Whittington v. North Carolina Department of Human Resources

ORR, Judge.

We begin by noting that although this case arises in the context of controversial regulations pertaining to state funded abortions, this case is not about abortions. Rather, it is a case solely about administrative rule-making authority and whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs in regard to that question. For the reasons below, we find that the trial court did not err.

Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1, Rule 56(c) (1983), summary judgment is appropriate only when the “pleadings, depositions', answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,…