Case Law Update: AOC 50C Order
By DiPrima v. Vann, COA20-545, Court of Appeals of North Carolina, May 18, 2021
A sixteen-year-old plaintiff sought a 50C order against a seventeen-year-old defendant after the defendant intimidated and harassed her by following and touching her without her consent, threatening to kill or harm her if she stopped being his friend, threatening to shoot up their school, telling her he wanted to kill and torture two teachers, cutting himself in class in front of her, telling her he wanted to fight her parents, and telling her that he had researched how to make bombs and shoot up the school.
After a hearing, the trial court entered a 50C order, finding that on more than one occasion, the defendant “has followed and otherwise harassed the Plaintiff and has placed the Plaintiff in reasonable fear for her safety” and that the defendant “has caused the Plaintiff to suffer substantial emotional distress by placing the Plaintiff in fear of death, bodily injury, or continued harassment and has, in fact, caused the Plaintiff substantial emotional distress.” Defendant appealed.
On appeal, the defendant argued that the trial court’s order, which was entered on the AOC 50C order form, was defective in that the trial court did not make a finding of fact that the defendant acted with the specific intent to stalk or otherwise commit unlawful conduct against plaintiff. The Court of Appeals agreed with defendant. Prior Court of Appeals cases interpreting N.C.G.S. §50C-1(6) have held that to support the issuance of a 50C order based upon stalking, the trial court has to make a specific finding of fact that the defendant’s harassment of the plaintiff was accompanied by the specific intent to place the plaintiff in fear or to cause the plaintiff to suffer substantial emotional distress. The Court of Appeals rejected the argument that a finding of specific intent may be inferred from the trial court’s other findings of fact. The Court closed its opinion by recognizing that the AOC forms do not inform the district court judges of the need to make a determination of specific intent and they encourage the AOC to update the forms.