Houck & Sons, Inc. v. Transylvania County
| Decision Date | 18 March 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. A-C-90-65.,A-C-90-65. |
| Citation | 852 F. Supp. 442 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of North Carolina |
| Parties | HOUCK & SONS, INC., Plaintiff, v. TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY; Terry Pierce; and Jack McGinnis, Defendants. |
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Grainger R. Barrett, Barrett & Associates, Chapel Hill, NC, for Houck & Sons, Inc.
Robert S. Pierce, C. Winston Gilchrist, Keith A. Clinard, Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, Winston-Salem, NC, for Transylvania County Health Dept. and Transylvania County.
Robert S. Pierce, Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, Winston-Salem, NC, Martha K. Walston, Asst. Atty. Gen., N.C. Dept. of Justice, Raleigh, NC, C. Winston Gilchrist, Keith A. Clinard, Lawrence P. Egerton, Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, Winston-Salem, NC, Mabel Y. Bullock, N.C. Dept. of Justice, Raleigh, NC, for Terry Pierce, John Winston and Joseph McGinnis.
Martha K. Walston, Asst. U.S. Atty., N.C. Dept. of Justice, Raleigh, NC, C. Winston Gilchrist, Keith A. Clinard, Lawrence P. Egerton, Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, Winston-Salem, NC, Mabel Y. Bullock, N.C. Dept. of Justice, Raleigh, NC, for Joe Gentry.
Kathleen M. Waylett, Associate Atty. Gen., Mabel Y. Bullock, N.C. Dept. of Justice, Raleigh, NC, for Charles Slagle and Clay Penington.
Plaintiff, Houck & Sons, Inc. ("Houck"), filed this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging, among other claims since dismissed, a violation of the equal protection clause and appending a pendent state law claim for tortious interference with contractual relations. The action was tried at Asheville during the weeks of October 13 and 20, 1992, and the jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff on both remaining counts in the amount of $350,000. Presently before the court is defendants' timely filed motion for judgment as a matter of law or alternatively for a new trial pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 50(b) and 59, respectively. The court heard further oral argument on the motion on February 16, 1993 and now records its decision in this memorandum.
In its amended complaint filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, plaintiff alleged violations of several constitutional provisions and appended a state law claim for tortious interference with contractual relations. Plaintiff originally alleged that defendants violated the takings, substantive and procedural due process, and equal protection clauses all contained in or incorporated through the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Plaintiff originally named as defendants the Transylvania County Health Department ("TCHD"), Terry Pierce, and Jack S. McGinnis, the current and former directors of TCHD, respectively. Plaintiff also named as defendants, Joe Gentry and John Winston, a former and a current sanitarian for TCHD. Finally, plaintiff named two employees of the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources ("NCDEHNR"): Charles Slagle, a soil scientist, and Clay Pennington, a regional sanitarian. In its amended complaint, plaintiff added Transylvania County as a defendant.
Prior to opening statements, this court permitted plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss with prejudice defendants Gentry and Winston, the past and current sanitarians for TCHD. In addition, the court adopted the memorandum of the Honorable United States Magistrate Judge J. Toliver Davis recommending that the TCHD and the state defendants, Slagle and Pennington, be dismissed. As to the TCHD's motion to dismiss, Magistrate Judge Davis reasoned that TCHD was not a proper entity to be sued and, accordingly, recommended that it be dismissed. Furthermore, Magistrate Judge Davis recommended granting the state defendants' motion based on two separate grounds: (1) plaintiff failed to state a claim against them; and (2) the applicable statute of limitations had expired as to them. The court adopted these recommendations and dismissed these defendants prior to trial.
At the close of plaintiff's evidence, the remaining defendants, Transylvania County ("county"), Terry Pierce and Jack McGinnis (hereinafter referred to collectively as "official defendants"), moved for a directed verdict pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(a). The court granted defendants' motion as to plaintiff's takings clause and procedural and substantive due process claims. Thus, the court submitted to the jury only the equal protection claim and the state law tortious interference with contractual relations claim.
