Barefoot v. City of Wilmington
| Decision Date | 10 June 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-2191.,No. 01-1185.,01-1185.,01-2191. |
| Parties | Ovalee BAREFOOT; George Wrage; Sharon Allen; Nicholas Fokakis; Algeron Lee Butler, Jr.; Susan Deibert Butler; John Ellis Bryant; Sherry Williams Bryant; Theodore Herring Hewlett, Sr.; Ann Joyce Hewlett; William Addison Hurst; Lillian Williamson Hurst; Miles Creamer Higgins; Margaret Glendy Williard Higgins; Miles Creamer Higgins, III; Colleen Mithcel Higgins; Janet Moore Hicks; John Russell Hicks; Carolyn Timms Hicks; Albert Emerson Willard; Elizabeth White Willard; Martin Stevenson Willard; Gabrielle Holmes Willard; Richard Bentley Waldkirch; Carol Welch Waldkirch; Sally Hicks Reardon; William Martin Willard; Thomas Leo Joyce; Suzanne Spence Joyce; John James Ormond; David Lewis Ormond; Mary Cain Ormond; Claude Huntley McAllister, Jr.; Nancy Hardacre McAllister; Kevin Slean Scully; Madeline Margurite Scully; Harriett Rieman; Jack A. Alford; Allan L. Antes; Jane L. Antes; Joseph F. Augustine; Carolyn R. Augustine; Robert C. Bowen, Sr.; Mary L. Bowen; Julian H. Bradberry, Jr.; Mary A. Bradberry; Vander M. Clemmons; Gloria R. Degnan; Murray J. Degnan; George Ditcheos; Barbara Ditcheos; Robert L. Downing; Henry P. Dozier; Frances M. Dozier; Gary D. Galloway; Jennie Galloway; Gregory V. Giammalvo; Gloria J. Giammalvo; William B. Haverty; Edna B. Haverty; Kevin J. Hoban; Michelle Hoban; Charles E. Horton; William S. Howell; Molly Howell; Floyd P. Kirby; Linda N. Kirby; Cliff C. Mabry, Jr.; Marty Mabry; C. Roy Mallott; Richard H. Marston, Jr.; Joan P. Marston; Hugh Alexander Mceachern, Jr.; Mary Mceachern; John V. Metts; Susan Metts; Richard L. Pennington; Bessie G. Pennington; Karl O. Pierce; Judy Pierce; Joel T. Piner; H. Van Reid; Dorothy B. Reid; James W. Rouse, Jr.; Janis M. Rouse; Phillip A. Scarrell; Mona R. Smalley; Kenneth Smith; Paula Smith; Edwin E. Spencer; Monica R. Spencer; Howard J. Talley; Betsey Talley; Gustave J. Van Nynatten; Joanna P. Van Nynatten; Richard L. Woodbury; Suzanne M. Woodbury; Barbara E`Emelio; Herchel E. Rogers; Julia P. Rogers; John C. Byrnes, III; Margaret J. Byrnes; Robert E. Doyle; James Rayburn; Sarah Rayburn; Catherine C. Tamisiea; Daniel J. Filomena; Catherine Filomena; Kirk A. Howard; Barbara A. Howard, J. Don Bullard; Faydene S. Corbett, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CITY OF WILMINGTON, North Carolina, Defendant-Appellee, State of North Carolina, Intervenor-Appellee. Ovalee Barefoot; George Wrage; Sharon Allen; Nicholas Fokakis; Algeron Lee Butler, Jr.; Susan Deibert Butler; John Ellis Bryant; Sherry Williams Bryant; Theodore Herring Hewlett, Sr.; Ann Joyce Hewlett; William Addison Hurst; Lillian Williamson Hurst; Miles Creamer Higgins; Margaret Glendy Williard Higgins; Miles Creamer Higgins, III; Colleen Mithcel Higgins; Janet Moore Hicks; John Russell Hicks; Carolyn Timms Hicks; Albert Emerson Willard; Elizabeth White Willard; Martin Stevenson Willard; Gabrielle Holmes Willard; Richard Bentley Waldkirch; Carol Welch Waldkirch; Sally Hicks Reardon; William Martin Willard; Thomas Leo Joyce; Suzanne Spence Joyce; John James Ormond; David Lewis Ormond; Mary Cain Ormond; Claude Huntley McAllister, Jr.; Nancy Hardacre McAllister; Kevin Slean Scully; Madeline Margurite Scully; Harriett Rieman; Jack A. Alford; Allan L. Antes; Jane L. Antes; Joseph F. Augustine; Carolyn R. Augustine; Robert C. Bowen, Sr.; Mary L. Bowen; Julian H. Bradberry, Jr.; Mary A. Bradberry; Vander M. Clemmons; Gloria R. Degnan; Murray J. Degnan; George Ditcheos; Barbara Ditcheos; Robert L. Downing; Henry P. Dozier; Frances M. Dozier; Gary D. Galloway; Jennie Galloway; Gregory V. Giammalvo; Gloria J. Giammalvo; William B. Haverty; Edna B. Haverty; Kevin J. Hoban; Michelle Hoban; Charles E. Horton; William S. Howell; Molly Howell; Floyd