The State Tort Claims Act (STCA) is a statute that has expressly waived North Carolina’s common law immunity for claims against the state. Under the older common law, the gov't is immune from lawsuit absent a waiver of that immunity, or some other exceptions such as a U.S. Federal Constitutional violation.
However, over the years, the government has been able to raise the defense under a theory of the “Public Duty Doctrine” which stands for the proposition that if the government is involved in a act that is related to law enforcement or for the public’s safety (such as a police officer or fire fighter), then the fact that the person failed to perform their duty correctly and causes an injury, a lawsuit is barred. The theory behind it is that persons, such as officers, cannot be expected to prevent all crime control due to the limited resources / number of cops.
The General Assembly recently changed N.C. Gen. Stat. s. 143-299.1(A) which limited the instances when the “Public Duty Doctrine” could be raised as a defense. The new statute limits the application of this defense to “police” or “quasi-police” functions, or “health or safety” inspections (such as fire inspectors). Before this statute, our appellate courts had expanded the doctrine beyond these areas, but the application by different judges / justices left this area of the law grey.
In the recent decision by Chief Deputy Commissioner Stephen T. Green of the Industrial Commission, which involved a lawsuit against the Department of Transportation, the State had failed to correct a knowingly defective road hazard which led to the death of several individuals when they road over the dangerous section. Comm. Green denied the State’s Motion to Dismiss the case, arguing that the because a private citizen could not construct / repair the roads, therefore a regular individual could not be held liable, and therefore the State should not be held accountable for its negligence.
See Stone v. NC Dept of Transportation, 347 NC 473, Melville v. NC Dept of Transportation, Phillips v. NC Dept of Transportation.
