GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 1999

SESSION LAW 1999-371
SENATE BILL 929

AN ACT TO REVISE THE ABATEMENT OF NUISANCE STATUTES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 19-1(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The erection, establishment, continuance, maintenance, use, ownership or leasing of any building or place for the purpose of assignation, prostitution, gambling, illegal possession or sale of alcoholic beverages, illegal possession or sale of controlled substances as defined in the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, or illegal possession or sale of obscene or lewd matter, as defined in this Chapter, shall constitute a nuisance."
Section 2.  G.S. 19-1.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 19-1.1.  Definitions.
As used in this Chapter relating to illegal possession or sale of obscene matter or to the other conduct prohibited in G.S. 19- 1, the following definitions shall apply:
(0.1)	'Breach of the peace' means repeated acts that disturb the public order including, but not limited to, homicide, assault, affray, communicating threats, unlawful possession of dangerous or deadly weapons, and discharging firearms.
(1)	'Knowledge' or 'knowledge of such nuisance' means having knowledge of the contents and character of the patently offensive sexual conduct which appears in the lewd matter, or knowledge of the acts of lewdness.  With regard to nuisances involving assignation, prostitution, gambling, the illegal possession or sale of alcoholic beverages, the illegal possession or sale of controlled substances as defined in the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, or repeated acts which create and constitute a breach of the peace, evidence that the defendant knew or by the exercise of due diligence should have known of the acts or conduct constitutes proof of knowledge.
(2)	'Lewd matter' is synonymous with 'obscene matter' and means any matter:
a.	Which the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find, when considered as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; and
b.	Which depicts patently offensive representations of:
1.	Ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated;
2.	Masturbation, excretory functions, or lewd exhibition of the genitals or genital area;
3.	Masochism or sadism; or
4.	Sexual acts with a child or animal.
Nothing herein contained is intended to include or proscribe any writing or written material, nor to include or proscribe any matter which, when considered as a whole, and in the context in which it is used, possesses serious literary, artistic, political, educational, or scientific value.
(3)	'Lewdness' is synonymous with obscenity and shall mean the act of selling, exhibiting or possessing for sale or exhibition lewd matter.
(4)	'Matter' means a motion picture film or a publication or both.
(5)	'Motion picture film' shall include any:
a.	Film or plate negative;
b.	Film or plate positive;
c.	Film designed to be projected on a screen for exhibition;
d.	Films, glass slides or transparencies, either in negative or positive form, designed for exhibition by projection on a screen;
e.	Video tape, compact disc, digital video disc, or any other medium used to electronically reproduce images on a screen.
(6)	'Person' means any individual, partnership, firm, association, corporation, or other legal entity.
(7)	'Place' includes, but is not limited to, any building, structure or places, or any separate part or portion thereof, whether permanent or not, or the ground itself.
(7a)	'Preserving the status quo' as used in G.S. 19-2.3 means returning conditions to the last actual, peaceable, lawful, and noncontested status which preceded the pending controversy and not allow the nuisance to continue.
(7b)	'Prostitution' means offering in any manner or receiving of the body in return for a fee, for acts of vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, fellatio, cunnilingus, masturbation, or physical contact with a person's genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or breasts, or other acts of sexual conduct offered or received for pay and sexual gratification.
(8)	'Publication' shall include any book, magazine, pamphlet, illustration, photograph, picture, sound recording, or a motion picture film which is offered for sale or exhibited in a coin-operated machine.
(9)	'Sale of obscene or lewd matter' means a passing of title or right of possession from a seller to a buyer for valuable consideration, and shall include, but is not limited to, any lease or rental arrangement or other transaction wherein or whereby any valuable consideration is received for the use of, or transfer or possession of, lewd matter.
(10)	'Sale' as the term relates to proscribed acts other than sale of obscene or lewd matter shall have the same meaning as the term is defined in Chapter 18B and Chapter 90 of the General Statutes prohibiting the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages and controlled substances respectively.
(11)	'Used for profit' shall mean any use of real or personal property to produce income in any manner, including, but not limited to, any commercial or business activities, or selling, leasing, or otherwise providing goods and services for profit."
Section 3.  G.S. 19-1.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 19-1.2.  Types of nuisances.
