Turpin v. Charlotte Latin Sch., Inc.

900 S.E.2d 352

Doug TURPIN and Nicole Turpin, Plaintiffs,

v.CHARLOTTE LATIN SCHOOLS, INC., Charles D. Baldecchi, Todd Ballaban, Denny S. O’Leary, Michael D. Freno, R. Mitchell Wickham, Courtney Hyder, Irm R. Bellavia, Phil Colaco, John D. Comly, Mary Katherine Dubose, Adaora A. Eruchalu, Debbie S. Frail, Don S. Gately, Israel K. Gorelick, Joy M. Kenefick, Karim Lokas, John T. McCoy, Kristin M. Middendorf, A. Coy Monk IV, Uma N. O’Brien, David A. Shuford, Michelle A. Thornhill, Fletcher H. Gregory III, Tara Lebda, and Paige Ford, Defendants.

No. COA23-252

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

Filed April 2, 2024

Appeal by plaintiffs from order entered 13 October 2022 by Judge Lisa C. Bell in Mecklenburg County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 31 October 2023. Mecklenburg County, No. 22 CVS 6443

Ward and Smith, P.A., by Christopher S. Edwards, Alex C. Dale, and Josey L. Newman, Raleigh; Vogel Law Firm PLLC, by Jonathan A. Vogel; and Dowling Defense Group, LLC, by John J. Dowling III, for plaintiff-appellants.

Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, L.L.P., by William A. Robertson, Raleigh, Jim W. Phillips, Jr., Jennifer K. Van Zant, and Kimberly M. Marston, Greensboro, for defendant-appellees.

Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, L.L.P., Raleigh, by Christopher G. Smith, B. Davis Horne, Jr„ David R. Ortiz, for amicus curiae North Carolina Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Independent Schools.

Melinda R. Beres, Charlotte, for amicus curiae Concerned Private School Parents of Charlotte.

Envisage Law, Smithfield, by James R. Lawrence III, for amicus curiae Moms for Liberty Union County, Mecklenburg County, Wake County, Iredell County, Chatham County, Forsyth County, Guilford County, Buncombe County, Stanly County, New Hanover County, Onslow County, Bladen County, and Transylvania County.

THOMPSON, Judge.

Appeal by plaintiffs from the trial court’s order granting in part and denying in part defendants’ motion to dismiss the nine claims plaintiffs asserted against defendants, including fraud; unfair and deceptive trade practices; negligent misrepresentation; negligent infliction of emotional distress; negligent supervision and retention; slander; libel; breach of contract; and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The trial court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss as to plaintiffs’ ninth claim, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, which plaintiffs subsequently voluntarily dismissed without prejudice. Upon careful review of the matters discussed below, we affirm.

I. Factual Background and Procedural History

In April 2022, Doug and Nicole Turpin (plaintiffs) filed suit against defendants Charlotte Latin Schools, Inc. (Latin); the Head of School, Charles Baldecchi (Baldecchi); the Head of Middle School, Todd Ballaban (Ballaban); and the school’s board members (Board). On 18 July 2022, defendants filed a motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. When defendants’ motion came on for hearing at the 20 September 2022 session of Mecklenburg County Superior Court, the allegations taken in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs tended to show the following:

Plaintiffs’ children, O.T. and L.T.¹, attended Latin (graded K-12) from the time they were in kindergarten through 10 September 2021, when defendants Baldecchi and Ballaban, during a meeting with plaintiff Doug Turpin, terminated the enrollment contract between Latin and plaintiffs.

Plaintiffs allege that up until the 2020-2021 school year, Latin provided a traditional, apolitical education. However, in June 2020, following the death of George Floyd, a letter was sent to Latin parents, faculty, and staff that plaintiffs felt indicated the school "was moving toward a curriculum, culture, and focus associated with a political agenda." That same month, parents, faculty, staff, and alumni began receiving a video series distributed by Latin entitled "Conversations About Race." On 4 July 2020, Baldecchi sent Latin parents, faculty, and staff a letter titled "My Reflections on the Fourth of July and My Journey Through Life as We Live History," wherein he recounted his participation in a high school prank that, "was not racially motivated" at the time, but "in today’s lens, it is horrific."