P. Kirby; Linda N. Kirby; Cliff C. Mabry, Jr.; Marty Mabry; C. Roy Mallott; Richard H. Marston, Jr.; Joan P. Marston; Hugh Alexander Mceachern, Jr.; Mary Mceachern; John V. Metts; Susan Metts; Richard L. Pennington; Bessie G. Pennington; Karl O. Pierce; Judy Pierce; Joel T. Piner; H. Van Reid; Dorothy B. Reid; James W. Rouse, Jr.; Janis M. Rouse; Phillip A. Scarrell; Mona R. Smalley; Kenneth Smith; Paula Smith; Edwin E. Spencer; Monica R. Spencer; Howard J. Talley; Betsey Talley; Gustave J. Van Nynatten; Joanna P. Van Nynatten; Richard L. Woodbury; Suzanne M. Woodbury; Barbara E`Emelio; Herchel E. Rogers; Julia P. Rogers; John C. Byrnes, III; Margaret J. Byrnes; Robert E. Doyle; James Rayburn; Sarah Rayburn; Catherine C. Tamisiea; Daniel J. Filomena; Catherine Filomena; Kirk A. Howard; Barbara A. Howard, J. Don Bullard; Faydene S. Corbett, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. City of Wilmington, North Carolina, Defendant-Appellee, State of North Carolina, Intervenor-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
ARGUED: Mary Margaret McEachern Nunalee, Nunalee & Nunalee, L.L.P., Wilmington, North Carolina; James Edison Eldridge, The Eldridge Law Firm, P.C., Wilmington, North Carolina, for Appellants. Thomas Clyde Pollard, City Attorney for City of Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina, for Appellees.
Before WILKINS, LUTTIG, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by published opinion. Judge GREGORY wrote the opinion, in which Judge WILKINS and Judge LUTTIG joined.
The Appellants challenge the City of Wilmington's decision to annex territory on which they reside. They assert that the annexation violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, and the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV. We hold that Wilmington's actions did not violate any of these provisions of the United States Constitution. We also hold that the district court did not err in denying the Appellants' joinder motion. Accordingly, we affirm.
The City of Wilmington is located in eastern North Carolina in New Hanover County. Wilmington's current land area encompasses approximately 54.3 square miles, with a population of approximately 90,400. On June 2, 1998, the Wilmington City Council adopted an ordinance to annex an area known as the "1998 Annexation Area." The 1998 Annexation Area consisted of approximately 9.27 square miles of land, lying between the pre-annexation eastern city limit and the Intracoastal Waterway (opposite the Masonboro Inlet), with a population of approximately 13,000 residents. The ordinance was adopted pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 160A-49 (1999), which authorizes North Carolina cities with populations in excess of 5,000 to annex contiguous territory. Section 160A-49 does not provide for a vote by either the residents of the area to be annexed or the residents of the annexing city.1
In addition to the General Assembly's delegation of authority to municipalities, the General Assembly has the authority to adopt local acts specifying the boundaries of municipalities, and the manner of any alteration. N.C. Gen.Stat. § 160A-21 (1999). The General Assembly has, from time to time, enacted such local acts, and subjected the local act to referenda. There are at least five municipalities where the General Assembly has adopted local acts to provide for a referendum on annexations: cities in Craven County with populations of less than 500 (Ch. 92, 1985 N.C. Sess. Laws); Holden Beach (Ch. 638, 1991 N.C. Sess. Laws); River Bend (Ch. 363, 1997 N.C. Sess. Laws); Wentworth (Ch. 322, 1997 N.C. Sess. Laws); and Bermuda Run (Ch. 94, 1999 N.C. Sess. Laws). In Holden Beach, the residents of the municipality must approve the annexation while in the other towns, an annexation is subject to a referendum by the residents of the proposed annexation area.
