# Burwell v. Griffin

> Court of Appeals of North Carolina · March 20, 1984 · 67 N.C. App. 198

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9585931

## Case

- **Full name:** WILLIAM LEE BURWELL and WILLIAM TAYLOR WILSON v. JAMES H. GRIFFIN, Individually and in His Capacity as Chief of Police of the City of Oxford; H. T. RAGLAND, JR., Individually and in His Capacity as City Manager of the City of Oxford; State of North Carolina; And THE CITY OF OXFORD, NORTH CAROLINA
- **Court:** Court of Appeals of North Carolina
- **Decided:** March 20, 1984
- **Citations:** 67 N.C. App. 198; 312 S.E.2d 917; 1984 N.C. App. LEXIS 3052
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Johnson
- **Judges:** Vaughn, Webb, Johnson
- **Cited by:** 9 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9585931

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- stating a final judgment disposes of the cause as to all parties, leaving nothing to be judicially determined in the trial court

## Opinion text

Judge JOHNSON
concurring.
I concur but wish to point out that although the defendants may have substantially complied with the requirements of Rules II-l and II-8,1 do not believe that the spirit of the rules requiring the granting of an impartial hearing was followed. Prior to granting the plaintiffs a hearing, the City Manager had already exercised his discretion and demoted plaintiffs in rank. Thereafter, the plaintiffs were required to submit to a hearing before the same City Manager who had previously demoted them and whose decision they were seeking relief from.
Rule IV, Sec. 15.0(3) of the City Personnel Policy, “The Grievance Procedure,” provides that the City Manager may conduct the hearing himself or he may refer the matter to a special grievance committee consisting of three classified city employees; one to be appointed by the City Manager; one fellow employee ap *211 pointed by the offended employee; and the third, who will act as chairman, to be appointed by the first two appointees. In this case, City Manager Ragland had considered the conduct of the plaintiffs and exercised his discretion in demoting them. Under these circumstances, upon a request for a hearing to review this action, the better practice would be for the City Manager to exercise his discretion under the City Personnel Policy and refer the hearing to a special grievance committee to preserve the appearance and substance of impartiality.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9585931. Public record. Not legal advice.