Published on Friday, February 22, 2008
“I can’t say 100 percent for sure, but if I were a betting person, I would say yeah,” said Robert Hornik Jr., the lawyer representing Pinewild, a gated community west of the village.
On Monday, Moore County Superior Court Judge Lindsay Davis granted a motion for summary judgment that effectively dismissed the four remaining claims in Pinewild’s lawsuit.
Pinehurst is set to annex Pinewild on June 30.
The lawsuit, which was filed last year, alleged that Pinehurst has no legal basis to annex the land. Hornik argued in the complaint that if the annexation were allowed, the health, safety and welfare of Pinewild residents would not be improved.
Hornik said the village improperly categorized pieces of property and drew arbitrary lines through the subdivision to make it meet state standards for annexation.
Those claims and one alleging that Pinehurst is pursuing the annexation strictly for financial gain were all thrown out by Davis on Monday.
Village officials have said the annexation would generate $1.1 million in tax revenue during the first year. It would also allow the village to control development near Pinehurst’s western border by extending its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Village Attorney Michael Newman said he wasn’t surprised by the judge’s ruling. North Carolina annexation law has been thoroughly litigated and is well-established, he said.
Like Hornik, Newman anticipates an appeal will be filed. He said he has no concerns when it comes to fighting the appeal and a federal lawsuit filed in late January.
The federal lawsuit, like the local lawsuit, claims that Pinehurst is taking the land illegally. The complaint asks that Pinewild residents be paid for lost private property rights. The value of those rights is estimated at between $54.1 million and $74.7 million.