This action arises out of a dispute between the TCHD and plaintiff relating to the construction and approval of several residential septic tank systems located in Transylvania County, North Carolina. The North Carolina statutory scheme requires Transylvania County to provide public health services and authorizes it to create the TCHD to execute this duty. N.C.Gen.Stat. § 130A-34 (1992). Furthermore, under this statutory scheme, members of the county board of commissioners, pursuant to the requirements outlined in the state statute, appoint the members of the county board of health. Id. § 130A-35(b).
This local board of health, after consultation with the board of commissioners, appoints a local health director, in this case defendants Terry Pierce and Jack McGinnis. Id. § 130A-40(a). This local health director, along with sanitarians employed by him, are responsible for administering the programs and rules of the local board of health. Although they have the authority to adopt more exacting requirements, see id. § 130A-39(b), the Transylvania County Board of Health adopted verbatim the state regulations relating to the installation and approval of septic systems.
In accordance with these rules, local sanitarians, such as former defendants Gentry and Winston, must issue an improvement permit specifying the construction requirements before an installer, registered by the TCHD, begins construction of a septic system. Id. § 130A-336(b). After the construction is complete, a sanitarian inspects the site and issues a certificate of completion to the property owner if the site satisfies all pertinent rules and regulations. Id. § 130A-337(a) and (b).
A conventional residential septic system, similar to the ones at issue in this case, consists of a septic tank with an outlet to a distribution box which distributes sewage effluent into a nitrification field, and a number of nitrification lines. Each of these lines consists of a perforated PVC pipe and a bed to absorb the effluent.
In areas in which the topography prevents the placement of nitrification fields on a level grade, the installer may utilize a "stepdown." A stepdown is a dam installed in the nitrification trench that is designed to prevent effluent from entering subsequent portions of the nitrification trench until previous portions are full. The majority of plaintiff's equal protection claims relate to defendants' requirements for these nitrification trenches and stepdowns.
Turning to the specifics of plaintiff's allegations, its equal protection claim relates primarily to defendants' denial of certificates of completion on three separate systems that it constructed. The relevant events occurred in the time period beginning on September 16, 1986 and ending on March 25, 1987. The details surrounding the three systems are as follows.
The first system was one constructed by plaintiff for a Mr. Edwin Morrow ("Morrow system"). In early and late September, 1986, former defendant Winston refused to grant a certificate of completion for the Morrow system citing improper covering of nitrification lines, stepdown heights not exceeding twelve inches, and use of gravel not compacted dirt in the stepdowns beds. Both defendant McGinnis, the current health director, and former state defendants Slagle and Pennington subsequently corroborated Winston's denial of the completion certificate. After plaintiff refused to make the changes requested by defendants, Mr. Morrow received the certificate by making the requested modifications.
The second site at issue was installed by plaintiff for a Ms. Jane Shuttleworth ("Shuttleworth system"). On November 4, 1986, former defendant Gentry denied a certificate of completion on this system citing insufficient height in the stepdown dams measuring less than twelve inches. State defendants Slagle and Pennington corroborated Gentry's decision in a letter to defendant McGinnis. The TCHD issued a certificate of completion to Ms. Shuttleworth on January 13, 1987 after the requested modifications had been made to the system.
The third and final septic system at issue was installed by plaintiff on property owned by Mr. Charles Elliot ("Elliot system"). On March 17, 1987, former defendant Winston denied a certificate of completion because he maintained that an upper nitrification line was deeper than necessary and that the surrounding ground contained weathered rock with visible fractures. Again, the state defendants confirmed this determination. TCHD officials issued the property owner a certificate of completion after he agreed to abandon the upper nitrification line.
Plaintiff offered additional evidence relating to its equal protection claim. First, plaintiff sought to prove that a county attorney threatened it with criminal prosecution for covering the lines on the Morrow system. Additionally, plaintiff presented evidence that in several other instances TCHD officials refused to authorize repairs that plaintiff recommended to customers. Finally, as will be discussed in more detail in relation to plaintiffs state law claim, plaintiff presented evidence of instances in which TCHD officials made comments to potential or actual customers about previous problems with plaintiff.
Plaintiff asserts that the same...
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