Watts v. N.C. Dep't of Env't & Natural Res.
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
KERRY WATTS v. NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES No. 191A07 FILED: 10 OCTOBER 2008 Immunity; Public Officers and Employees public duty doctrine waiver The Industrial Commission did not err in failing to apply the public duty doctrine where the Commission found that defendant state agency admitted it was negligent in issuing an improvement permit to plaintiff; defendant assigned no error to this finding and thereby rendered it conclusive on appeal; this admission of negligence by defendant necessarily encompasses a concession that defendant either owed plaintiff a special duty or that a special relationship existed between plaintiff and defendant; and defendant has thus effectively waived its argument that it owes no duty to plaintiff under the public duty doctrine. Appeal pursuant to N.C.G.S. ยง 7A-30(2) from the decision of a divided panel of the Court of Appeals, 182 N.C. App. 178, 641 S.E.2d 811 (2007), affirming in part and reversing in part and remanding a decision and order entered by the North Carolina Industrial Commission on 3 October 2005. Supreme Court 17 March 2008. Heard in the Following oral argument, the Court on 27 March 2008 allowed plaintiff s petition for discretionary review of two additional issues. Determined on the supplemental briefs without further oral argument pursuant to N.C. R. App. P. 30(f)(1). James, McElroy & Diehl, P.A., by John R. Buric and Preston O. Odom, III, for plaintiff-appellee/appellant. Roy Cooper, Attorney General, by Dahr Joseph Tanoury, Assistant Attorney General, for defendantappellant/appellee. PER CURIAM. When the North Carolina Industrial Commission found as fact that the defendant Department of Environment and Natural -2Resources admitted it was negligent in issuing Permit No. 99291 and when defendant failed to assign error to this finding, such finding of negligence is binding on appeal and precludes defendant s assertion of the public duty doctrine as a defense in the instant case. We therefore affirm the opinion of the Court of Appeals to the extent it holds that the Industrial Commission did not err in failing to apply the public duty doctrine. The public duty doctrine is a rule grounded in common law negligence and provides that when a governmental entity owes a duty to the general public, particularly a statutory duty, individual plaintiffs may not enforce the duty in tort. Myers v. McGrady, 360 N.C. 460, 465-66, 628 S.E.2d 761, 766 (2006). The doctrine operates to limit tort liability, even when the State has waived sovereign immunity. 766. Id. at 465, 628 S.E.2d at Thus, when a plaintiff alleges negligence arising from the State s failure to carry out a recognized public duty, and the State does not owe a corresponding special duty of care to the plaintiff individually, then the plaintiff has failed to state a claim in negligence. Id. at 463, 628 S.E.2d at 764. When, however, a plaintiff establishes that the State owes the plaintiff a special duty or that a special relationship exists between the plaintiff and the State, the plaintiff s claims are not barred by the public duty doctrine. 628 S.E.2d at 767. Id. at 468, Thus, unless one of these two exceptions to the public duty doctrine applies, an individual plaintiff fails to state a claim in negligence against the State. -3Here, the Industrial Commission found that defendant admitted it was negligent in issuing the permit to plaintiff. Defendant assigned no error to this finding, thereby rendering it conclusive on appeal. See N.C. R. App. P. 10(a). This admission of negligence by defendant necessarily encompasses a concession that defendant either owed plaintiff a special duty or that a special relationship existed between plaintiff and defendant, for otherwise no action in negligence could lie. N.C. at 463, 628 S.E.2d at 764. See Myers, 360 As defendant s admitted negligence in issuing the permit to plaintiff is conclusively established on appeal, defendant has effectively waived its argument that it owes no duty to plaintiff under the public duty doctrine. Because defendant has waived its right to argue the merits of whether the public duty doctrine would shield defendant from liability under the facts of the present case, we do not reach this issue, and we therefore express no opinion on the analysis of the public duty doctrine by the Court of Appeals. We therefore affirm the Court of Appeals to the extent it determined that the Industrial Commission did not err in failing to apply the public duty doctrine. The remaining issues addressed by the Court of Appeals are not properly before this Court and its decision as to these matters remains undisturbed. MODIFIED AND AFFIRMED.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
