North Carolina Lawyers Weekly recently spotlighted a significant victory secured by Ward and Smith attorney Ellis Boyle, in collaboration with Zeyland McKinney of the McKinney Law Firm.
The attorneys represented the plaintiffs in Kloepfer et al. v. Cherokee County Sheriff et al., a high-profile civil rights case that resulted in a $10.02 million settlement.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, the lawsuit alleged that sheriff’s deputies and a SWAT team used excessive and unjustified force after entering the plaintiffs’ home without a warrant, warning, or legal justification. The complaint also claimed the officers failed to verify the initial 911 call and strategically turned off their body cameras. The only video evidence of the shooting came from the plaintiffs’ personal surveillance system.
As NC Lawyers Weekly reported:
“SWAT yelled for the plaintiff to come out with hands up, which he did. But three seconds later, without provocation, the plaintiffs allege, Ferguson [who was allegedly the Tribe's "sniper"] and two other SWAT members opened fire on Kloepfer… SWAT’s bullets whizzed past the plaintiff’s wife, just missing her, as she stood inside the home and tried to help the plaintiff avoid being struck by more gunfire.”
The case settled in June 2025, following mediation.
Read the full coverage in North Carolina Lawyers Weekly here (subscription required).
