BRUNSWICK COUNTY — A lawsuit against the Brunswick County District Attorney-elect by a former client was voluntarily dismissed in May, three months after it was filed. The client’s attorney couldn’t give full details due to a confidentiality clause but indicated there was a monetary agreement of some sort.
“I can tell you that I would not have resolved the case had there not been some sort of financial resolution,” Attorney Randolph James assured Port City Daily on Monday.
James represented Karen Horton, former client of soon-to-be District Attorney James Kelly “J.K.” Somers, in a lawsuit that alleged the DA-elect was negligent in his duties as an attorney. Horton was slated to sue a contractor for $100,000 due to defects from an incomplete home renovation job, but was unable to when Somers filed her suit too late, as the statute of limitations expired.
READ MORE: Lawsuit against Brunswick DA-elect claims client lost $100K due to missed deadline
Horton hired James in February 2026, two weeks before Somers won the primary election for district attorney against Jenna Earley; there is not a Democratic challenger so Somers is the presumptive winner for the upcoming Nov. 3 election. According to court documents, Horton originally requested a jury trial and at least $25,000 in recompense; $25,000 is used as a minimum number due to Rule 8(a)(2) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, which states if a claim exceeds $25,000, the exact amount cannot be specified.
Horton claims she suffered nearly $200,000 in damages.
However, on May 12, the case was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice — which means the suit can never be brought up again against the defendant. James verified it was resolved outside the courts.
Somers could not be reached by press by Port City Daily and did not respond to questions sent to his law firm about what the resolution involved and why he filed Horton’s suit late.
A year before Horton hired Somers, she was dealing with uncompleted and botched construction on her kitchen and porch, as contracted out to Jimmy Hyatt of House to Home Builders. Though he didn’t finish the job, Horton alleges she paid Hyatt $89,645 for the project but then had to hire Eric Rainwater of Rainwater Coastal Construction in 2023 because a home inspection from the Town of Oak Island revealed 44 residential building code violations.
Somers was hired to represent Horton against House to Home Builders but did not file the suit until 2025, five years after she retained him.
According to court documents, Somers told Horton he had six years. However, the statute of limitations for lawsuits like Horton’s is three years from the date the damage was discovered, so the case was dismissed shortly after it was filed.
James added Horton’s husband was diagnosed with cancer and thus the suit had to be postponed.
“It’s one of those tough love things,” James said. “There’s no empathy by the courts.”
James added as a malpractice attorney, he’s seen the issue of lawyers exceeding the statute of limitations many times. In this particular case, he explained that attorneys may mix up the different statutes: limitations and repose.
The statute of limitations says that a lawsuit must be filed three years from the date of discovery of finding something wrong with the construction.
However, there is also a statute of repose, which allows for six years to file the case, but only if defects were not discovered. In other words, if a homeowner finds something wrong with their renovations during the seventh year, the building company cannot be held accountable or sued.
James pointed out the lawsuit Horton originally wanted to file against House to Home Builders was outside of Somers’ typical jurisdiction of law. Somers primarily practices criminal law, though his website states he also practices real estate and contract law.
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