Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in North Carolina

Is the county going beyond its scope of authority?

We were sued in small claims court and the case was thrown out by the magistrate because the plantiff has no case. Plantiff did appeal and it was sent to Arbitration. Several problems with this: 1. NC law says it must be filed for aribtration within 60 days, the county waited 68 days. 2. There is no agreement to arbitrate between the parties 3. The state syays it has the right to force both parties to pay for arbitration. So why sould we be forced into this arbitration when the county did not file it within the stated time frame, and why should we have to basicly pay for his appeal when the magistrate ruled in our favor? Oh, the staff member for the county that I spoke to says the time limit of 60 days is only a ''suggestion'' even though it is clearly listed as a rule for arbitration by the State Judicial system!


Asked on 1/13/09, 7:38 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Kirby Law Offices of John M. Kirby

Re: Is the county going beyond its scope of authority?

This is actually a fairly standard procedure. Unfortunately, you will probably have to pay about $50 for the arbitration, regardless of whether you won or lost below, and regardless of whether you win or lose in arbitration. If you win at arbitration, there may be a way to ultimately recoup that amount, but it would take a lot of work. As for the 68 days, that is just a suggestion. You may conceivably be able to file a motion to be excused from arbitration (if there is a good reason to do so), but it is really not worth the trouble. Also, if you are indigent, then the fee can probably be waived. This part of the system is not necessarily fair, and you have a good point about that. Further, arbitration is very similar to small claims court (e.g. informal rules of evidence, decision is non-binding), and therefore you are basically having to go through the small claims hearing process all over; that's another flaw to this system.

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Answered on 1/13/09, 8:55 am


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