City of Wilmington denies claims in former zoning administrator’s lawsuit

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The City of Wilmington has filed its response to a lawsuit brought forward by a former city administrator.

In June, former zoning administrator Kathryn Thurston sued the city, alleging city officials violated their own policies, along with her Constitutional and employment rights, in pushing her out as part of a broader reorganization plan implemented by city manager Becky Hawke.

The city’s 23-page response, filed Sept. 1, denies those claims and asks the court to dismiss the suit. According to the answer, the city didn’t discriminate or retaliate against Thurston, and its actions “were consistent with business judgment and necessity, and otherwise complied with all applicable laws.”

“No action taken by Defendant with respect to Plaintiff was unlawful, reckless, willful, malicious, wanton, fraudulent or outrageous as a matter of law. All actions taken by Defendant with respect to Plaintiff were based on a reasonable good faith belief that its actions did not violate the law. Therefore, Plaintiff is not entitled to recover liquidated damages, punitive damages, or other similar damages in this action,” the answer reads.

According to her personnel file, Thurston resigned Dec. 8, 2025. Her resignation, though, wasn’t voluntary, according to the lawsuit. Instead, it was “coerced under threat of immediate termination and was the legal equivalent of dismissal.”

The city decided to remove Thurston before giving her a “meaningful” chance to respond to the accusations, the lawsuit alleges. By “forcing” her resignation, the city “deprived her of the procedural protections, progressive discipline, and appeal rights promised in the Employee Handbook,” the suit says.

The city’s response said they had a “legitimate reason to terminate Plaintiff’s employment had she not resigned.”

Thurston was placed on administrative leave Dec. 3, according to the suit, the same day she met with city Human Resources Director Clayton Roberts and her supervisor, Linda Painter. During the meeting, the lawsuit said she received a letter with alleged violations of city policy. Five days later, she met with Painter and Roberts again and was handed a notice of termination, according to the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the termination notice claimed Thurston used her position to gain administrative entry to New Hanover County’s COAST permitting platform for “non-work related personal purposes,” which violated city policy and warranted termination. Last year, Thurston had applied for a building permit at her residence through the system, the suit said.

Thurston’s lawsuit connects the former zoning administrator’s departure to the city’s broader restructuring under Hawke, who took over as city manager last year. The city’s response denied any connection.

The suit was the second filed by a former employee against the city this year. In February, the city’s former Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) director filed a federal lawsuit, claiming she was fired because of her race and in retaliation for reporting discrimination. The city filed its answer to that complaint on April 27, denying Carson’s claims that she faced racial discrimination or differential treatment.