NO. COA02-1622
NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS
Filed: 16 December 2003
ANTHONY KING, Administrator
of the Estate of Andrew King,
Deceased,
Plaintiff,
v
.
Guilford County
No. 02 CVS 984
SHANNON HOLBROOK f.k.a.
SHANNON READ, CORNELIA A.
GRAINGER, DONALD W.
GRAINGER, ALLGOOD
CONSTRUCTION CO., INC.,
GUILFORD COUNTY, JOHN
SHORE, Director of Guilford County
Department of Social Services,
GUILFORD COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL
SERVICES, SUZANNE BROGDON
and REBEKAH SAUL,
Defendants.
Appeal by plaintiff from order entered 4 September 2002 by
Judge Catherine C. Eagles in Guilford County Superior Court. Heard
in the Court of Appeals 10 September 2003.
BIESECKER, TRIPP, SINK & FRITTS, L.L.P., by Joe E. Biesecker,
for plaintiff appellant.
County Attorney Jonathan V. Maxwell, and Assistant County
Attorney Kevin W. Whiteheart, for defendant appellees.
TIMMONS-GOODSON, Judge.
Anthony King (plaintiff) appeals an order by the Guilford
County Superior Court dismissing his claims of negligence against
Guilford County (County), Guilford County Department of SocialServices (DSS), John Shore as Director of the Department of
Social Services (Shore), Rebekah Saul (Saul) and Suzanne
Brogdon (Brogdon), (collectively defendants), for the death of
his son, Andrew Montana King (Andrew). For the reasons stated
herein, we dismiss the appeal.
The evidence presented tended to show that Andrew tragically
drowned while being supervised by his mother, Shannon Holbrook
(Holbrook). Prior to Andrew's death, plaintiff filed a report
with DSS alleging that Holbrook neglected Andrew. Brogdon, a DSS
agent, was assigned to investigate the report. Brogdon and her
supervisor, Saul, notified plaintiff that there was insufficient
evidence to substantiate a report of child neglect. Andrew drowned
six days later in an outdoor pool located behind Holbrook's home.
Plaintiff brought suit against Holbrook; Cornelia A. Grainger
and Donald W. Grainger, the owners of Holbrook's home; Allgood
Construction Co., Inc., the builder of the pool; DSS; Shore as
Director of DSS; and Brogdon and Saul in their official and
individual capacities. Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss
alleging sovereign immunity, lack of subject matter and personal
jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted. In support of their motion, defendants filed the
affidavit of Everette Arnold (Arnold), an insurance advisor for
Guilford County. Plaintiff objected to the admissibility of
Arnold's affidavit. The trial court denied plaintiff's objection
to Arnold's affidavit and granted defendants' motion to dismiss the
claims against them, but did not dismiss plaintiff's claims againstHolbrook, Cornelia A. Grainger and Donald W. Grainger, and Allgood
Construction Co., Inc.
Plaintiff argues on appeal that the trial court erred by: (1)
denying plaintiff's objection to Arnold's affidavit; (2) dismissing
the claims against County, DSS, Shore, Brogdon and Saul based upon
subject matter and personal jurisdiction; and, (3) dismissing the
claims against Brogdon and Saul in their individual capacities.
Although this action was originally brought against numerous
entities, this appeal concerns only the allegations against County,
DSS, Shore, Brogdon and Saul. A grant of partial summary
judgment, because it does not completely dispose of the case, is an
interlocutory order from which there is ordinarily no right of
appeal.
Liggett Group v. Sunas, 113 N.C. App. 19, 23, 437 S.E.2d
674, 677 (1993). The general prohibition on interlocutory appeals
seeks 'to prevent fragmentary, premature and unnecessary appeals
by permitting the trial court to bring the case to final judgment
before it is presented to the appellate courts.'
Lee v. Baxter,
147 N.C. App. 517, 519, 556 S.E.2d 36, 37 (2001) (quoting
Fraser v.
Di Santi, 75 N.C. App. 654, 655, 331 S.E.2d 217, 218,
disc. review
denied, 315 N.C. 183, 337 S.E.2d 856 (1985)).
Interlocutory orders may be appealed when the denial of an
appeal would affect a substantial right of an appellant.
N.C. Gen.
Stat. § 1-277(a) (2003);
Blackwelder v. Dept. of Human Resources,
60 N.C. App. 331, 335, 299 S.E.2d 777, 780-81 (1983). Whether or
not an appeal affects a substantial right must be decided on a'case by case basis.'
Ussery v. Taylor, 156 N.C. App. 684, 685,
577 S.E.2d 159, 160 (2003) (quoting
Hoots v. Pryor, 106 N.C. App.
397, 401, 417 S.E.2d 269, 272,
disc. review denied, 332 N.C. 345,
421 S.E.2d 148 (1992)). Our Supreme Court has held that an appeal
may affect a substantial right if it forces a party to undergo two
trials where the same issues are present in both trials, thereby
creating the possibility that a party will be prejudiced by
different juries in separate trials rendering inconsistent verdicts
on the same factual issues.
Ussery, 156 N.C. App. at 685, 577
S.E.2d at 160.
In the instant case, plaintiff's claims against the various
defendants rest upon different factual allegations. Plaintiff
argues that County, DSS, Shore, Brogdon and Saul were negligent in
their supervision and investigation of child neglect complaints.
Plaintiff's complaint against Holbrook, the Graingers, and Allgood
Construction Co., Inc., alleges negligent supervision of a child
and negligent building and protection of a pool. As such, the
same issues are not present in all claims against all defendants
and thus, there is no concern that different juries in separate
trials will render inconsistent verdicts on the same factual
issues.
See Ussery, 156 N.C. App. at 685, 577 S.E.2d at 160. We
dismiss this appeal as interlocutory.
Dismissed.
Judges HUDSON and ELMORE concur.
Report per Rule 30(e).
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