Civitas Wins Injunction Stopping Attorney General from Distributing Funds | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's note: This post, by Demi Dowdy, was originally published in Civitas's online edition.

    RALEIGH     On Tuesday, June 27, a state Superior Court judge ruled favorably on several motions for the Civitas Center for Law and Freedom (CLF) case against the North Carolina Attorney General, which alleges that settlement money was illegally funneled to special interest groups instead of being distributed to public schools as required by the North Carolina Constitution and case law.

    The suit is on behalf of Francis X. De Luca, a Wake County resident and the Civitas President, and the New Hanover Board of Education. Paul Stam, an Apex lawyer and former legislator, is representing the plaintiffs on behalf of CLF.

    The state had moved to dismiss the case, and CLF won on that motion and the case will proceed. CLF also filed two motions, to stop any further distribution of funds and to have action initiated to collect funds we contend were unconstitutionally allocated in August 2014. Previous court rulings have set a 3-year statute of limitations for recovery of funds. The court declined to order the Attorney General to initiate recovery actions for the 2014 distribution but did order the Attorney General to halt any further distribution until the case is resolved.

    Civitas President Francis De Luca said, "We are confident we have a good case and the court's favorable decisions this week have validated that. The North Carolina Constitution and previous Supreme Court rulings are abundantly clear about how these funds should be allocated and the North Carolina Attorney General will be held accountable to the law."

    To request an interview with Francis De Luca, call 919-618-3484. Founded in 2005, the Civitas Institute is a Raleigh, NC-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit policy organization that fights to remove barriers to freedom so that all North Carolinians can enjoy a better life.