North Carolina Company Sues State and Duke Energy Over Lake Bed Dispute

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A North Carolina company, Sunset Keys LLC, has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the state of North Carolina and Duke Energy Carolinas LLC, seeking compensation after a state high court ruling stripped the company of its lake bed parcel. The legal dispute centers around property owned by the Kisers, a family who originally owned the lake bed of Lake Norman.

According to the complaint filed on Thursday, Duke Energy purchased most of the surrounding land from the Kiser family, with the family granting the energy company limited access to a portion of their lake bed parcel. The remainder of the property was later transferred to Sunset Keys, a company led by members of the Kiser family.

Sunset Keys claims Duke Energy granted permits to third parties who trespassed on the company’s parcel by constructing encroaching structures. This led the Kisers to sue both the energy company and the trespassers. In August 2018, a state trial court ruled against the Kisers, ordering them to remove a retaining wall from the lake bed parcel. The court ruled again in January 2020, evicting the family from their 280.4-acre property without compensation.