Case Study

AT ISSUE: In 2006, the Halifax County (N.C.) Health Department received a call that a family dog had been in a fight with a wild raccoon. Since the dog had not been vaccinated for rabies, by law, animal control officials had to seize and quarantine the dog for six months.

The policy was in place for good reason—to prevent the potential spread of rabies, a fatal disease, to the human population. Virtually every county in the state operates under a similar policy. After the quarantine period, the dog was returned home safely.

However, the dog’s owners challenged this law by filing a class action suit against Halifax County. They claimed negligence and emotional distress and sought damages of $350,000, plus $150,000 for every pet owner in the county. If the plaintiffs collected, county officials estimated that the total damages could exceed more than $4 billion.

SUMMARY: Halifax County officials retained Womble Carlyle attorneys Jim Morgan and Bob Numbers to defend them in the class action suit. The case began in Halifax County District Court and ultimately was moved to Superior Court.

Morgan and Numbers took a two-pronged approach to the defense. They argued that Halifax County had governmental immunity from these sorts of claims and also said that the claims themselves were baseless, and that the animal control officers had acted appropriately.

RESULT/IMPLICATION: Halifax County won a complete victory in the case, as the claim was dismissed on both substantive and legal grounds. This decision was upheld in the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The plaintiffs are appealing to the North Carolina Supreme Court, but the high court has not yet agreed to review the case.

Had the plaintiffs been successful, the financial impact on the county and its taxpayers could have been devastating, since every pet owner would have received a six-figure damages payment. Instead, the court ruled that the plaintiffs were not entitled to any compensation from the county.

ABOUT THE ATTORNEYS: Jim Morgan has more than 20 years of experience as a litigator, having tried and won a significant number of jury and bench trials in trial courts of all levels. Throughout his legal career, Jim has successfully handled a wide range of civil matters, including medical malpractice, constitutional law, employment litigation, public official and governmental defense, personal injury cases, wrongful death, and pharmaceutical litigation.

Bob Numbers is an experienced litigator in Womble Carlyle’s Winston-Salem office, focusing his practice on representation of local governments and corporations in civil rights and tort matters. He has successfully represented clients in both state and federal court and has argued several cases before the North Carolina Court of Appeals.