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Sovereign immunity bars N.C. suit against Ala. college
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave U.S. states sovereign immunity from private lawsuits filed against them in the courts of another state will prevent a former college recruiter from suing an Alabama university in North Carolina courts, the state’s Court of Appeals has ruled. It’s the first time the state’s appellate courts have […]
Tort/Negligence – Sovereign Immunity – County Office Building – Mold – Governmental Function
Where the plaintiff-city employee alleges mold exposure from his work in a county-owned building, plaintiff’s tort claim is barred by governmental immunity. We reverse the trial court’s denial of the defendant-county’s motion for summary judgment. Governmental immunity applies to those acts committed pursuant to a governmental function. A county’s maintenance and supervision of county-owne[...]
Civil Practice – Interlocutory Appeal – Sovereign Immunity – Subject Matter Jurisdiction Challenge
Page v. Chaing (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-117-17, 14 pp.) (Douglas McCullough, J.) Appealed from Wake County Superior Court (W. Osmond Smith III, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Defendants’ sovereign immunity arguments were presented to the trial court and decided solely as motions to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. In keeping with Murray v. University […]
Civil Practice – Sovereign Immunity – Declaratory Judgment – Video Gaming Kiosks
Sandhill Amusements, Inc. v. Sheriff of Onslow County (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-26-16, 8 pp.) (Ann Marie Calabria, J.) Appealed from Onslow County Superior Court (Ebern Watson III, J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: Defendants’ proposed closure of plaintiffs’ businesses and seizure of their video gaming kiosks (for purportedly violating the statutes regulating video sweepstakes machines) would [&hell[...]
Tort/Negligence – False Arrest & Malicious Prosecution – Sovereign Immunity – Malice Allegations
Fullwood v. Barnes (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-338-16, 15 pp.) (John Tyson, J.) Appealed from Guilford County Superior Court (Anderson Cromer, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Where the plaintiff-arrestee denies the defendant-police officer’s allegations that plaintiff was involved in gang activity and that he impeded a police investigation, and where plaintiff asserts that he had previously been […]
Tort/Negligence – Sovereign Immunity – Community College – Insurance – Fire – Limited Hours
Edwards v. Board of Trustees of Haywood Community College (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-137-16, 15 pp.) (Valerie Zachary, J.) Appealed from Haywood County Superior Court (Bradley Letts, J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: Plaintiff bases his claims, not on the fact that a college building burned with his equipment inside it, but on the fact that the […]
Civil Practice – Sovereign Immunity – State Agencies – Administrative – Exhaustion Requirement – Dry Needling
North Carolina Acupuncture Licensing Board v. North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners (Lawyers Weekly No. 020-030-16, 18 pp.) (Louis Bledsoe III, J.) 2016 NCBC 31 Holding: Sovereign immunity and the exhaustion-of-remedies defense protect the defendant-board from plaintiff’s claims that defendant is invading plaintiff’s bailiwick by allowing physical therapists to practice “dry nee[...]
Insurance – Auto – UM – Municipal – Self-Insurance – Settlement Resolution – Sovereign Immunity
FCCI Insurance Group v. Hinesley (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-16-1102, 7 pp.) (Linda McGee, C.J.) Appealed from Durham County Superior Court (G. Bryan Collins Jr., J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: Uninsured motorist benefits are available to a motorist who was involved in an accident with a city garbage truck. Contrary to the plaintiff-insurer’s argument, the city […]
CoA gives school board win in sovereign immunity case
Last year, when the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Wilson County was protected by sovereign immunity in a case where a resident had slipped and fallen on the stairs of the county’s government building, three justices signed a concurring opinion expressing concern that the majority’s reasoning—that the legislature had specifically assigned counties responsibility for […]
Civil Practice – Federal Jurisdiction – Removal – Sovereign Immunity
Spirakis v. In re Foreclosure of Deeds of Trust (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-02-0603, 6 pp.) (James Fox, Sr. J.) 7:14-cv-00019; E.D.N.C. Holding: Since the U.S. has not waived sovereign immunity so as to consent to be sued for equal protection and due process claims in state court proceedings related to a mortgage foreclosure, the state […]
Civil Practice – Comity – Sovereign Immunity – Contract – Declaratory Judgment – First Impression – Standard of Review
Atlantic Coast Conference v. University of Maryland Because the Maryland defendants’ interest in asserting sovereign immunity is substantial, we will accept jurisdiction over defendants’ appeal of the trial court’s denial of their motion to dismiss. Upon de novo review, we hold that since the public policy of this state does not allow the State of North Carolina to avoid its obli[...]
Tort/Negligence – Sovereign Immunity – Insurance – Exclusion – Animal Control
Ruiz v. Franklin County Animal Control Even though defendants are covered by the county’s liability insurance, since the policy excludes any claim that would otherwise be subject to governmental immunity, the policy does not waive governmental immunity.
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Commentary
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