The state Court of Appeals yesterday signaled that it was unable to muster the four votes necessary to reach a decision in a case that raises the issue of whether a municipality had a "special duty" to one of its residents. The five current judges of the court unanimously voted to hold re-arguments on Applewhite v. Accuhealth, 11, on May 2, when the court will be back to its full seven-member complement.
Under Article VI, Section 2 of the state Constitution, four judges must agree before a ruling can be issued. "They need four votes and they only have five judges right now," Court of Appeals spokesman Gary Spencer said. "They couldn’t get four on this one." Judges do not indicate which way they are leaning before ordering re-arguments.
