September 7, 2022 — The North Carolina Court of Appeals unanimously ruled the state can be sued for failing to protect the right of its citizens to fish.
Appeals Court Judge Toby Hampson on Tuesday published a 27-page opinion stating the lawsuit, Coastal Conservation Association v. North Carolina, could not be dismissed based on the state’s claim it possessed sovereign immunity in the matter.
The state contended it had no constitutional mandate to preserve the right of the people to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife for the public good. North Carolinians voted in 2018 to include in the state Constitution those specific rights.