Multiple v. North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services, 361 N.C. 372

Summary

The North Carolina Supreme Court held that the public duty doctrine did not bar negligence claims against the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services arising from a fire at a county jail. The court concluded that a special relationship existed because state statutes and regulations imposed mandatory inspection and fire-safety duties for the protection of inmates, a particular class of individuals unable to protect themselves. The court modified and affirmed the Court of Appeals decision upholding denial of the Department’s motion to dismiss.

Holdings

1. The public duty doctrine does not bar the plaintiffs' negligence claims because the allegations support application of the special relationship exception.
2. The statutory and regulatory duties imposed on DHHS create a special relationship because they require mandatory inspections and responses concerning fire-safety compliance for the protection of inmates.
3. The special relationship exception also applies because inmates are in custody and necessarily have limited ability to protect themselves from dangers such as fire.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the public duty doctrine bars negligence claims against DHHS based on its statutory duty to inspect local confinement facilities.
2. Whether the special relationship exception to the public duty doctrine applies when statutes and regulations impose mandatory inspection and fire-safety obligations for the benefit of inmates confined in local jails.
3. Whether plaintiffs' allegations were sufficient to survive DHHS's Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss.

Disposition

affirmed