IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA

No. COA16-804

Filed: 3 October 2017

Currituck County, No. 12 CVS 334

SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C., OCEAN ASSOCIATES, LP, LITTLE NECK 

TOWERS, L.L.C., GERALD FRIEDMAN, NANCY FRIEDMAN, CHARLES S. 

FRIEDMAN, ‘TIL MORNING, LLC, and SECOND STAR, LLC, Plaintiffs,

v.

COUNTY OF CURRITUCK; THE CURRITUCK COUNTY BOARD OF 

COMMISSIONERS; and JOHN D. RORER, MARION GILBERT, O. VANCE 

AYDLETT, JR., H.M. PETREY, J. OWEN ETHERIDGE, PAUL MARTIN, and S. 

PAUL O’NEAL as members of the CURRITUCK COUNTY BOARD OF 

COMMISSIONERS, Defendants.

Appeal by Defendants from a default judgment entered 9 May 2016 by Judge 

Milton F. Fitch, Jr., in Currituck County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of 

Appeals 19 April 2017.

Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, L.L.P., by J. Mitchell 

Armbruster and Lacy H. Reaves, for Plaintiffs-Appellees.

The Brough Law Firm, PLLC, by G. Nicholas Herman and Currituck County 

Attorney Donald I. McRee, Jr., for Defendants-Appellants.

Conner Gwyn Schenck PLLC, by James S. Schenck, IV, and Amy Bason, for 

Amicus Curiae, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners.

Simonsen Law Firm, P.C., by Lars P. Simonsen, for Amicus Curiae, the 

Northern Currituck Outer Banks Association.

Roger W. Knight, P.A., by Roger W. Knight, for Amicus Curiae, the Fruitville 

Beach Civic Association.
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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INMAN, Judge.

The County of Currituck, the Currituck County Board of Commissioners, and 

members of that Board (collectively, “Defendants”) appeal from the trial court’s denial 

of their motion to set aside entry of default and the trial court’s grant of default 

judgment in favor of Swan Beach Corolla, L.L.C., Ocean Associates, LP, Little Neck 

Towers, L.L.C., Gerald Friedman, Nancy Friedman, Charles S. Friedman, ‘til 

Morning, LLC, and Second Star, LLC (collectively, “Plaintiffs”). Defendants argue 

that the trial court erred because the time in which they had to file an answer never 

commenced, thereby making the clerk’s entry of default premature and void. 

Defendants also argue that even if they did not timely file an answer, the trial court 

abused its discretion by failing to apply the good cause standard when considering 

Defendants’ motion to set aside the entry of default.

After careful review, we reverse the trial court’s denial of Defendants’ motion 

to set aside the entry of default.

Factual and Procedural History

This is the third appeal to this Court in this case. Facts relevant to this appeal 

follow, but additional procedural and factual history of the litigation are included in 

our decisions resulting from the first two appeals. See Swan Beach Corolla, L.L.C. v. 

Cty. of Currituck, 234 N.C. App. 617, 619-21, 760 S.E.2d 302, 305-07 (2014) (Swan 
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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Beach I); and Swan Beach Corolla, L.L.C. v. Cty. of Currituck, No. COA15-293, 2015 

WL 8747777 *1, *1-3 (N.C. Ct. App. Dec. 15, 2015) (unpublished) (Swan Beach II).

Plaintiffs, a group of owners of real property in Currituck County, filed suit 

after Defendants refused to allow Plaintiffs to develop their land. Plaintiffs alleged 

in their complaint that: (1) Plaintiffs have common law vested rights to develop their 

property (the “Vested Rights Claim”); (2) Defendants were violating Plaintiffs’ rights 

to due process and equal protection under the federal Constitution (the “Equal 

Protection Claim”); and (3) Defendants were violating Plaintiffs’ right to taxation by 

uniform rules as guaranteed by Article V, Section 2 of the North Carolina 

Constitution (the “Uniform Tax Claim”).

Defendants moved to dismiss all three claims pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 

(6) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure without filing an answer. The trial 

court entered an order granting the motion in July 2013. Plaintiffs appealed, which 

resulted in the first appeal to this Court and our opinion in Swan Beach I. 

