A former Mooresville IT employee has filed a federal lawsuit claiming retaliation after reporting unusual behavior by Mayor Chris Carney. The lawsuit alleges Carney was at Town Hall late at night in October 2024 without pants.
Jeffrey Noble, who worked in the town’s information technology department, filed the complaint on January 12, 2026. The case was submitted in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Noble named Mayor Carney and two other town officials as defendants. He says he was fired after raising concerns about what he believed were serious ethical and security violations.
Mooresville Mayor lawsuit alleges late-night pants-free incident
According to the lawsuit, Noble discovered unusual late-night badge swipes by the mayor while reviewing access logs as part of his job. The complaint claims surveillance footage shows Carney entering Town Hall shortly after midnight with a woman who worked as a communications consultant. The video allegedly depicts the mayor moving through secured hallways without pants for several hours.
Motion detectors reportedly triggered a police response, but officers did not search Carney’s office, where the woman allegedly hid. Noble says he immediately reported the irregular access and video to supervisors. Instead of investigating, town leadership allegedly restricted access to the footage and limited who could discuss it. Noble claims his supervisors treated him as a suspect and accused him of leaking the footage, which he denies.
The lawsuit states that Noble was put on administrative leave and forced into an interview in June 2025 with a private investigator, a Mooresville police detective, and a police canine unit. Less than a month later, on July 3, 2025, he was told his termination was recommended. Noble is now seeking damages, including lost wages and harm to his reputation.
Carney has previously acknowledged being at Town Hall that night. He said he went to pick up his phone and was waiting with a friend after “mixing wine with anti-anxiety medication.” Carney claimed there was no video of him in his office and that any footage would only show him in the hallways.
Carney, who was re-elected in November 2024, took a leave of absence from October 17 to November 12, 2024. Town officials have refused to release the surveillance footage, citing exemptions in the North Carolina Public Records Act. They argue the video may involve law enforcement information.
The new federal lawsuit comes as Mooresville faces separate legal challenges. A local news outlet, WBTV, is also seeking the release of the surveillance footage under public records laws. Carney has not publicly commented on the new lawsuit, and town officials declined to respond to the latest developments.
The case is still in its early stages, and no trial date has been set. It continues to draw attention due to the unusual allegations and questions about retaliation against the whistleblower.
