; Collum v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd. of Ed., No.3:07-cv-534-RJC-DSC, 2010 WL 702462, at * 10 (W.D. N.C. Feb. 23, 2010) (“It should be noted that a conclusory allegation that a public official acted maliciously, with corruption, or outside the scope of their duties is not enough to overcome their public official immunity.”) (citations omitted); Bernstein v. Sims, No. 5:22-CV-277-BO, 2023 WL 2763108, at *3 (E.D. N.C. Apr. 3, 2023) (“[P]laintiff has made the conclusory statement that [defendant] acted outside the scope of his authority, but her factual allegations are insufficient to pierce public official immunity [and] are therefore dismissed.”)
(“It should be noted that a conclusory allegation that a public official acted maliciously, with corruption, or outside the scope of their duties is not enough to overcome their public official immunity.”) (citations omitted); Bernstein v. Sims, No. 5:22-CV-277-BO, 2023 WL 2763108, at *3 (E.D. N.C. Apr. 3, 2023) (“[P]laintiff has made the conclusory statement that [defendant] acted outside the scope of his authority, but her factual allegations are insufficient to pierce public official immunity [and] are therefore dismissed.”)
, at *3 (E.D. N.C. Oct. 6, 2016), aff'd, 727 Fed.Appx. 762 (4th Cir. 2018) (finding defendants were entitled to public official immunity on state law claims for defamation, among other things, where Plaintiff's allegations that defendants acted with malice or corruption were conclusory and unsupported); Bernstein v. Sims, No. 5:22-CV-277-BO, 2023 WL 2763108, at *3 (E.D. N.C. Apr. 3, 2023) (dismissing plaintiff's tort claim for defamation, among other things, because plaintiff only made a conclusory statement that defendant acted outside the scope of his authority). There is some split of authority in North Carolina courts as to whether public official immunity is available in certain intentional torts.
(“It should be noted that a conclusory allegation that a public official acted maliciously, with corruption, or outside the scope of their duties is not enough to overcome their public official immunity.”) (citations omitted); Bernstein v. Sims, No. 5:22-CV-277-BO, 2023 WL 2763108, at *3 (E.D. N.C. Apr. 3, 2023) (“[P]laintiff has made the conclusory statement that [defendant] acted outside the scope of his authority, but her factual allegations are insufficient to pierce public official immunity [and] are therefore dismissed.”); Green v. Howell, 851 S.E.2d 673, 679 (N.C. Ct. App. 2020) (holding that even though plaintiff used the words “malicious” and “with corrupt intent,” “we are not required to treat this allegation of a legal conclusion as true”