Swan Beach I was decided by this Court on 1 July 2014. In Swan Beach I, we 

affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the Uniform Tax Claim, but reversed the 

dismissal of the Vested Rights Claim and the Equal Protection Claim. 234 N.C. App. 

at 622-31, 760 S.E.2d at 307-13. We remanded the matter to the trial court for further 

proceedings on the two remaining claims. Id. at 631, 760 S.E.2d at 313.
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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Less than a week after our decision, counsel for Defendants contacted counsel 

for Plaintiffs via email to disclose documents that could be subject to discovery and 

to forecast a forthcoming analysis by the county planning director to address 

Plaintiffs’ long frustrated development plans.

On 21 July 2014, the mandate on Swan Beach I issued. 

On 18 August 2014, counsel for Plaintiffs proposed via email to counsel for 

Defendants a meeting on 25 August 2014 to discuss settlement of the litigation. 

Defendants’ counsel responded the following day, agreed to the meeting, and 

indicated that a location had been secured for depositions related to the litigation.

On 21 August 2014, thirty days after the issuance of the mandate and four 

days before the scheduled meeting to discuss settlement, Plaintiffs’ counsel filed with 

the clerk of court a motion for entry of default based on Defendants’ failure to file a 

timely responsive pleading as to their Vested Rights and Equal Protection claims. 

The clerk entered default. Plaintiffs’ counsel served Defendants’ counsel with notice 

via regular mail. 

Six days after the clerk entered default, on 27 August 2014, Defendants filed a 

motion to set aside the entry of default and submitted to the court, but were not 

allowed to file, a proposed answer. Defendants’ motion asserted that there was “no 

clearly established rule under the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure or 

North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure setting forth the time in which responsive 
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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pleadings are to be filed following issuance of an opinion by the North Carolina Court 

of Appeals.” Before the trial court, Defendants argued that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-298

(2015)—which states that “at the first session of the superior or district court after a 

certificate of the determination of an appeal is received, . . . if the judgment is 

modified, shall direct its modification and performance”—applied to the mandate 

from our decision in Swan Beach I and that Defendants’ answer was not late because 

the trial court never entered an order directing the modification and performance, 

i.e., the reinstatement of the Vested Rights and Equal Protection claims. The trial 

court denied Defendants’ motion and Defendants timely appealed, leading to this 

Court’s decision in Swan Beach II.

In Swan Beach II, we held that Defendants’ appeal from the denial of their

motion to set aside the entry of default was interlocutory because no default judgment

had been entered. Swan Beach II, 2015 WL 8747777, at *2. We limited our review

to Defendants’ arguments regarding the defenses of governmental immunity and 

collateral estoppel, which affected substantial rights. Id. at *2. We affirmed the trial 

court’s order only on the merits of these arguments, and otherwise “dismiss[ed] 

Defendants’ appeal without prejudice to any right Defendants may have to make 

[additional] arguments at some later stage.” Id. at *5.

Plaintiffs filed an amended motion for default judgment, and Defendants 

responded with a second motion to set aside the entry of default and a motion to deny 
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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Plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment. The motions were heard before the trial 

court, which entered a default judgment awarding Plaintiffs their common law vested 

rights and $39,137,805 in damages for their Equal Protection claim. Defendants

appealed the default judgment—the case now before us, Swan Beach III—and filed a 

motion under Rule 60(b) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure to set aside 

the default judgment.

This Court stayed Defendants’ appeal in Swan Beach III until the trial court 

ruled on the Rule 60(b) motion. The trial court has since denied the motion and 

Defendants subsequently filed an appeal from that denial resulting in yet a fourth 

appeal, Swan Beach IV, which has been placed on a future docket of this Court.

In this decision, we address only Defendants’ appeal from the denial of their 

motion to set aside the entry of default and the trial court’s entry of default judgment 

in favor of Plaintiffs.

Analysis

Defendants’ primary argument is that the time period in which they could file 

a responsive pleading never commenced because the complaint revived by this 

Court’s decision in Swan Beach I was governed by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-298, which 

requires the trial court to enter an order effectuating the modification of its prior 

order following a decision by our Court. Defendants also argue that regardless of the 

applicability of § 1-298, the trial court abused its discretion by: (1) failing to apply the 
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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proper standard—good cause—to its determination of Defendants’ motion to set 

aside; and (2) assuming arguendo that the trial court had applied the good cause 

standard, it abused its discretion because Defendants’ actions were not dilatory,

Plaintiffs were not harmed by the delay, and a failure to set aside the entry of default

will result in a grave injustice to Defendants.

