Abstract:
The NC General Assembly requires state and local government to cooperatively fund and manage service and regulatory programs in public health, social services, mental health, and other areas. One of the disadvantages of this system is dispute over which entity bears legal responsibility when a citizen is injured by a negligent act of a local government employee administering or providing services in such a program. This bulletin discusses two recent cases from the NC Court of Appeals that illustrate the difficulty involved in determining whether the state of a local government is responsible for injuries to a plaintiff.