BY JOHN CHAPPELL

Staff Writer

A Superior Court judge on Wednesday dismissed the latest claim filed by Pinewild residents attempting to block annexation by the village of Pinehurst.

Pinewild residents asked the Superior Court for a declaratory judgment regarding which village ordinances would be enforced and which one would not if annexed. The village asked Webb to dismiss it.

A "declaratory judgment" is a court decision made in a legal controversy before any damages have occurred or any laws broken. A judge looks at the controversy and then issues an opinion laying out the rights of each party. It may be granted only in the case of actual, rather than hypothetical, controversies.

Senior Resident Superior Court Judge James M. Webb announced his decision during a term of criminal court, granting a motion to dismiss filed by attorneys for the town. He did not offer an explanation for his ruling.

Webb ordered Bobby Sullivan, as attorney for the prevailing party (village of Pinehurst) to prepare the order and provide a copy to Gene Boyce, the attorney for the Pinewild group, for objections as to form. If Boyce has any objection, he is to submit an alternative order by Monday.

The ruling took effect immediately. Pinewild residents have 30 days to appeal Webb's dismissal

"We will file our notice of appeal," said Lydia Boesch, one of the plaintiff's attorneys and a plaintiff as well. "We don't even know what the basis of his conclusion is."

The issue raised by the plaintiffs was whether "all" Pinehurst ordinances and regulations would apply if it is annexed, as state annexation statutes require. If not, they asked, which do. As a private, gated community, Pinewild has no public access or public streets

Pinehurst contends all ordinances will apply, unless not actually applicable under the circumstances such as laws about public streets where Pinewild has none.

The Pinehurst Village Council adopted an ordinance to annex Pinewild in 2007. A series of legal efforts to block or delay annexation followed. After being denied in Superior Court, opponents appealed and were subsequently denied by the N.C. Court of Appeals in a unanimous ruling. They asked for a rehearing, but that was refused.

The only remaining avenue would be asking the N.C. Supreme Court for a discretionary review. An appeal to the Supreme Court is not automatic since the appeals court judges ruled unanimously. Attorneys for Pinewild on Wednesday were preparing a petition to ask the Supreme Court to review the case.

Separately, another case is asking a federal court to declare this annexation a "taking" under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which would require payment of compensation. That has also been denied, though Pinewild has appealed.

As long as appeals are pending, the village cannot carry out the annexation.

Contact John Chappell at 783-5841 or by e-mail at jchappell@thepilot.com.