Issue

Contested case petition—as-applied constitutional challenge to tax statute—dismissal required—no subject matter jurisdiction in OAH

Summary

The Business Court, sitting as an appellate court, properly determined that the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) lacked jurisdiction over an as-applied challenge to the constitutionality of N.C.G.S. § 105-122 (a tax law, known as the "franchise statute") under N.C.G.S. § 105-241.17 (conditions for filing a civil action challenging a tax statute as unconstitutional) because the OAH, an executive branch agency, had only the powers conferred upon it by the General Assembly and those powers did not include jurisdiction over the issue of a tax statute's constitutionality–a matter reserved to the judicial branch under the separation-of-powers clause of the North Carolina Constitution. Further, this holding comported with the proper reading of N.C.G.S. § 7A-45.4 (designation of complex business cases) with section 105-241.17; that is, interpreting those statutes in a manner to avoid finding a constitutional violation if such a construction is reasonable.

Summary from the North Carolina Reports digest (official subject index). Read the opinion →