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Judge dismisses incentive lawsuit
(Herald-Sun, The (Durham, NC) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 10--DURHAM -- A judge has dismissed a novel court claim that Durham County unconstitutionally offered to pay up to $100,000 to lure an electronics company here from the Raleigh area.
The case involving Nitronex Corp. was tossed out of Durham County Superior Court by Judge Howard E. Manning.
Nitronex is relocating a semiconductor manufacturing facility to Durham.
The 83,000-square-foot facility, valued at about $24 million, is on Presidential Drive. The company has said it will hire a minimum of 200 new full-time employees for that location.
In the just-dismissed lawsuit, plaintiffs Sean Haugh and J. Russell Capps had sought to have a judge declare the $100,000 financial incentive unconstitutional. The case was prepared by the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law.
Manning rejected the claim.
He said the plaintiffs had no standing even to file the action, since neither pays property taxes in Durham County. Manning also noted that the N.C. Supreme Court previously upheld a statute that authorized Durham County to offer a monetary incentive in the first place.
County Commissioners Chairwoman Ellen Reckhow expressed satisfaction with Manning's ruling Wednesday.
"We are grateful that the court ruled in the county's favor and upheld our ability to attract quality industries to Durham County that boost our tax base and provide high-paying jobs for the residents of Durham County," she said.
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Copyright (c) 2008, The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C.
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