This dissertation discussed the impact of the North Carolina Tort Claims Act and the history of governmental immunity that has protected school districts and school employees in North Carolina. The research question addressed was: how have North Carolina state courts interpreted the North Carolina Tort Claims Act in litigation against North Carolina school districts and their employees? The North Carolina Tort Claims Act provided citizens with a vehicle to sue local governmental agencies and their employees, such as school employees. The act also provided immunity for schools, especially for excessive damages in the case of negligence by an employee. The …
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This dissertation discussed the impact of the North Carolina Tort Claims Act and the history of governmental immunity that has protected school districts and school employees in North Carolina. The research question addressed was: how have North Carolina state courts interpreted the North Carolina Tort Claims Act in litigation against North Carolina school districts and their employees? The North Carolina Tort Claims Act provided citizens with a vehicle to sue local governmental agencies and their employees, such as school employees. The act also provided immunity for schools, especially for excessive damages in the case of negligence by an employee. The study examined how state courts have responded to different plaintiffs since the passage of the North Carolina Tort Claims Act in 1951. The decisions in the cases analyzed have been mostly favorable to schools, which has strengthened immunity for school employees. There were four legal aspects addressed by the courts after the passage of the North Carolina Tort Claims Act either most frequently or were unique to the case law of North Carolina. Those legal aspects were tests of school districts' governmental immunity; contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff; the official capacity of school employees in lawsuits; and the scope of the Industrial Commission in North Carolina to hear lawsuits. The case law analysis in this study explained the background of those legal aspects, and when school leaders and teachers were vulnerable to lawsuits due to negligence.
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Harned, Jason Douglas.An Analysis of Litigation against North Carolina Educators and School Districts under the North Carolina Tort Claims Act,
dissertation,
December 2023;
Denton, Texas.
(https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2257002/:
accessed May 15, 2024),
University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu;
.
