A former employee of a North Carolina town is suing for whistleblower retaliation, claiming he was punished for exposing misconduct by the town’s mayor. Jeffrey Noble filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on January 12, 2026, naming the Town of Mooresville and several officials as defendants.
According to the complaint, Noble alleges that after reporting inappropriate behavior involving Mayor Chris Carney, he faced severe retaliatory actions. Noble discovered surveillance footage showing Carney in Town Hall after hours with a woman who was not an employee. This footage allegedly depicted Carney engaging in conduct inconsistent with town policies, including walking through hallways without pants. Despite Noble’s internal reports about these incidents, he claims that instead of investigating the misconduct, town officials suppressed evidence and targeted him with false accusations of leaking information.
Noble asserts that his protected speech under the First Amendment led to adverse employment actions such as administrative leave and coercive investigations. He describes being subjected to an intimidating interview involving police presence and a K-9 unit, which he argues was designed to silence him. Ultimately, Noble contends that these actions forced his constructive discharge from employment.
The lawsuit seeks multiple forms of relief: declaratory judgments affirming violations of constitutional rights, compensatory damages for lost wages and emotional distress, punitive damages against individual defendants for malicious conduct, injunctive relief to prevent further retaliation, and attorneys’ fees. The plaintiff also demands a jury trial to resolve these issues.
Representing Jeffrey Noble are attorneys C. Christopher Adkins from Adkins Law PLLC and Christerfer R. Purkey from Rech Law P.C., while the case is presided over by Judge [Name not provided]. The case ID is 5:26-CV-6.
Source: 526cv00006_Noble_v_Town_of_Mooresville_Complaint_Western_District_North_Carolina.pdf
