Orange County Impact Fee Class Action

On August 3, 2018, the Orange County, North Carolina Superior Court entered an Order Granting Class Certification and Appointment of Class Counsel in the case Zander et al. v. Orange County, NC, et al., 17 CVS 166 (Orange Cnty.). The case was brought on behalf of the named plaintiffs and all persons similarly situated. The First Amended Class Action Complaint alleges that the impact fees charged by Orange County and collected by the County, the Town of Chapel Hill, and Carrboro, were illegal. The First Amended Class Action Complaint also alleges that Orange County is required to pay refunds of certain fees pursuant to County ordinance. More detail on the claims brought by the plaintiffs is available in the First Amended Class Action Complaint.

In the August 3, 2018 Order, the Court certified the following classes:

(1) All persons who paid a fee in the amounts established in the 2008 Fee Ordinance during the period March 3, 2014, to December 31, 2016 (the “Feepayer Class”); and

(2) All persons who paid a fee under the schedule of fees enacted in the 2008 Fee Ordinance for a housing unit for which the corresponding fee payable effective January 1, 2017 under the 2016 Amendment would have been less (the “Refund Class”).

The Feepayer Class was certified as to the Third, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Class Action Claims for Relief made in the First Amended Class Action Complaint and the Refund Class was certified as to the Twelfth Class Action Claim for Relief; more detail on these claims can be found in the First Amended Class Action Complaint. The Notice of Class Action approved by the Court for mailing to members of the Feepayer Class can be found here. The Notice of Class Action approved by the Court for mailing to members of the Refund Class can be found here.

Shortly after the Order Granting Class Certification was entered, the Defendants noticed an appeal of the order to the North Carolina Supreme Court. The North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court's order granting class certification. The case is now pending in Orange County Superior Court, with a trial scheduled to be held on or after March 1, 2022.

Additional information can be obtained by contacting plaintiffs’ counsel Robert J. King and Matthew B. Tynan.