Fearrington v. City of Greenville
| Decision Date | 15 March 2022 |
| Docket Number | COA20-877 |
| Citation | 871 S.E.2d 366 |
| Parties | Eric Steven FEARRINGTON, Craig D. Malmrose, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF GREENVILLE, Pitt County Board of Education, Defendants. |
| Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
Stam Law Firm, PLLC, Apex, by R. Daniel Gibson and Paul Stam, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.
Hartzog Law Group LLP, Cary, by Dan Hartzog Jr., for Defendant-Appellee City of Greenville.
Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, L.L.P., by Robert J. King III, Jill R. Wilson, Greensboro, and Elizabeth L. Troutman, Greensboro, for Defendant-Appellee Pitt County Board of Education.
¶ 1 Plaintiffs Eric Steven Fearrington and Craig D. Malmrose appeal from orders denying Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and granting City of Greenville's and Pitt County Board of Education's motions to dismiss. Plaintiffs argue that various aspects of Greenville's Red Light Camera Enforcement Program ("RLCEP") are illegal and unconstitutional. After review, we hold that the funding framework of the RLCEP violates the Fines and Forfeitures Clause contained in Article IX, Section 7 of our State Constitution. We therefore reverse the trial court's dismissal of Plaintiffs’ claim under Article IX, Section 7 and remand for entry of summary judgment in Plaintiffs’ favor. We otherwise affirm the trial court's orders.
¶ 2 Plaintiffs also argue that the trial court erroneously considered the affidavit of an unqualified expert. We hold that Plaintiffs failed to preserve this argument for appellate review.
¶ 3 Pursuant to sections 20-158 and 20-176 of our General Statutes, failure to stop at a traffic light when the light is red is an infraction subject to a "penalty of not more than one hundred dollars[.]" N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 20-158(b)(2)(a), 20-176(a), (b) (2019). Notwithstanding these provisions, the General Assembly has further provided that certain "[m]unicipalities may adopt ordinances for the civil enforcement of [N.C. Gen. Stat. §] 20-158 by means of a traffic control photographic system[.]" N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A-300.1(c) (2019). These "traffic control photographic system[s]" are more commonly known as "red light cameras." Id.
¶ 4 On 30 June 2016, the General Assembly enacted a local act authorizing Greenville to implement an RLCEP, providing in pertinent part:
An Act to Make Changes to the Law Governing Red Light Cameras in the City of Greenville, 2016 N.C. Sess. Laws 64, §§ 3, 4 [hereinafter "S.L. 2016-64"].
¶ 5 After S.L. 2016-64 was enacted, Greenville implemented an RLCEP and amended its Code of Ordinances accordingly:
Greenville, N.C., Code of Ordinances §§ 10-2-283(a), 285 (2016).
¶ 6 In March 2017, Greenville entered into a contract with American Traffic Solutions ("ATS"), a firm headquartered in Arizona, for the installation, maintenance, and management of the City's RLCEP. Pursuant to the contract, Greenville agreed to pay ATS $31.85 in fees for every $100.00 paid citation, in addition to other miscellaneous fees associated with ATS services. The record reflects that detailed design plans for the RLCEP were produced with ATS's logo and address appearing on each page. Robert F. Rennebaum, a licensed North Carolina engineer, signed and affixed his seal to the design plans.
¶ 7 In November 2018, the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors sent a letter to ATS, stating that "there [wa]s sufficient evidence to support the charges that [ATS] [wa]s practicing or offering to practice engineering and surveying in North Carolina ... without being licensed" by the Board. The Board also sent a letter to Mr. Rennebaum, which stated, In May 2019, the Board entered a Decision and Order finding that Mr. Rennebaum did commit the foregoing violations and ordered that he pay a $5,000.00 civil penalty and pass an "Engineering Ethics" course.
¶ 8 Greenville and Pitt County Board of Education (the "School Board") entered into an interlocal funding agreement whereby the civil penalties from the RLCEP would be collected by Greenville and forwarded to the School Board. It was agreed that Greenville would then invoice the School Board monthly for all expenses associated with maintaining the RLCEP, and the invoices were to be paid within thirty days of receipt. According to Greenville's responses to interrogatories, the RLCEP generated $2,495,380.46 in total revenue from 2017 through June 2019. The School Board paid Greenville $706,986.65 in program expenses during the same period, which included $581,986.65 in fees invoiced by ATS. The School Board received $1,788,393.81 in net revenue during the period, which is 71.66% of the total amount of fines and fees collected by Greenville.
¶ 9 On 15 May 2018, Plaintiff Fearrington was issued a citation for failing to stop at a red light camera location when the light was red. Fearrington submitted a written request for an appeal and stated in his request that (1) the RLCEP violated " Article I, Sections 1, 19, 35 and 36 of the North Carolina Constitution"; and (2) the interlocal agreement between Greenville and the School Board violated "Article IX, Section 7 of the North Carolina [Constitution]" because less than "ninety percent of the clear proceeds of" the civil penalties collected by Greenville went to the School Board. An appeal hearing was held on 16 October 2018, after which a Notice of Determination was issued finding Fearrington "liable" because he presented "no defense[.]"
¶ 10 Following the appeal hearing, Fearrington was informed in writing that he had "fully exhausted [his] administrative remedies with the City of Greenville concerning [his] citation" and that, if he wished to pursue the matter further, he should file a petition for writ of certiorari with Pitt County Superior Court. Fearrington then filed a petition for writ of certiorari. In response, Defendants stated to him in writing that "[t]he proper mechanism through which to present your two constitutional challenges to the [RLCEP] is through a declaratory judgment action[.]" Pursuant to an agreement between the parties, the trial court entered a "Consent Order for the purpose of effectuating their agreements" and concluded the following as a matter of law:
¶ 11 Plaintiff Malmrose also appealed his citation. Malmrose stated in a sworn deposition that he attempted to record his appeal hearing on his phone, but a Greenville police officer stopped him from doing so. The officer confiscated Malmrose's phone and informed him that Greenville's city attorney instructed him to not allow respondents to record the hearings. Following the hearing, a Notice of Determination was issued finding Malmrose "liable" because of a "fast yellow[.]"
¶ 12 On 22 April 2019, Plaintiffs jointly filed a Complaint in Pitt County Superior Court, seeking declaratory judgments that the RLCEP violated (1) Article I, Sections 1, 19, 35 and 36 of the North Carolina Constitution, as applied; (2) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A-300.1 ; (3) Article IX, Section 7 of the North Carolina Constitution, as applied, due to the funding scheme adopted by the interlocal agreement between Greenville and the School Board; (4) Chapter 89C of the North Carolina General Statutes governing the lawful practice of engineering in North Carolina; and (5) procedural due process.
¶ 13 On 22 April 2020, the trial court granted Defendants’ motions to dismiss, and denied Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, as to claims (2), (3), and (4). On 22 July 2020, the court granted the School Board's motion to dismiss as to claims (1) and (5), resolving all remaining claims against the School Board. With only claims (1) and (5) pending against Greenville remaining, the trial court granted summary judgment in Greenville's favor as to those claims. Plaintiffs’ timely filed notice of appeal from the trial court's orders.
¶ 14 Defendants argue that (1) Plaintiffs’ claims must be dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies and ...
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