We hold that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to apply the proper 

standard in considering Defendants’ motion to set aside the entry of default, and that 

even if the trial court had applied the proper standard, denial of Defendants’ motion 

to set aside the entry of default would amount to an abuse of discretion. Because we 

hold the trial court abused its discretion in denying the motion to set aside the entry 

of default, the default judgment is rendered void and we do not reach Defendants’ 

other arguments. 

I. Standard of Review

The decision of whether to set aside an entry of default for good cause under 

Rule 55(d) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure is “within the sound 

discretion of the trial court[.]” Auto. Equip. Distribs., Inc. v. Petroleum Equip. & 

Serv., Inc., 87 N.C. App. 606, 608, 361 S.E.2d 895, 896 (1987) (citation omitted). Such 

a decision therefore will “not be disturbed on appeal absent a showing of abuse of that 

discretion.” Id. at 608, 361 S.E.2d at 896 (internal quotation marks and citation 

omitted).
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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II. Motion to Set Aside the Entry of Default

In determining whether a party has made a showing of good cause to set aside 

the entry of default, as well as when reviewing a trial court’s decision regarding such 

a motion, our Court considers: “(1) was [the moving party] diligent in pursuit of [the] 

matter; (2) did [the non-moving party] suffer any harm by virtue of the delay; and (3) 

would [the moving party] suffer a grave injustice by being unable to defend the 

action.” Luke v. Omega Consulting Grp., LC, 194 N.C. App. 745, 748, 670 S.E.2d 604, 

607 (2009) (quoting Auto. Equip. Distribs., 87 N.C. App. at 608, 361 S.E.2d at 896-

97); see also Brown v. Lifford, 136 N.C. App. 379, 382, 524 S.E.2d 587, 589 (2000). 

Importantly, our Court has explained that a “[d]efault judgment is a drastic remedy 

which should be reserved for those cases . . . in which one party refuses or fails to 

attend to his or her legal business.” Beard v. Pembaur, 68 N.C. App. 52, 58, 313 

S.E.2d 853, 856 (1984).

A trial court abuses its discretion when the party appealing the denial of its 

motion to set aside the entry of default demonstrates that the trial court did not apply 

the proper “good cause” standard in its determination. Decker v. Homes, Inc./Constr. 

Mgmt. & Fin. Grp., 187 N.C. App. 658, 661-62, 654 S.E.2d 495, 498-99 (2007). In 

such instances, our Court has vacated and remanded the trial court’s decision with 

instruction to the trial court to engage in a proper examination under the correct 

standard. Id. at 662, 654 S.E.2d at 499 (“The order denying the motion to set aside 
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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the entry of default must be vacated, and this matter remanded for reconsideration 

by the trial court as to whether [the] defendants have shown good cause to set aside 

default.”).

However, a trial court’s failure to apply the “good cause” standard is not the 

only circumstance in which our Court has found an abuse of discretion in denying a 

motion to set aside the entry of default. In Peebles v. Moore, 48 N.C. App. 497, 504, 

269 S.E.2d 694, 698 (1980), modified and aff’d by 302 N.C. 351, 275 S.E.2d 833 (1981), 

this Court held that the trial court abused its discretion in finding that the defendant 

had not established good cause to set aside the entry of default. This Court explained 

that “[w]hile setting aside a default judgment under [N.C. Gen. Stat. §] 1A-1, Rule 

60(b) generally involves a showing of excusable neglect and a meritorious defense, to 

set aside an entry of default, all that need be shown is good cause.” Id. at 504, 269 

S.E.2d at 698 (internal citations omitted). We noted that “[w]hat constitutes ‘good 

cause’ depends on the circumstances in a particular case, and within the limits of 

discretion, an inadvertence which is not strictly excusable may constitute good cause, 

particularly ‘where the plaintiff can suffer no harm from the short delay involved in 

the default and grave injustice may be done to the defendant.’ ” Id. at 504, 269 S.E.2d 

at 698 (quoting Whaley v. Rhodes, 10 N.C. App. 109, 112, 177 S.E.2d 735, 737 (1970)). 

“This standard is less stringent than the showing of ‘mistake, inadvertence, or 

excusable neglect’ necessary to set aside a default judgment pursuant to N.C. Gen. 
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Opinion of the Court

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Stat. § 1A-1, Rule 60(b).” Brown, 136 N.C. App. at 382, 524 S.E.2d at 589 (citation 

omitted).

In modifying and affirming our Court’s decision in Peebles, the Supreme Court 

held that “the better reasoned and more equitable result may be reached by adhering 

to the principle that a default should not be entered, even though technical default is 

clear, if justice may be served otherwise.” Peebles, 302 N.C. at 356, 275 S.E.2d at 836. 

