Bland v. City of Wilmington

SHARP, Justice.

Plaintiffs’ assignments of error raise two questions: (1) Have plaintiffs stated a controversy justiciable under the Declaratory Judgment Act? (2) If so, may the City of Wilmington require its firemen to reside within the city limits?

The Declaratory Judgment Act permits any person affected by a statute or municipal ordinance to obtain a declaration of his rights thereunder. G.S. 1-254. Courts of record within their respective jurisdictions are expressly empowered to declare such rights even though no further relief is or could be claimed, and no proceeding is “open to objection…