Appellants Barefoot, Wrage and Fokakis (the "Plaintiff Appellants"), and approximately 100 Interveners (the "Intervener Appellants") (collectively the "Appellants"), reside in the 1998 Annexation Area. J.A. 21-29. The Appellants are opposed to the annexation. The first attempt to block the annexation was made in state court. All but approximately eighteen of the Appellants filed a joint petition for review in the New Hanover County Superior Court pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 160A-50 (1999). J.A. 47-54. The claims included only state law claims. The Superior Court upheld the ordinance. The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed, Rogers, et al. v. City of Wilmington, N.C.App. No. COA99-674 (New Hanover Cty. April 18, 2000), and the North Carolina Supreme Court denied discretionary review, Rogers, et al. v. City of Wilmington, 352 N.C. 591, 544 S.E.2d 704 (2000).
The Plaintiff-Appellants commenced this action on September 29, 2000 in the Eastern District of North Carolina alleging that the annexation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1, and seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The Plaintiff Appellants moved for and were denied a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. The Plaintiff Appellants filed an appeal of the district court's order denying their motion for a preliminary injunction. Barefoot v. City of Wilmington, No. 01-1185. On January 16, 2001, the Intervener Appellants filed a complaint, alleging that the annexation violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1, and the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV, U.S. Const. art. IV, § 2. While the appeal in No. 01-1185 was pending, the City filed a motion to dismiss both complaints for failure to state a claim in the district court. Shortly thereafter, the Appellants filed a motion to join Walter Futch as a plaintiff and the Town of Leland as a defendant. Futch is a resident of an area annexed by the Town of Leland. The Town of Leland is approximately six miles from Wilmington, and the annexation Futch sought to challenge was...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Willner v. Frey
...Equal Protection Clause prohibits states from creating unreasonable, arbitrary, and invidious classifications. Barefoot v. City of Wilmington, 306 F.3d 113, 121 (4th Cir.2002). Except in cases where a challenged law employs suspect classifications or significantly burdens a fundamental righ......
-
Jocham v. Tuscola County, 01-10385-BC.
...requirements of the Due Process Clause; the legislative process itself provides all the process that is due. Barefoot v. City of Wilmington, 306 F.3d 113, 124 (4th Cir.2002). Nevertheless, the legislative process does provide some procedural protection, see King Enters., Inc. v. Thomas Town......
-
Morsman v. City of Madras
...exists a `fundamental right' to vote in municipal annexations have similarly rejected that notion. See, e.g., Barefoot v. City of Wilmington, 306 F.3d 113, 121-23 (4th Cir.2002) (citizens do not have a fundamental right to vote on annexation); Moorman v. Wood, 504 F.Supp. 467, 474 (1980) (E......
-
Gedrich v. Fairfax County Dept. of Family Services
... ... See Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs. of the City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 690 n. 55, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978) (holding that suing ... that `the procedures attendant upon that deprivation' were constitutionally deficient." Barefoot v. City of Wilmington, 306 F.3d 113, 124 (4th Cir ... Page 467 ... 2002) (citation omitted) ... ...
-
ANNEXATION'S LONG GOOD-BYE.
...growth rates annexed more frequently, as did cities with more undeveloped nearby land). (126.) See, e.g., Barefoot v. City of Wilmington, 306 F.3d 113 (4th Cir. (127.) See Wegner, supra note 122, at 169. (128.) See Act of June 18, 2011, ch. 173. [section][section]1-2, 2011 N.C. Sess. Laws 6......