The following are declared to be nuisances wherein obscene or lewd matter or other conduct prohibited in G.S. 19-1(a) is involved:
(1)	Any and every place in the State where lewd films are publicly exhibited as a predominant and regular course of business, or possessed for the purpose of such exhibition;
(2)	Any and every place in the State where a lewd film is publicly and repeatedly exhibited, or possessed for the purpose of such exhibition;
(3)	Any and every lewd film which is publicly exhibited, or possessed for such purpose at a place which is a nuisance under this Article;
(4)	Any and every place of business in the State in which lewd publications constitute a principal or substantial part of the stock in trade;
(5)	Any and every lewd publication possessed at a place which is a nuisance under this Article;
(6)	Every place which, as a regular course of business, is used for the purposes of lewdness, assignation, gambling, the illegal possession or sale of alcoholic beverages, the illegal possession or sale of controlled substances as defined in the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, or prostitution, and every such place in or upon which acts of lewdness, assignation, gambling, the illegal possession or sale of alcoholic beverages, the illegal possession or sale of controlled substances as defined in the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, or prostitution, are held or occur."
Section 4.  G.S. 19-1.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 19-1.3.  Personal property as a nuisance; knowledge of nuisance.
The following are also declared to be nuisances, as personal property used in conducting and maintaining a nuisance under this Chapter:
(1)	All moneys paid as admission price to the exhibition of any lewd film found to be a nuisance;
(2)	All valuable consideration received for the sale of any lewd publication which is found to be a nuisance;
(3)	All money or other valuable consideration, vehicles, conveyances, or other property received or used in gambling, prostitution, the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages or the illegal sale of substances proscribed under the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, as well as the furniture and movable contents of a place used in connection with such prohibited conduct.
From and after service of a copy of the notice of hearing of the application for a preliminary injunction, provided for in G.S. 19-2.4  upon the place, or its manager, or acting manager, or person then in charge, all such parties are deemed to have knowledge of the contents  of the restraining order and the use of the place occurring thereafter. Where the circumstantial proof warrants a determination that a person had knowledge of the nuisance prior to such service of process, the court may make such finding."
Section 5.  G.S. 19-2.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 19-2.1.  Action for abatement; injunction.
Wherever a nuisance is kept, maintained, or exists, as defined in this Article, the Attorney General, district attorney, county, municipality, or any private citizen of the county may maintain a civil action in the name of the State of North Carolina to abate a nuisance under this Chapter, perpetually to enjoin all persons from maintaining the same, and to enjoin the use of any structure or thing adjudged to be a nuisance under this Chapter; provided, however, that no private citizen may maintain such action where the alleged nuisance involves the illegal possession or sale of obscene or lewd matter.
Upon request from the Attorney General, district attorney, county or municipality, including the sheriff or chief of police of any county or municipality, the Alcohol Law Enforcement Division of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety or any other law enforcement agency with jurisdiction may investigate alleged public nuisances and make recommendations regarding actions to abate the public nuisances.
If an action is instituted by a private person, the complainant shall execute a bond prior to the issuance of a restraining order or a temporary injunction, with good and sufficient surety to be approved by the court or clerk thereof, in the sum of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), to secure to the party enjoined the damages he may sustain if such action is wrongfully brought, not prosecuted to final judgment, or is dismissed, or is not maintained, or if it is finally decided that the temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction ought not to have been granted. The party enjoined shall have recourse against said bond for all damages suffered, including damages to his property, person, or character and including reasonable attorney's fees incurred by him in making defense to said action. No bond shall be required of the prosecuting attorney, the Attorney General, county, or municipality, and no action shall be maintained against any public official or public entity, their employees, or agents for investigating or maintaining an action for abatement of a nuisance under the provisions of this Chapter."
Section 6.  G.S. 19-2.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 19-2.3.  Temporary order restraining removal of personal property from premises; service; punishment.
