Ray v. North Carolina Department of Transportation

NEWBY, Justice.

In this case we must determine whether the public duty doctrine bars plaintiffs’ claims against defendant North Carolina Department of Transportation (“DOT”) under the State Tort Claims Act (“STCA”). To answer this question we must consider the impact of the limitation placed on the use of the public duty doctrine by the General Assembly’s 2008 amendment to the STCA. See N.C.G.S. § 143-299.1A (2011). Because we hold that N.C.G.S. § 143-299.1A clarified the legislature’s intent as to the role of the public duty doctrine under the STCA, the limitation on the doctrine in that…