Case Explained: KENNETH DEAL v. CITY OF MONROE, a North Carolina municipal corporation

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Filed: 2026-07-08

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the City of Monroe, holding that Kenneth Deal did not possess a constitutionally protected property interest in his seat on the city’s Board of Adjustment (BOA). The court applied the standard established in *Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth*, which requires a plaintiff to demonstrate a “legitimate claim of entitlement” to a benefit, rather than a mere “unilateral expectation,” with such interests defined by existing rules or understandings stemming from an independent source like state law. The court determined that because the City of Monroe retained broad discretion under North Carolina General Statute § 160D-302(a) and local ordinances to create, abolish, appoint, and remove BOA members at any time with or without cause, Deal lacked a cognizable property interest. The opinion relied on Fourth Circuit precedent in *Gardner v. City of Baltimore Mayor & City Council* and North Carolina Court of Appeals decisions in *Clayton v. Branson*, noting that where a local agency possesses discretion over a benefit, no legitimate claim of entitlement exists. The court further rejected Deal’s reliance on *Board of Adjustment of Town of Swansboro v. Town of Swansboro* and *Frank v. Savage*, distinguishing those cases as involving boards mandated by law or specific statutory limitations on term reduction that did not apply to the discretionary nature of Monroe’s BOA. Consequently, because Deal failed to establish a protected property interest, his procedural due process claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Fourteenth Amendment failed as a matter of law. The practical consequence of this ruling is that the City Council’s removal of Deal from the Board of Adjustment remains valid, and Deal is not entitled to relief under federal civil rights statutes for the deprivation of his board seat without notice or a hearing.

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