This principle is in line with the strong public policy that “[t]he law generally 

disfavors default and ‘any doubt should be resolved in favor of setting aside an entry 

of default so that the case may be decided on its merits.’ ” Auto. Equip. Distribs., 87 

N.C. App. at 608, 361 S.E.2d at 896 (quoting Peebles, 302 N.C. App. at 504-05, 269 

S.E.2d at 698).

In this case, the trial court provided the following reasoning when it denied

Defendants’ motion to set aside the entry of default:

THE COURT: I will readily admit that I do not fully 

understand the—and know the appellate rules. But would 

you not have an opportunity if I were to deny your Motion 

to Set Aside the Default to appeal that ruling?

. . . 

THE COURT: Well, I’m going to do that. For one reason, 

it will give us on the trial bench some clarity as to how we 

are to proceed in this particular situation where it never 

happens again. So I’m going to deny your Motion to Set 

Aside the default. And you can appeal my ruling and then 

the Court of Appeals can give us some clarity on how we 

are to proceed on that.
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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(emphasis added). Plaintiffs assert that the trial court’s use of the language “[f]or 

one reason” indicates that the trial court’s uncertainty regarding § 1-298 was not the 

sole reason for its determination and that we must presume the court found on proper 

evidence facts to support its judgment—specifically, a finding of no good cause. We 

are unpersuaded. 

A full review of the hearing and the trial court’s written order reveals that the

trial court identified no reason for its denial of Defendants’ motion other than 

uncertainty as to whether the time for which Defendants had to file an answer had 

run. Following the governing principle that “any doubt should be resolved in favor of 

setting aside an entry of default,” Peebles, 302 N.C. App. at 504-05, 269 S.E.2d at 698,

we conclude that the trial court failed to apply the proper standard in its 

determination and abused its discretion through this failure.

In addition to abusing its discretion by failing to apply the proper standard, we 

are persuaded that had the trial court applied the good cause standard, it would have 

nonetheless abused its discretion by denying Defendants’ motion given the 

circumstances in this case. See Beard, 68 N.C. App. at 56, 313 S.E.2d at 855 (“Even 

if the trial court used as its standard, ‘good cause,’ as set forth in Rule 55(d), the trial 

court abused its discretion in this case.”). 

To demonstrate good cause, Defendants must show: (1) they were diligent in 

pursuit of the matter; (2) Plaintiffs did not suffer harm by virtue of the delay; and (3) 
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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they would suffer a grave injustice by being unable to defend the action. See Luke, 

194 N.C. App. at 748, 670 S.E.2d at 589.

To this end, Defendants assert on appeal that: (1) there had been extensive 

discovery and litigation before the trial court and our Court and Defendants’ reliance 

on § 1-298 was neither unreasonable nor dilatory; (2) Plaintiffs have not suffered any 

harm by Defendants’ delay in filing an answer; and (3) Defendants will suffer a grave 

injustice by being unable to defend against claims of religious discrimination and 

claims impairing Defendants’ ability to govern and regulate the development of 

property within the County. We agree.

In Beard, the evidence on record indicated that “discovery was being pursued 

vigorously by the parties; that [the] plaintiff’s counsel thought, albeit erroneously, 

that service was not perfected on [the] defendant until . . . four days before the entry 

of default; and that all matters in [the] defendant’s Counterclaim related to the . . . 

subject of all material allegations in the plaintiff’s Complaint.” 68 N.C. App. at 56, 

313 S.E.2d at 855-56. Based on those facts as considered in light of the principle that 

default judgments should be reserved for instances in which “one party refuse or fails 

to attend to his or her legal business[,]” this Court held that the trial court abused its 

discretion by denying the a motion to set aside the entry of default. Id. at 58, 313 

S.E.2d at 856.
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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Plaintiffs seek to distinguish the facts of this case from those in Beard. 

Plaintiffs rely on our Court’s decision in Granville Med. Ctr. v. Tipton, 160 N.C. App. 

484, 487, 586 S.E.2d 791, 794 (2003), which upheld the denial of a motion to set aside 

the entry of default by a defendant who failed to respond for seven months after 

service of a summons. The defendant sought to be excused for the delay because he 

was not a lawyer. Id. at 487, 586 S.E.2d at 794. His argument was unsuccessful 

because “the evidence show[ed the] defendant simply neglected the matter at issue.” 

