DOBBINS HEIGHTS — One municipal plaintiff in a lawsuit is calling for a meeting with another after not being consulted regarding a proposed settlement.
The town of Dobbins Heights, in an emergency meeting on Tuesday, voted to arrange a meeting with the city of Hamlet and the other plaintiffs regarding their lawsuit against the Richmond County government related to the International Tie Disposal biochar facility.
On March 20, town attorney Derek Crawford received an email — which was read aloud during Tuesday’s meeting — from Brady Herman of Brough Law Firm, who is representing the plaintiffs in the case, saying that the Hamlet City Council is interested in proposing a settlement as “it does not appear ITD will be abandoning their project without a court finding that the rezoning was unlawful.”
(NOTE: A portion of the email was not read in public, however the RO was given a copy of the email by town officials.)
“Keep in mind that one of our key strategies when we filed our complaint over four years ago was to drag the lawsuit out as much as possible in the hopes that the litigation would cause ITD to seize the project all together,” Herman wrote.
Town Clerk and Councilman Tyre Holloway told the RO that wasn’t the strategy of Dobbins Heights. The town’s goal, he said, was to have accountability for the people living in the area — including both municipalities — who may be affected.
Attorney Derek Crawford suggests the Dobbins Heights Town Council meets with the other plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the county.
“While we were very much successful in that endeavor in delaying as much as possible, ITD is still proceeding, and TC (Morphis, city attorney for Hamlet) and I think it is unlikely we will prevail on the merits of the lawsuit itself,” Herman continued. “Thus, we are at the stage now to explore proactive options for a possible settlement in the hopes of getting something in return if the lawsuit was dismissed by the plaintiffs.”
LINGERING LAWSUIT
In October of 2020, the Richmond County Board of Commissioners voted 2-4, with one commissioner abstaining due to a conflict of interest, to rezone a parcel of land owned by CSX Transportation — off of Marks Creek Road, north of Hamlet and Dobbins Heights — to heavy industrial to pave the way for ITD.
Dr. Rick Watkins, one of the four yes votes, is the only current commissioner who was on the board at that time. He is now chairman.
Less than two months later, the two municipalities joined two families — Chad and Lisa Gardner, Lonnie and Hope Norton — in filing a legal complaint against the county challenging the rezoning decision.
The Nortons and Gardners had expressed concerns about the effects of nearby industry on their chicken farms and apiary, and the municipalities were concerned about the effect on the local water supply and air quality.
Dobbins Heights had initially been dismissed from the lawsuit in 2021 by Richmond County Superior Court Judge Dawn Layton for lack of standing. The town appealed the following July. However, that was dismissed by the N.C. Court of Appeals in 2023.
Last October, the N.C. Supreme Court reversed the decision saying the town “articulated a sufficient factual basis to support appellate jurisdiction” and the Court of Appeals “erred” in its dismissal, and the appellate court allowed Dobbins Heights to rejoin the suit last month.
In the years since the complaint was filed, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has issued both an air quality permit (2021) and a stormwater permit (2024) to ITD.
In August 2023, Jeff Smart, then-chairman of the Board of Commissioners, said if the lawsuit persisted past Jan. 21, 2024, the county would use agreed-upon funds to those municipalities (following an agreement resulting from a sales tax distribution change) to pay legal expenses.
At that time, Smart said the county had spent more than $200,000 in legal fees in connection to the lawsuit.
SUGGESTED SETTLEMENT
According to Brady, the Hamlet City Council is proposing to withdraw from the lawsuit if the county, CSX and ITD agree to the installation of monitoring wells on the facility’s property that would allow the plaintiffs “to know if chemicals or other pollutants are leaving the property that could affect” Hamlet’s water supply at the defendants’ expense.
While the cost and obligation for long-term maintenance wasn’t discussed, Brady said Morphis believes Hamlet would consider footing the bill, “hopefully along with some contribution from Dobbins Heights …”
Brady goes on to say that even if the municipalities concur on the settlement proposal, it doesn’t mean the county will agree to the terms.
“But knowing whether the Town Council would agree to this settlement option is the first step in the process,” Brady said.
‘IT’S NOT THEIR SHOW, IT’S OUR SHOW’
After reading the letter, Mayor Antonio Blue said it wasn’t fair for Hamlet to “make the decision on what they think is best for us, but we’re all in this lawsuit together.”
Crawford said Hamlet should have extended an invitation to Dobbins Heights to discuss a possible settlement.
“We did what was asked of us,” Blue said. “But in return, you (Hamlet) didn’t do what was right by us in this whole lawsuit … Now, all of a sudden, you want to cut a deal with the same people that you wanted to sue.”
Blue said he also received a text from Lisa Gardner, who said they had discussed the situation with the Nortons.
Reading the text aloud, Blue said Gardner told him that the families feel they “do not have a choice but to accept Hamlet’s decision.
“We have not paid any legal fees so far and cannot afford it anyway,” Gardner said, according to Blue. “If the county agrees to the …monitors, that’s a small victory. I’m sorry, I wish we could’ve done more.”
Blue reiterated that the co-plaintiffs should have been consulted.
“It’s not their show, it’s our show. It’s all of us involved,” Blue said. “All of us need to be in a room together.”
Town Clerk and Councilman Tyre Holloway gives his opinion on a proposed settlement.
Holloway said he had reached out to new Hamlet City Manager John Terziu and Assistant City Manager Mackenzie Webb to invite them to Tuesday’s meeting, but was unsuccessful.
Dobbins Heights leaders were also concerned about the proposal to have the town contribute to the maintenance of the monitoring systems.
“It wouldn’t be prudent for us to agree to a cost that we don’t know,” Holloway said.
Councilwoman Angeline David concurred.
The council voted to invite Hamlet leaders, as well as the Norton and Gardner families, to a meeting in Dobbins Heights to discuss how to move forward.
Holloway said he plans to send the invitation letters on March 27.
