Buncombe County Commissioner Jennifer Horton Files Federal Suit Alleging 14th Amendment Violations

A sitting Buncombe County commissioner has sued the county she helps lead, filing a federal complaint that alleges county officials suspended and then refused to restore public assistance payments for residents of five licensed adult care homes operated by her business, Living Waters Enterprises. The complaint, filed Feb. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, seeks compensatory and punitive damages and a formal declaration that the county’s actions violated state and federal law.

The suit names Buncombe County and several county officials and staff, and court records show the case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn Jr. and U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Carleton Metcalf. A hearing has not been scheduled. The filing alleges violations of the 14th Amendment’s due process and equal protection clauses and says the county “illegally suspended public assistance funding for residents in five licensed adult care homes she operated through her business, Living Waters Enterprises, and refused to reinstate payments despite a directive from the state to do so.”

The complaint details specific procedural grievances, saying the county provided inadequate, late, or no written notice; offered no statement of reasons and citations; failed to advise recipients of appeal rights and continuation of benefits; issued categorical terminations and denials; and imposed retroactive recoupments without a hearing. The plaintiff is seeking a declaration that those steps violated legal requirements and unspecified monetary relief, described in the filing as “compensatory and punitive” damages.

The complaint singles out Board Chair Amanda Edwards and county staff including Phillip Hardin. Horton alleges Edwards suggested Horton could resign and “this would ‘all go away.’” The filing alleges Hardin called the state’s decision to reinstate funds “blatantly wrong” and, in one instance referenced in the complaint, “lied in an email to county health department Director David Sweat that the state told the county to ‘terminate these cases and recoup funds.’” Horton’s filing characterizes Hardin’s conduct as “willful defiance of State authority and deliberate disregard of residents’ rights.” Hardin in turn has said the state “had veered from policy and legal precedent” and Buncombe “would not want to be responsible for any overpayments that could occur,” and Edwards has denied having a conversation of the nature Horton alleges, saying she “never had a discussion of that nature” with Horton.

County officials have taken operational steps while the dispute proceeds. Buncombe County spokesperson Lillian Govus said the county now has a contract with Henderson County to handle the special assistance payment cases, with Henderson staff handling applications, recertifications and changes in situation. Govus said Buncombe also has contracts with Transylvania County for quarterly monitoring and complaint investigations. After the Feb. 3 board meeting, commissioners moved into a closed session to consult with a retained attorney; Interim County Attorney Curtis Euler said Horton recused herself from that session and that no action was taken.

For Buncombe residents, the case touches direct service delivery and broader governance questions: whether the county followed state directives on public assistance, how oversight of adult care homes is managed, and how the board will handle a high-profile lawsuit involving one of its members. The federal court docket will determine next steps; the complaint’s filing signals a likely sequence of responses, motions and public meetings that residents and advocates should monitor for developments and for any impacts on special assistance recipients.