Where such application for a preliminary injunction is made, the court may, on application of the complainant showing good cause, issue an ex parte temporary restraining order in accordance with G.S. 1A-1, Rule 65(b), preserving the status quo and restraining the defendant and all other persons from removing or in any manner interfering with any evidence specifically described, or in any manner removing or interfering with the personal property and contents of the place where such nuisance is alleged to exist, until the decision of the court granting or refusing such preliminary injunction and until further order of the court thereon. Nothing herein shall be interpreted to allow the prior restraint of the distribution of any matter or the sale of the stock in trade, but an inventory and full accounting of all business transactions involving alleged obscene or lewd matter thereafter shall be required.  The inventory provisions provided by this section shall not apply to nuisances occurring at a private dwelling place unless the court finds the private dwelling place is used for profit.
Any person, firm, or corporation enjoined pursuant to this section may file with the court a motion to dissolve any temporary restraining order. Such a motion shall be heard within 24 hours of the time a copy of the motion is served on the complaining party, or on the next day the superior courts are open in the district, whichever is later. At such hearing the complaining party shall have the burden of showing why the restraining order should be continued.
In the event a temporary restraining order is issued, it may be served in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 1A-1, Rule 4, or may  be served by handing to and leaving a copy of such order with any person in charge of such place or residing therein, or by posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous place at or upon one or more of the principal doors or entrances to such place, or by such service under said Rule 4, delivery and posting. The officer serving such temporary restraining order shall forthwith enter upon the property and make and return into court an inventory of the personal property and contents situated in and used in conducting or maintaining such nuisance.
Any violation of such temporary restraining order is a contempt of court, and where such order is posted, mutilation or removal thereof, while the same remains in force, is a contempt of court, provided such posted order contains therein a notice to that effect."
Section 7.  G.S. 19-2.5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 19-2.5.  Hearing on the preliminary injunction; issuance.
If upon hearing, the allegations of the complaint are sustained to the satisfaction of the court, the court shall issue a preliminary injunction restraining the defendant and any other person from continuing the nuisance and effectually enjoining its use thereafter for the purpose of conducting any such nuisance.  The court may, in its discretion, order the closure of the property pending trial on the merits."
Section 8.  G.S. 19-3(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	In such action, an admission or finding of guilt of any person under the criminal laws against lewdness, assignation, prostitution, gambling, breaches of the peace, the illegal possession or sale of alcoholic beverages, or the illegal possession or sale of substances proscribed by the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, at any such place, is admissible for the purpose of proving the existence of said nuisance, and is evidence of such nuisance and of knowledge of, and of acquiescence and participation therein, on the part of the person charged with maintaining said nuisance."
Section 9.  G.S. 19-6 reads as rewritten:
"§ 19-6.  Civil penalty; forfeiture; accounting; lien as to expenses of abatement; invalidation of lease.
Lewd matter is contraband, and there are no property rights therein. All personal property, including all money and other considerations, declared to be a nuisance under the provisions of G.S. 19-1.3 and other sections of this Article, are subject to forfeiture to the local government and are recoverable as damages in the county wherein such matter is sold, exhibited or otherwise used. Such property including moneys may be traced to and shall be recoverable from persons who, under G.S. 19-2.4, have knowledge of the nuisance at the time such moneys are received by them.
Upon judgment against the defendant or defendants in legal proceedings brought pursuant to this Article, an accounting shall be made by such defendant or defendants of all moneys received by them which have been declared to be a nuisance under this Article. An amount equal to the sum of all moneys estimated to have been taken in as gross income from such unlawful commercial activity shall be forfeited to the general funds of the city and county governments wherein such activity took place, to be shared equally, as a forfeiture of the fruits of an unlawful enterprise, and as partial restitution for damages done to the public welfare; provided, however, that no provision of this Article shall authorize the recovery of any moneys or gross income received from the sale of any book, magazine, or exhibition of any motion picture prior to the issuance of a preliminary injunction. Where the action is brought pursuant to this Article, special injury need not be proven, and the costs of abatement are a lien on both the real and personal property used in maintaining the nuisance. Costs of abatement include, but are not limited to, reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
Upon the filing of the action, the plaintiff may file a notice of lis pendens in the official records of the county where the property is located.
If it is judicially found after an adversary hearing pursuant to this Article that a tenant or occupant of a building or tenement, under a lawful title, uses such place for the purposes of lewdness, assignation, prostitution, gambling, sale or possession of illegal alcoholic beverages or substances proscribed under the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, or repeated acts which create and constitute a breach of the peace, such use makes void the lease or other title under which he holds, at the option of the owner, and, without any act of the owner, causes the right of possession to revert and vest in such owner."