Id. at 488, 586 S.E.2d at 795. Granville is inapposite to the present case, in which 

Defendants submitted an answer for filing within days of learning of the entry of 

default.

By the time of the hearing on the initial motion to set aside the entry of default, 

this case had been pending for over two years, largely for reasons inherent in any 

case from which an appeal is taken. Defendants had obtained a judgment of dismissal

in July 2013 and followed the appeal of that judgment by Plaintiffs through litigation 

before this Court. The appeal was not resolved until a year later, in July 2014, when 

this Court reversed the dismissal of Plaintiffs’ Vested Rights and Equal Protection 

claims. 

Within a week of this Court’s decision, counsel for Defendants promptly 

resumed discussions with Plaintiffs’ counsel regarding discovery scheduling and 

other tasks related to continuing the litigation in the trial court. Two days before 
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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Plaintiffs’ counsel sought entry of default, counsel had scheduled a meeting to discuss 

settlement. It is undisputed that the entry of default came as a surprise to 

Defendants. 

Six days after the clerk’s entry of default and before the entry of a default 

judgment, Defendants submitted a proposed answer and filed the motion to set aside 

the entry of default. The motion included the colorable argument that N.C. Gen. Stat. 

§ 1-298 applied to the decision from our Court reinstating two of Plaintiffs’ claims.

Regardless of whether N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-298 applied, these actions demonstrate 

that Defendants’ delay in filing an answer was not dilatory. 

Our dissenting colleague asserts that Plaintiffs were harmed by Defendants’ 

delayed response to the complaint, advancing an argument not raised by Plaintiffs 

before the trial court or before this Court. Nothing in the record indicates that 

Plaintiffs asserted that they had suffered any harm by the delay of sixteen days 

between 11 August 2014, which Plaintiffs contend was the last day Defendants were 

allowed to file an answer, and 27 August 2014, when Defendants submitted their 

proposed answer. Nor have Plaintiffs in their briefs filed with this Court asserted 

any harm by that delay. 

Finally, we are persuaded that given the size of the judgment and the nature 

of the claims, Defendants would suffer a grave injustice if they were denied the ability 

to defend against Plaintiffs’ claims.
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, L.L.C. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

Opinion of the Court

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Accordingly, we hold that the trial court abused its discretion in denying 

Defendants’ motion to set aside the entry of default.

Conclusion

For the foregoing reasons, we hold the trial court abused its discretion by 

failing to apply the good cause standard when it denied Defendants’ motion to set 

aside the entry of default. Because we also hold that even if the trial court had 

applied the proper standard it would have abused its discretion in denying

Defendants’ motion, we reverse the trial court’s order.

We are not blind to the principle that “rules which require responsive pleadings 

within a limited time serve important social goals, and a party should not be 

permitted to flout them with impunity.” Howell v. Haliburton, 22 N.C. App. 40, 42, 

205 S.E.2d 617, 619 (1974). But in the circumstances of this case, justice is best 

served by reversing the trial court’s denial of Defendants’ motion to set aside the 

clerk’s entry of default. 

REVERSED.

Judge ELMORE concurs.

Judge BERGER dissents with separate opinion.
No. 16-804 – Swan Beach Corolla, L.L.C. v. Cty. Of Currituck

BERGER, Judge, dissenting in separate opinion.

I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion for two reasons: (1) it would be 

more prudent to remand this matter to the trial court for additional findings, and (2) 

the majority is sanctioning what is essentially a “mistake of law” defense by 

Defendants.

There is no dispute that the trial court’s order is lacking. However, remanding 

for additional findings is appropriate in this matter. See Coastal Fed. Credit Union 

v. Falls, 217 N.C. App 100, 718 S.E.2d 192 (2011).

In addition, we should not allow mistake of law on the part of a defaulting 

party to constitute good cause. To demonstrate good cause, Defendants have the 

burden of showing: (1) Defendants were diligent in pursuit of the matter; (2) Plaintiffs 

did not suffer harm by virtue of the delay; and (3) Defendants would suffer “grave 

injustice by being unable to defend the action.” Luke v. Omega Consulting Grp., LC, 

194 N.C. App. 745, 748, 670 S.E.2d 604, 607 (2009) (citations and quotation marks 

omitted). 

