Rockingham County lawsuit over rezoning for possible casino dismissed by judge

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C (WGHP) — A lawsuit filed over the rezoning of a large parcel of land in Rockingham County for a possible casino has been dismissed.

On March 21, Judge Clayton D. Somers dismissed a suit filed in October 2023 by the owners of Camp Carefree and other citizens of Rockingham County, writing that the suit has a “lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”

“Having carefully considered the pleadings and memoranda of the parties, the documents and materials submitted by the parties (including the case law and other materials cited therein) and after hearing and considering the arguments of counsel, the Court has found, concluded, and determined that Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) should be granted for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”

“All of Plaintiffs’ claims are dismissed with prejudice as to all Defendents, such that this entire action is dismissed with prejudice.”

The lawsuit

In the lawsuit , the listed plaintiffs were Camp Carefree Inc., Micris LLC, Brandon W. Leebrick and Amy E. Leebrick, Donald Dohm and Christine Dohm, David Forbes and Wendy Forbes, Mary Lea Anderson, Jeffrey Darren Scott and Jill N. Meier.

Rockingham County, NC Developing Holdings LLC and the owners of the property — Julie J. Sanders, Ellen J. Whitesell, Linda J. Carmichael and Susan J. Murray — were listed as defendants.

The issue began on Aug. 21, when the Board of County Commissioners voted in favor of rezoning the land despite what the lawsuit referred to as “ overwhelming public opposition ,” including from Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. The land is surrounded primarily by residential homes but also neighbors Camp Carefree, a non-profit that provides summer camp experiences for disabled and special needs children .

The plaintiffs alleged the board ignored “basic legal requirements” when it approved the rezoning application submitted by NC Development Holdings, which has links to The Cordish Companies , a gambling development company.

The lawsuit claimed that the board participated in illegal contract zoning, ignored land uses of surrounding parcels and committed multiple procedural errors in their efforts to rezone the land for commercial use.

The group also alleged that individuals affiliated with Cordish had been giving “significant money” to the campaigns of state legislators and that lobbyists have been working on behalf of Cordish in the state.

Campaign data showed that at least eight lawmakers collectively received more than $34,000 in donations from Cordish-linked people between November 2022 and March 2023. Senate Leader Phil Berger, who attempted to tie casino legislation into the state budget and whose son Kevin serves on the County Board of Commissioners in Rockingham County, received $5,600 from Cordish Gaming Group CEO Joseph Weinberg.

Berger “ significantly delayed ” the passage of the state budget while attempting to legalize casino gambling, with projects that would bring multiple casinos to the state and on tribal land in North Carolina, they write.

At least one landowner in North Carolina expressed displeasure at learning land he had entered an agreement to sell might be used for a casino project, accusing the developers of being dishonest when buying the land.

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