UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
WESTERN DIVISION
PATRICK L. MCCRORY, in his official capacity
as Governor of the State of North Carolina,
and FRANK PERRY, in his official capacity
as Secretary, North Carolina Department of
Public Safety,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
OF JUSTICE, LORETTA E. LYNCH, in her
official capacity as United States Attorney
General, and VANITA GUPTA, in her official
capacity as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney
General,
Defendants.

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CASE NO. 5:16-cv-238-BO

PLAINTIFFS’ NOTICE OF VOLUNTARY
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE
Plaintiff Patrick L. McCrory, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of North
Carolina, and plaintiff Frank Perry, in his official capacity as Secretary of the North Carolina
Department of Public Safety, (collectively, “plaintiffs”) hereby give notice of voluntary
dismissal of their claims in this case, without prejudice, as to all defendants pursuant to Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i). In support, plaintiffs would respectfully show the Court
as follows:
1. Plaintiffs filed this action on May 9, 2016, seeking a judicial determination as to
whether North Carolina’s Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, N.C. Session
Law 2016-3 (“the Act”), violates federal law.

Case 5:16-cv-00238-BO Document 55 Filed 09/16/16 Page 1 of 5

 2. In response to the filing of this action, defendant Loretta Lynch directed the United
States Department of Justice to file a largely duplicative action in the United States
District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina later that same day. United
States of America v. State of North Carolina et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-00425-TDS-JEP
(M.D.N.C.) (“Middle District Case”).
3. Defendants then availed themselves of the full sixty days granted to the federal
government under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to file a response to plaintiffs’
complaint in this Court.

See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(2)-(3) (granting the federal

government and its employees 60 days, rather than 21 days, after service to answer a
complaint). When the time came for defendants to respond, they filed a motion to
dismiss on technical grounds under Rule 12(b)(1) rather than an answer, even though
this Court had already made very clear findings in support of a prior ruling retaining
jurisdiction over the action. As a result, progress in this action has been delayed.
4. In contrast, the United States has aggressively pressed forward in pursuing its laterfiled lawsuit in the Middle District. In the Middle District Case, the United States
filed a motion for preliminary injunction, to which a response in opposition has now
been filed. Additionally, a scheduling order has already been entered, and discovery
requests and responses are currently being exchanged among the parties.
5. Furthermore, the Middle District Case has been consolidated for purposes of
discovery with a related action filed by the ACLU and others to challenge the validity
of the Act. Those plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction against the Act, and when
the Court largely rejected their request to enjoin enforcement of the Act on August
26, 2016, they initiated an appeal to the Fourth Circuit, which is currently pending.

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 6. In light of the fact that plaintiffs’ claims in this action have now been asserted as
counterclaims in the Middle District Case, the substantial costs to the State of
litigating similar legal issues in two different judicial districts, and the interests of
judicial economy and efficiency, plaintiffs feel compelled to file this notice of
voluntary dismissal without prejudice. The counterclaims asserted by the State of
North Carolina, Governor McCrory, and the North Carolina Department of Public
Safety in the Middle District Case, which seek a judgment declaring that the Act does
not violate federal law, suffice to protect the State’s interests regarding the Act and
thus will be diligently pursued in the Middle District. As such, nothing herein affects
the validity of the counterclaims asserted in the Middle District Case.
7. Defendants have not filed an answer or motion for summary judgment, and therefore
neither an order from the Court nor a stipulation among the parties is necessary for a
dismissal without prejudice.
Accordingly, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i), plaintiffs hereby
respectfully give notice of voluntary dismissal of their claims in this case, without prejudice, as
to all defendants named herein.
Respectfully submitted, this the 16th day of September, 2016.
BOWERS LAW OFFICE LLC
By: /s/ Karl S. Bowers, Jr.
Karl S. Bowers, Jr.*
Federal Bar #7716
P.O. Box 50549
Columbia, SC 29250
Telephone: (803) 260-4124
E-mail: butch@butchbowers.com
*appearing pursuant to Local Rule 83.1(e)
Counsel for Governor Patrick L. McCrory and
Secretary Frank Perry
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 MCGLINCHEY STAFFORD
By: /s/ Robert N. Driscoll
Robert N. Driscoll*
1275 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Suite 420
Washington, DC 20004
Telephone: (202) 802-9950
Facsimile: (202) 403-3870
E-mail: rdriscoll@mcglinchey.com
*appearing pursuant to Local Rule 83.1(e)
Counsel for Governor Patrick L. McCrory
By: /s/ Robert C. Stephens
Robert C. Stephens (State Bar #4150)
General Counsel
Office of the Governor of North Carolina
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699
Telephone: (919) 814-2027
Facsimile: (919) 733-2120
E-mail: bob.stephens@nc.gov
*appearing as Local Rule 83.1 Counsel
Counsel for Governor Patrick L. McCrory
MILLBERG GORDON STEWART PLLC
By: /s/ William W. Stewart, Jr.
William W. Stewart, Jr. (State Bar #21059)
Frank J. Gordon (State Bar #15871)
B. Tyler Brooks (State Bar #37604)
1101 Haynes Street, Suite 104
Raleigh, NC 27604
Telephone: (919) 836-0090
Fax: (919) 836-8027
Email: bstewart@mgsattorneys.com
fgordon@mgsattorneys.com
tbrooks@mgsattorneys.com
Counsel for Governor Patrick L. McCrory

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 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that, on this date, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of
Court using the CM/ECF system, which will send notification of such filing to all CM/ECF
participating attorneys.
This the 16th day of September, 2016.
By: /s/ William W. Stewart, Jr.
William W. Stewart, Jr. (State Bar #21059)
Frank J. Gordon (State Bar #15871)
B. Tyler Brooks (State Bar #37604)
1101 Haynes Street, Suite 104
Raleigh, NC 27604
Telephone: (919) 836-0090
Fax: (919) 836-8027
Email: bstewart@mgsattorneys.com
fgordon@mgsattorneys.com
tbrooks@mgsattorneys.com
Counsel for Governor Patrick L. McCrory

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