A panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 this morning that a Superior Court judge must reassess his 2013 decision to award $57,000 in funding and $47,000 in attorney’s fees to three charter schools in a dispute with the Cleveland County public school system.

The court’s majority says the judge did not make a proper finding about so-called “restricted” school funds that are not subject to being split between traditional public schools and public charter schools. Dissenting Judge Robert Hunter contended that the majority opinion added new complications that would likely lead to future funding disputes.

Among other opinions the N.C. Court of Appeals released this morning:

  • A panel split 2-1 in the latest set of issues linked to a long-running case involving state government’s misuse of long-term “temporary” employees. The court’s majority upheld most of a trial court ruling favoring the state in the dispute.
  • A unanimous three-judge panel upheld the University of North Carolina’s decision to issue a lifetime ban to a UNC sports fan accused of harassing student athletes and athletics staff members. The court rejected the fan’s argument that his free-speech rights had been violated.
  • A unanimous three-judge panel affirmed a trial court ruling favoring Wilson Medical Center in a dispute with a doctor formerly employed by the center. Despite the unanimous ruling in the result, all three judges wrote separate opinions. Two of the three opinions urged higher courts to review issues in the dispute.
  • A unanimous three-judge panel found no error in a trial court ruling favoring the state in the case of a former employee of N.C. A&T State University who had been charged with “accessing a government computer without authority” and identity theft.
  • A unanimous three-judge panel reversed a trial court ruling and favored a property owner in a zoning dispute with the town of Highlands.
  • A unanimous three-judge panel reversed a trial court and ruled in favor of Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation in a condemnation proceeding for a power line in Rutherford and McDowell counties.