Former Maggie Valley Police Chief sues town: Suit alleges wrongful termination, coverup of criminal activity

Former Maggie Valley Police Chief Russ Gilliland is suing the town for wrongful termination following what he alleges was the unlawful “cover-up of criminal activity.” 

Pactiv doesn’t want to pay back grant

Since unceremoniously announcing its exit from Canton early in 2023, Pactiv Evergreen, owner of the now-shuttered 115-year-old paper mill, has had very little to say — except which bills it refuses to pay. On July 29, the $6 billion multinational company did it again. 

eCourts coming to Western North Carolina: Officials promise greater public access to judicial system

The public in Western North Carolina is about to have more access to the courts than ever before, assuming all goes to plan. 

Appeals panel sends Kituwah LLC back to court: Lawsuit alleges theft of trade secrets from other tribally owned company

A lawsuit filed against Kituwah LLC that was initially dismissed is heading back to court after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that the tribally owned corporation waived its sovereign immunity.

WNC wedding venue settles with federal government after ADA suit

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a settlement agreement with Nantahala Weddings to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at its facilities in western North Carolina. 

Lawsuit challenges Forest Service timber targets

A lawsuit filed last month in a Washington, D.C., federal court alleges the U.S. Forest Service’s practice of setting “timber targets” puts the climate at risk, undermines the Biden administration’s climate goals and violates federal law. 

Trial term set in police shooting lawsuit

A man who was severely injured in a 2022 police shooting at his home in Cherokee County won’t see a resolution to his civil suit until August 2025 at the earliest, according to a recent filing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. 

Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office answers police shooting lawsuit

In a 65-page answer to an extensive lawsuit  filed in response to the December 2022 police shooting of Jason Harley Kloepfer in Cherokee County, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office emphasized that it was officers with the Cherokee Indian Police Department, not CCSO deputies, who fired the shots, and denied allegations that its deputies and supervisors mishandled the case from the beginning. 

Judge rules on motion to dismiss claims in police shooting suit

The court has made its decision in the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office’s request to dismiss  many of the complaints in a lawsuit stemming from the 2022 shooting of Jason Harley Kloepfer at his home near Murphy.

Police shooting case could test limits of sovereign immunity

As police shooting victim Jason Harley Kloepfer’s sprawling federal lawsuit  makes its way through court, where he’s seeking millions of dollars in damages, some attorneys are speculating that it has the potential to spur a first-of-its-kind ruling on the limits of sovereign immunity, a defense that often protects Native American tribes from lawsuits. 

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