The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently reversed the dismissal of a constitutional challenge brought by Outer Banks business owner Ami Hill and her company, Muse Originals, LLC, against the Town of Kill Devil Hills.

In Hill v. Town of Kill Devil Hills, the court held that the plaintiffs’ claims should not have been dismissed on procedural grounds and returned the case to the trial court for consideration on the merits. Davis Hartman Wright LLP attorney Dan Gibson served as North Carolina co-counsel for the plaintiffs alongside the Pacific Legal Foundation.

Hill owns Muse Originals, LLC, which operates the traveling “Muse Market,” a business that displays and sells artwork, including artwork showcased from a renovated school bus known as #Bus252. After the Town denied permits related to the business’s summer events, Hill filed suit alleging that portions of the Town’s ordinance violated protections guaranteed by the North Carolina Constitution.

The trial court dismissed the case without addressing the constitutional issues, finding that the plaintiffs had failed to exhaust administrative remedies, that the case had become moot after the sale of #Bus252, and that the ordinance was authorized by state law.

The Court of Appeals rejected each of those arguments. The court explained that direct constitutional claims are not automatically barred by administrative procedures, that the sale of a single business asset does not eliminate an ongoing dispute, and that local ordinances remain subject to constitutional review even when authorized by an enabling statute.

Because the trial court never addressed the substance of the constitutional claims, the Court of Appeals sent the case back for further proceedings.

The decision reinforces important principles for individuals and businesses challenging government action, including that constitutional claims deserve judicial review and cannot be dismissed solely on procedural technicalities.

“We are glad Ms. Hill will be heard on the merits, and we hope for a favorable ruling,” Gibson said. “Local governments cannot use procedural defenses to avoid constitutional questions.”

Gibson and Davis Hartman Wright LLP help clients throughout North Carolina and the region facing appellate, constitutional, municipal, and commercial legal issues.  Gibson’s practice focuses on appeals, constitutional claims, and civil litigation.  He is admitted to practice in North Carolina’s state and federal courts, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.  Gibson also serves as an adjunct professor at Wake Forest University School of Law where he has taught North Carolina constitutional law, legal writing for judicial chambers, and appellate advocacy.