In November 2020, CCA NC joined over 80 North Carolina citizens…
In November 2020, CCA NC joined over 80 North Carolina citizens in filing a civil action against the State of North Carolina in Wake County Superior Court. The plaintiffs seek relief from the State’s violation of its duties under public trust law and the North Carolina Constitution with respect to the management of North Carolina’s coastal fisheries resources.
In July 2021, an order was entered denying the State’s motion to dismiss the case. The State appealed that decision to the North Carolina Court of Appeals to the extent it denied its contention that its sovereign immunity applied and barred the case from being brought.
On September 6, 2022, the Court of Appeals entered an opinion finding the State’s sovereign immunity did not apply and affirming the trial court’s denial of the State’s motion to dismiss on immunity grounds. The case was remanded to the trial court in Wake County.
The State filed an Answer in the case in January 2023. The parties have commenced pretrial discovery.
Plaintiffs commenced their discovery by taking the depositions of Kathy Rawls, Fisheries Director, and Rob Bizzell, Chair of the Marine Fisheries Commission, in May. In late May, the parties exchanged potential witness lists. Plaintiffs identified 24 potential witnesses. The State designated 9 potential witnesses, all of whom are employed with the Division of Marine Fisheries.
Also in May, Judge Bryan Collins was designated as the judge to hear all matters in the trial court in the case, as requested by Plaintiffs and opposed by the State. Judge Collins is the judge who denied the State’s motion to dismiss the case in 2021.
On June 16, 2023, Plaintiffs responded to the State’s written interrogatories and requests for documents. Prior to doing so, over 100 individual plaintiffs were asked to complete a survey.
The Plaintiffs’ responses to the State’s discovery requests reflect the substance supporting Plaintiffs’ claims, and the passion many plaintiffs have for the need for fisheries reform. Plaintiffs will produce documents to the State later.
On June 21, 2023, as a follow-up to the Rawls and Bizzell depositions, Plaintiffs served a set of requests for admissions, interrogatories, and requests for admissions on the State. The State is likely to take 60 days from then to serve written responses, and 80 days from then (sometime prior to Labor Day) to actually produce the documents requested.
The parties are not able to agree how long it should take to complete all pretrial efforts and to be prepared for this case to go to trial. The State is seeking a schedule that would delay the trial for another several years. That is not acceptable to Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs will be asking for a conference before Judge Collins (which hopefully will occur in July) to set a pretrial schedule.