However, our courts have held that failure to understand the law is not good 

cause to set aside entry of default. See Lewis v. Hope, 224 N.C. App. 322, 324-25, 736

S.E.2d 214, 216-17 (2012) (finding good cause was not shown where the “[d]efendant’s 

claims amount[ed] to nothing more than alleging that he was unaware of the need to 

file an answer because of his unfamiliarity with the law”). See also First Citizens 

Bank & Tr. Co. v. Cannon, 138 N.C. App. 153, 158, 530 S.E.2d 581, 584 (2000) 
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, LLC. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

BERGER, J., dissenting

2

(affirming entry of default where pro se party claimed she “ ‘was unaware that she 

was required to file an Answer’ ”); Granville Med. Ctr. v. Tipton, 160 N.C. App. 484, 

487, 586 S.E.2d 791, 794 (2003) (finding no good cause was shown by the defendant 

who argued he was “unfamiliar with the procedural and substantive rules of law”).

While the law may disfavor default, courts have stressed the importance of 

filing timely responsive pleadings. Inattention and disregard for the rules should not 

be rewarded. Defendants admit they failed to file a responsive pleading. Further, 

they acknowledge that they were aware of this Court’s determination that further 

proceedings were to occur, but argue that because of their interpretation of North 

Carolina General Statute Section 1-298, no responsive pleading was due and entry of 

default was improper. If mistake of law is not a valid excuse for pro se defendants, it 

should not be allowed here.

North Carolina General Statute Section 1-298 states in relevant part that “[i]n 

civil cases, at the first session of the superior or district court after a certificate of the 

determination of an appeal is received, . . . if the judgment is modified, [the court 

below] shall direct its modification and performance.” N.C.G.S. § 1-298 (2015). Under 

the rules of civil procedure, parties have twenty days to file a response after receiving 

“notice of the court’s action in ruling on [a] motion.” N.C. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(1) (emphasis 

added). Rather than following the rules of procedure, Defendants argue that Section 

1-298 requires the lower court to enter its own order to establish the efficacy of this 
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, LLC. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

BERGER, J., dissenting

3

Court’s decision in Swan Beach I in order to continue with these proceedings. I 

disagree. 

As noted in D & W, Inc., v. City of Charlotte, 268 N.C. 720, 724, 152 S.E.2d 199, 

203 (1966), the Supreme Court explicitly stated “the efficacy of our mandate does not 

depend upon the entry of an order by the court below.” The Supreme Court also 

highlighted that “[n]o judgment other than that directed or permitted by the 

appellate court may be entered. Otherwise, litigation would never be ended[.]” Id. 

at 722, 152 S.E.2d at 202 (citation and quotation marks omitted). A mandate from 

the appellate court is automatically issued twenty days after the filing of an appellate 

opinion. N.C.R. App. P. 32. 

Defendants would have us believe that the trial court must take some 

affirmative act before they had the responsibility to file an answer to a complaint 

which they knew existed. In reality, they had twenty days in which to file a response 

because no action by the trial court was necessary.

Simply, the Defendants unjustifiably relied on Section 1-298 to their 

detriment. While the majority indicates that “Defendants submitted an answer for 

filing within days of learning of the entry of default,” this does not make them 

diligent. To the contrary, Defendants had fifty days after this Court’s published Swan 

I opinion to prepare and file an answer. They failed to do so, and have failed to show 

good cause.
SWAN BEACH COROLLA, LLC. V. CTY. OF CURRITUCK

BERGER, J., dissenting

4

Also, it is somewhat misleading to indicate that Plaintiffs have asserted no 

harm from the delay caused by failure to file a responsive pleading. Defendants argue 

inter alia that Plaintiffs have not raised the issue of harm, thus they are unconcerned 

with the delay caused by Defendants. Plaintiffs have been harmed, however, and 

absent the entry of default, Plaintiffs may still be waiting on Defendants to file their 

answer. 

This litigation began in 2012. For the past five years Plaintiffs have been 

unable to exercise fundamental property rights due to the actions of Defendants. 

Plaintiffs provided affidavits from two experts attesting to the damages incurred by 

Plaintiffs since the beginning of this litigation. While these reports are not specific 

to the fifty days in which Defendants failed to respond, they are indicative of damages 

Plaintiffs have suffered. However, Defendants failed to address either affidavit 

included in the record regarding damages. Defendants have not adequately shown 

that Plaintiffs suffered no harm sufficient to set aside the entry of default. 

I believe this matter should be remanded to the trial court for entry of 

additional findings. Failing there, however, Defendants were not diligent in pursuing 

this matter. Further, Defendants have not shown Plaintiffs have suffered no harm. 

Accordingly, I would affirm the entry of default.