During the 2020-2021 school year, plaintiffs and other Latin parents began to discuss their concerns about the communications they had received from the school, as well as changes in curriculum, reading materials, and classroom policies that they felt "were indicative of the adoption of a political agenda." Ultimately, the group of parents, including plaintiffs, who had begun calling themselves "Refocus Latin[,]" requested a meeting with the Board to address their concerns.²

In February 2021, plaintiffs entered into enrollment contracts with Latin for the 2021-2022 school year. In bold typeface, the enrollment contracts stated

I understand that in signing this [e]nrollment [c]ontract for the coming academic year, my family and I understand the mission, values, and expectations of the School as outlined in the Charlotte Latin School Parent-School Partnership and agree to accept all policies, rules, and regulations of Charlotte Latin Schools, Inc., including those as stated and as referred to above.

(emphasis in original).

The enrollment contracts also state that "[i]f this [e]nrollment [c]ontract is acceptable to you, please ‘sign’ as directed below …. This shall constitute your signature in acceptance of this [e]nrollment [c]ontract and certifies that you have read the [c]ontract and understand it." (emphasis added). Both enrollment contracts were signed by plaintiff Nicole Turpin. The enrollment contracts acknowledge that "[t]his instrument shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina."

Finally, the enrollment contracts state that, "I agree to uphold the Parent-School Partnership." The Parent-School Partnership provides, in pertinent part, that a

positive, collaborative working relationship between the School and a student’s parent/guardians is essential to the fulfillment of the School’s mission. Therefore, the School reserves the right to discontinue enrollment if it concludes that the actions of a parent/guardian make such a relationship impossible or seriously interfere with the School’s mission."

(emphasis added).

Moreover, the Parent-School Partnership states that, "[t]he School will uphold and enforce rules and policies detailed in the Family Handbook in a fair, appropriate[,] and equitable manner."³

In July 2021, Refocus Latin was invited to present their concerns to the Executive Committee of the Board. Prior to the meeting with the Board, two Refocus Latin parents met with the Board’s Chair, Denny O’Leary, to express the group’s apprehension about retaliation from Latin for participating in the presentation. O’Leary assured the parents that they would not be subjected to any retaliation "for the parent[s’] exercise of the contractual right to communicate concerns to Latin" and asked the two Refocus Latin parents to communicate that message to the rest of the Refocus Latin parents, including plaintiffs.

On 24 August 2021, ten members of Refocus Latin,⁴ including plaintiff Doug Turpin, brought their PowerPoint presentation to the Executive Committee of the Board, Baldecchi, and defendant Fletcher H. Gregory III. At the meeting, members of the Board, including O’Leary, again assured the group that there would be no retaliation against any parents for bringing their concerns about Latin before the Board. When the presentation concluded, O’Leary expressed her appreciation to the parents for their presentation, but advised the parents that neither the Board nor the administration of Latin would continue the dialogue about the concerns Refocus Latin had presented, that no response to the presentation would be provided, and that any future concerns the individual parents had should be taken to Latin’s administrators.

On 25 August 2021, the day after the presentation, O’Leary sent an email to the ten participants, including plaintiff Doug Turpin, thanking them again for communicating their concerns to the Board and expressing her optimism about Latin and its future. On 29 August 2021, plaintiff Doug Turpin responded to O’Leary’s email, thanking the Executive Committee of the Board for its time but also expressing his disappointment in the Board’s decision not to continue the dialogue with Refocus Latin.

Following Refocus Latin’s presentation to the Board, parents who had participated in the preparation of the presentation and had access to the PowerPoint emailed the PowerPoint presentation to other parents who had the same concerns as the parents of Refocus Latin. Between 1-2 September 2021, Baldecchi met with Latin faculty and staff via video calls and advised them that he was aware that the PowerPoint presentation had been obtained by other parents within the Latin community. He stated that the PowerPoint presentation was "just awful," "very hurtful," and that, "[o]ne reads it and cringes." He further stated that the parents’ concerns about the curriculum and culture of Latin were a "lost cause," that Refocus Latin had met with the Board in "bad faith[,]" and that the presentation was "an attack on our community with the intention of ripping its fabric apart." Baldecchi advised faculty and staff not to engage with parents who communicated concerns with the curriculum and culture of Latin, but to "point them to me, please."

One week later, on 7 September 2021, plaintiffs emailed Ballaban with concerns they had about L.T.’s sixth-grade Humanities class. L.T. had shared with plaintiffs some of the comments made by his teacher, which plaintiffs felt were "indoctrination on progressive ideology[,]" and plaintiffs also claimed that the teacher would no longer allow L.T. to pull...