Justia North Carolina Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the court of appeals dismissing the complaint in this case involving the removal of a Confederate monument with prejudice, holding that dismissal should have been without prejudice.After the City of Winston Salem decided to remove a Confederate monument from the grounds of the former Forsyth County Courthouse Plaintiff, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division, Inc., filed a complaint against the City and County seeking the issuance of a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction enjoining Defendants from taking affirmative action to remove or relocate the monument prior to full adjudication of the respective rights of the parties. The trial court dismissed the case with prejudice, concluding that Plaintiff failed establish standing and failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding that the trial court (1) did not err by dismissing the amended complaint for lack of standing; but (2) erred by dismissing the complaint with, rather than without, prejudice. View "United Daughters of the Confederacy, N.C. Division v. City of Winston-Salem" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that the trial court did not violate Defendant's due process rights by proceeding with Defendant's involuntary commitment hearing when Defendant was not represented by counsel and that the trial court's factual findings were sufficient to support its conclusion that Defendant was dangerous to herself.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the trial court did not violate Defendant's due process rights; (2) Defendant preserved her right to challenge the trial court's incorporation of a non-testifying physician's exam report into its findings of fact, and the trial court committed harmless error by incorporating the report into its findings of fact; and (3) the court of appeals correctly held that the trial court made sufficient findings of fact based on the evidence presented by the testifying witness to support its involuntary commitment decision. View "In re R.S.H." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Industrial Commission dismissing Shannon Stocks's claim for death benefits, holding that Stocks - the decedent's alleged, cohabitating fiancee - lacked a legally-recognized relationship and thus could not file a claim for death benefits.The decedent in this case died from injuries sustained in an industrial accident at Defendant. Plaintiffs - the decedent's daughter, son, estranged wife, and Stocks - all filed claims for death benefits under the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act. The Commission dismissed Stocks's claim for benefits, and a consent order was entered dividing the decedent's death benefits equally among the remaining plaintiffs. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Plaintiff could not file a claim for death benefits because she lacked a legal relationship with the decedent sufficient to qualify as a dependent under N.C. Gen. Stat. 97-39. View "West v. Hoyle's Tire & Axle, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals upholding Defendant's conviction for violating N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-208.11(a)(4) and remanded the case to the court of appeals for further remand to vacate Defendant's conviction for failure to comply with the sex offender registry, holding that the evidence was insufficient to support an inference that Defendant willfully provided information under false pretenses.Defendant was charged with submitting incorrect address information to the sheriff "willfully" and "under false pretenses." Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the charges on grounds that the State's evidence was insufficient to show that he had the requisite intent to deceive. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss and convicted Defendant of violating The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the evidence was insufficient to support an inference that Defendant willfully provided information under false pretenses. View "State v. Lamp" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that a deceased employee's prior timely filing of a workers' compensation claim for an injury was sufficient to establish the Industrial Commission's jurisdiction over a dependent's subsequent claim for death benefits allegedly resulting from that injury, thus reversing the court of appeals' ruling below.The Commission in this case denied Plaintiff's claim for death benefits and dismissed the claim with prejudice on the grounds that Plaintiff's untimely filing could not grant the Commission jurisdiction over the claim. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the decedent's timely claim established the Commission's jurisdiction over this matter. View "McAuley v. N.C. A&T State University" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the court of appeals affirming the order of the trial court summarily denying the City of Greensboro's request that the trial court modify restrictions it imposed upon the possible use and discussion of certain police video records by the Greensboro City Council, holding that the trial court abused its discretion.The order at issue was entered pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. 132-1.4A(g) to release recordings of an incident that occurred in Greensboro on September 10, 2016. The City of Greensboro interpreted the conditions in the order as a "gag order" and requested that the trial court modify the restrictions. The trial court summarily denied the request, and the court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court vacated the court of appeals and remanded the case for a new hearing, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by denying, without explanation, the City's motion to modify the restrictions. View "In re Custodial Law Enforcement Recording" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals determining that the trial court committed prejudicial error in denying Defendant's request for a jury instruction on justification as a defense to the charge of possession of a firearm by a felon, holding that the trial court did not err.After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. The court of appeals reversed the conviction and remanded for a new trial, holding that the trial court committed prejudicial error by denying Defendant's requested instruction on justification. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) this case did not support all four elements of the justification defense as required by State v. Mercer, 838 S.E.2d 359 (N.C. 2020); and (2) therefore, the court of appeals erred in reversing Defendant's conviction and remanding for a new trial. View "State v. Swindell" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals vacating the trial court's order authorizing sale and remanded the case, holding that the condominium association Executive Office Park of Durham Association, Inc. (Executive Office) had the power of sale for foreclosure pursuant N.C. Gen. Stat. 47C-3-116 for nonpayment of an assessment that occurred after October 1, 1986.The condominium in this case was formed prior to the enactment of the North Carolina Condominium Act in 1985. In 2018, Executive Office filed a claim of lien against three units owned by Martin Rock, alleging that assessments and other charges from 2018 had remained unpaid for more than thirty days. Thereafter, the substitute trustee sainitiated a power of sale foreclosure. The superior court entered an order authorizing sale. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that Executive Office lacked the power of sale for foreclosure. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the court of appeals erred by failing to apply N.C. Gen. Stat. 47C-1-102(a) when addressing Rock's argument that Executive Office lacked the power of sale for foreclosure; and (2) because the condominium was created in North Carolina before October 1, 1986 and the assessments and non-payment occurred after that date, Executive Office possessed the power of sale permitted by section 47C-3-116(f). View "In re Foreclosure of a Lien by Executive Office Park of Durham Ass'n against Rock" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing in part and vacating in part the trial court's adjudication of abuse, neglect, and dependency and eliminating reunification efforts with Mother.The trial court adjudicated the child an abused, neglected, and dependent juvenile and, finding that reunification with Mother would be unsuccessful, ordered that reunification efforts with Mother cease. Mother's visitation rights with the child were terminated. The court of appeals vacated the disposition and permanency planning order, holding that the trial court denied Mother a fair hearing and erred in adjudicating the child an abused, neglected, and dependent juvenile. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the trial court did not err in adjudicating the child abused, neglected, and dependent; (2) the trial court did not err in eliminating reunification efforts with Mother; and (3) Mother's counsel provided effective assistance. View "In re L.N.H." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals vacating Defendant's conviction of felony obstructing of justice, holding that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict finding Defendant guilty of felony obstruction of justice.After a nearly three-week-long jury trial, Defendant was convicted of, among other offenses, obtaining property by false pretenses and felony obstruction of justice. The court of appeals reversed in part, concluding that the State did provide substantial evidence of obstruction to support the felony obstruction of justice conviction. The Supreme Court reversed and reinstated the felony obstruction of justice conviction, holding that there was sufficient evidence to convict Defendant of felony obstruction of justice. View "State v. Bradsher" on Justia Law