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A WBD trial team of attorneys Sonny Haynes and Nikole Crow and paralegal Ashley Couch secured a complete trial victory on behalf of Orange County, N.C., in a high-exposure class action challenging the County’s Educational Facilities Impact Fee Ordinance. On Thursday, August 7, 2025, an Orange County jury returned a defense verdict—no liability and no damages awarded. The result ends more than eight years of litigation and confirms the County’s compliance with statutory authority and ordinance provisions.

This was a certified class action involving two plaintiff classes—the "Feepayer" and "Refund" classes—alleging that school impact fees collected between 2009 and 2016 were ultra vires and subject to refund. The classes, represented by Brooks Pierce, sought over $16 million in damages. It is extremely rare that an impact fee case would ever be heard by a jury, and this is believed to be the first school impact fee case in the United States to proceed to a jury trial as a class action.

Key Milestones

  • Summary judgment secured in 2022 for both Orange County and the Town of Chapel Hill.
  • Summary judgment affirmed by a majority of the Court of Appeals of North Carolina.
  • Supreme Court of North Carolina reinstated claims in 2024 following a dissent-based appeal.
  • Trial commenced August 5, 2025; directed verdict granted in part as to the Refund Class.
  • Unanimous defense verdict returned as to the Feepayer Class on August 7, 2025.
     

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