construing the statutory predecessor of N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 1-54(1), 1-52(13)
How later courts described this case
- construing the statutory predecessor of N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 1-54(1), 1-52(13)
- same as to assault and battery
- trespass by a public officer
- incorporating Brown’s definition of trespass
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
Justice Mitchell
dissenting.
Giving the words used by the General Assembly in N.C.G.S. § 1-54(3), their plain, ordinary and universally accepted meanings, the one-year limitation period provided by that statute narrowly and specifically applies to actions for assault and false imprisonment, including those in which the defendant is a police officer. We have expressly so construed the statute for thirty-five years. Mobley v. Broome, 248 N.C. 54 , 102 S.E.2d 407 (1958). Accord Evans v. Chipps, 56 N.C. App. 232 , 287 S.E.2d 426 (1982); Jones v. City of Greensboro, 51 N.C. App. 571 , 277 S.E.2d 562 (1981). The parties in this case were entitled to rely upon the statute as authoritatively construed by this Court. Believing as I do in the doctrine of stare decisis, I must respectfully dissent from the decision and holding of the majority that the one-year statute of limitation, N.C.G.S. § 1-54(3), is not available to the defendants in this case.