Section 10.  G.S. 19-6.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 19-6.1.  Forfeiture of real property.
In all actions where a preliminary injunction, permanent injunction, or an order of abatement is issued pursuant to this Article in which the nuisance consists of or includes at least two prior occurrences within five years of the manufacture, possession with intent to sell, or sale of controlled substances as defined by the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, or two prior occurrences of the possession of any controlled substance included within Schedule I or II of that Act, the real property on which the nuisance exists or is maintained is subject to forfeiture in accordance with this section.
If all of the owners of the property are defendants in the action, the plaintiff, other than a plaintiff who is a private citizen, may request forfeiture of the real property as part of the relief sought. If forfeiture is requested, and if jurisdiction over all defendant owners is established, upon judgment against the defendant or defendants, the court shall order forfeiture as follows:
(1)	If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that all the owners either (i) have participated in maintaining the nuisance on the property, or (ii) prior to the action had written notice from the plaintiff, or any governmental agent or entity authorized to bring an action pursuant to this Chapter, that the nuisance existed or was maintained on the property and have not made good faith efforts to stop the nuisance from occurring or recurring, the court shall order that the property be forfeited;
(2)	If the court finds that one or more of the owners did not participate in maintaining the nuisance on the property or did not have written notice from the plaintiff prior to the action that the nuisance existed or was maintained on the property, the court shall not order forfeiture of the property immediately upon judgment. However, if after judgment and an order directing the defendants to abate the nuisance, the nuisance either continues, begins again, or otherwise recurs within five years of the order and the defendants have not made good faith efforts to abate the nuisance, the plaintiff may petition the court for forfeiture. Upon such petition, the defendant owner or owners shall be given notice and an opportunity to appear and be heard at a hearing to determine the continuation or recurrence of the nuisance. If, in this hearing (i) the plaintiff establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the nuisance, with the owner's or owners' knowledge, has either continued, begun again, or otherwise recurred, and (ii) the defendants fail to establish that they have made and are continuing to make good faith efforts to abate the nuisance, the court shall order that the property be forfeited.
For the purposes of this section, factors which may evidence good faith by the defendant to abate the nuisance include but are not limited to (i) cooperation with law enforcement authorities to abate the nuisance; (ii) lease restrictions prohibiting the illegal possession or sale of narcotic drugs and an action to evict a tenant for any violations of the lease provision; (iii) a criminal record check of prospective tenants; and (iv) reference checks of prior residency of prospective tenants.
Upon an order of forfeiture, title to the property shall vest in the school board of the county in which the property is located. If at the time of forfeiture the property is subject to a lien or security interest of a person not participating in the maintenance of the nuisance, the school board shall either (i) pay an amount to that person satisfying the lien or security interest; or (ii) sell the property and satisfy the lien or security interest from the proceeds of the sale.  If the property is not subject to any lien or security interest at the time of forfeiture, the school board may hold, maintain, lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of the property as it sees fit.
Upon the filing of the action, the plaintiff may file a notice of lis pendens in the official records of the county where the property is located. If the plaintiff files a notice of lis pendens, any person purchasing or obtaining an interest in the property thereafter shall be considered to have notice of the alleged nuisance, and shall forfeit his interest in the property upon a judgment of forfeiture in favor of the plaintiff.
If in the same action in which real property is forfeited the court finds that a tenant or occupant of the property participated in or maintained the nuisance, the lease or other title under which the tenant or occupant holds is void, and the right of possession vests in the new owner. Upon forfeiture, the rights of innocent tenants occupying separate units of the property who were not involved in the nuisance at the time the action was filed shall be in accordance with any relevant lease provisions in effect at the time or, in the absence of relevant lease provisions, in accordance with the law applying to other tenants or occupants of property that is sold, foreclosed upon, or otherwise obtained by new owners."
Section 11.  This act becomes effective October 1, 1999.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 19th day of July, 1999.

s/	Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

s/	James B. Black
Speaker of the House of Representatives

s/	James B. Hunt, Jr.
Governor

Approved 9:00 p.m. this 4th day of August, 1999