# Beeson v. Palombo

> Court of Appeals of North Carolina · May 1, 2012 · 220 N.C. App. 274

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9780880

## Case

- **Full name:** PHILLIP SAMUEL BEESON, Plaintiff v. FRANK PALOMBO; SANDRA CATHERINE MCKENZIE, and THE CITY OF NEW BERN, Defendants
- **Court:** Court of Appeals of North Carolina
- **Decided:** May 1, 2012
- **Citations:** 220 N.C. App. 274; 727 S.E.2d 343; 2012 N.C. App. LEXIS 598; 2012 WL 1512113
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Steelman
- **Judges:** Stroud, Elmore, Steelman
- **Cited by:** 15 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/9780880

## Opinion text

STEELMAN, Judge,
concurring in the result.
I concur in the result of this case. The exceptions to official immunity have gradually expanded over the years. Epps v. Duke Univ., 122 N.C. App. 198, 204 , 468 S.E.2d 846, 851 (1996). This Court has explicitly recognized five: “A public officer ... ‘is shielded from liability unless he engaged in discretionary actions which were *286 allegedly: (1) corrupt; (2) malicious; (3) outside of and beyond the scope of his duties; (4) in bad faith; or (5) willful and deliberate.’ ” Smith v. Jackson Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 168 N.C. App. 452, 468 , 608 S.E.2d 399, 411 (2005) (quoting Reid v. Roberts, 112 N.C. App. 222, 224 , 435 S.E.2d 116, 199 (1993)). I am not persuaded that the lack of probable cause to issue an arrest warrant, standing alone, is sufficient to negate immunity. Cf Schlossberg v. Goins, 141 N.C. App. 436, 446 , 540 S.E.2d 49, 56 (2000) (stating that a plaintiff cannot defeat public official immunity by alleging “reckless indifference”). I would affirm on this basis.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9780880. Public record. Not legal advice.