a “public condemnor” like the defendant-town may condemn the property of a private condemnor, like the plaintiff-railroad, “if such property is not in actual public use or not necessary to the operation of the business of the owner.” G.S. § 40A-5(b). However, title to the subject property does not[...]
Municipal – Zoning – Subdivision Plans – Alterations – Flexible Design Option
ExperienceOne Homes, LLC v. Town of Morrisville After successfully seeking to have their property rezoned, plaintiffs made major alterations in their subdivision’s design: a switch from townhomes to detached single-family homes, increased density, rearrangement of lots, reduced greenspace, altered road placement, and the failure to include a required bridge. Despite switching from townh[...]
Civil Rights – Municipal – Civil Practice – Pleadings – Conclusory Allegations – Tort/Negligence – Battery – Fleeing Suspect – Hit with Car
Purcell v. City of Greensboro Plaintiff makes no factual allegations that the defendant-police officer who ran him down with a patrol car was acting pursuant to a policy of the defendant-city. Mere conclusory allegations are insufficient to state a claim.
Labor & Employment – Public Employees – Civil Rights – First Amendment – Union Affiliation – Municipal – Firefighter – Policymaker
Minnick v. County of Currituck The county board of commissioners has policymaking authority over county personnel matters. Plaintiff has not alleged that the board of commissioners was aware of the alleged constitutional violation (i.e., that he was fired for speaking out about safety violations and for his union affiliation). Plaintiff has presented no evidence that he informed the boar[...]
Constitutional – Freedom of Speech – Municipal – Sign Ordinance – ‘Content Neutral’
Wag More Dogs LLC v. Cozart An Arlington County sign ordinance that required a doggy daycare business to remove a 960-square foot painting of cartoon dogs on the side of the daycare’s business passes constitutional muster as a content-neutral restriction on speech that survives intermediate scrutiny, the 4th Circuit says.
Real Property – Eminent Domain – Sufficient Notice – Beach Nourishment – Civil Practice – Preliminary Injunction — Municipal
Fisher v. Town of Nags Head Plaintiffs, owners of oceanfront properties, sought to preliminarily enjoin a beach nourishment project because the defendant-town did not intend to pay plaintiffs for the easement that the town would need to add sand (and value) to plaintiffs’ properties. The issue of just compensation is one for the condemnation proceeding and not for preliminary injunction[...]
Municipal – Administrative – Privilege License – Taxation – Electronic Gaming Operations
Smith v. City of Fayetteville Electronic gaming operations are legal, and the city has the authority to impose a privilege license tax on legal businesses. But the city may not impose a tax so prohibitively high that it prevents a business owner from conducting a profitable business unless the city can show that the tax was necessary to pay for increased police enforcement, or that the bu[...]
Constitutional – Commerce & Contract Clauses – Real Property – Environmental – Landfill – Municipal – Administrative – Out-of-State Waste
Waste Industries USA v. State New landfill legislation affected in-state and out-of-state waste equally and was rationally related to public health and other benefits. It did not violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Real Property – Municipal – Wrongful Demolition – Mobile Homes – Housing Code Violations – Constitutional – Due Process
Patterson v. City of Gastonia The owners of six demolished mobile homes had adequate alternative remedies for redress of their claim. Someone who is not a property’s owner of record cannot claim that his due process rights were violated because the city failed to investigate his ownership. Finally, mobile home owners cannot bring inverse condemnation claims because mobile homes are pers[...]
Labor & Employment – Wrongful Discharge Claim – Constitutional – Free Speech – Municipal – City Attorney’s Assistant
Cole v. City of Charlotte Where plaintiff denies writing an email that criticized the city attorney’s office, she cannot claim that her right to freedom of speech was violated when she was allegedly fired for writing the email.
Legal Tech
- How ransomware tactics against law firms are changing
- How large language models are leveling the personal injury playing field
- Attorney Share, Lawmatics integrate to automate law firm referrals
Top Legal News
- Legally Speaking: How communication failures turn disputes into lawsuits
- AG Jackson refuses to sign Duke Energy rate settlement
- Fraud counterclaims fail in dispute over company restructuring
- Judges’ pick for Seattle’s federal prosecutor sues Trump after ouster
- US judge approves Anthropic’s $1.5 billion settlement of copyright lawsuit
- The legal confusion surrounding e-bikes
- Two Charlotte women file federal claims against immigration agents after Operation Charlotte’s Web arrests
Commentary
- Legally Speaking: How communication failures turn disputes into lawsuits
- We tore out our own backup generator
- When is a PIP an adverse employment action?
- Legally Speaking: What spring can teach us about active listening
- A useful patent management government notice
- Opinion: NC judges have enormous power. Be sure to vote in November
- The third option: Why your best employees are quietly losing their edge
- AI divorce is real, but family law can still save itself
