Jeffrey Noble Lawsuit: Surveillance Discovery and Retaliation

Jeffrey Noble’s Mooresville lawsuit is a federal whistleblower retaliation case filed on January 12, 2026, against the Town of Mooresville, North Carolina, Mayor Chris Carney, Town Manager Tracey Jerome, and Chief Financial Officer Christopher Quinn. Noble, a former town IT employee, says he was fired in July 2025 after reporting surveillance footage that appeared to show the mayor walking through town hall after midnight without pants. His is the first of three suits brought by former Mooresville employees who say they lost their jobs for refusing to help bury the incident.¹

What Noble Found in the Surveillance System

In October 2024, Noble was handed what looked like a routine IT ticket: a request to change door-access permissions at Mooresville Town Hall. Reviewing the access logs, he spotted irregular after-hours entries tied to Mayor Carney’s badge credentials. He pulled the matching surveillance footage.

According to his complaint, the video showed Carney entering the building shortly after midnight on October 10, 2024, with a woman later identified as a communications consultant working for the town. On multiple occasions in the footage, the mayor is walking through the hallways without pants. Motion detectors triggered a response from Mooresville police, but, Noble alleges, officers did not enter or inspect the mayor’s office, where the consultant was allegedly hiding.¹

What Happened After He Reported It

Noble took what he had found to his IT supervisors, flagging it as misuse of municipal property, a security breach, and an ethical violation. He says town leadership responded by moving to suppress the footage rather than investigate the conduct. The complaint alleges that officials restricted access to the surveillance system, limited who could view the recordings, and then falsely accused Noble of leaking the video to local media.²¹

From there, Noble says, the pressure escalated. He describes a pattern of restrictions, isolation, and intimidation, followed by administrative leave. CFO Christopher Quinn then informed him that his employment was being terminated in July 2025.³

Noble’s attorney, Chris Purkey, told reporters that his client “found a very serious ethical violation, did exactly what he was mandated to do, and now he’s being punished for it.”²

The complaint also points to how the town handled outside scrutiny. Mayor Carney and his family were away from Mooresville from October 17 to November 12, 2024, and no investigation into the alleged misconduct took place during that window. When a local news outlet filed a public records request for the footage in November 2024, the town acknowledged it had the video but denied the request, citing exemptions under the North Carolina Public Records Act.¹

What the Lawsuit Claims and What Noble Is Asking For

Noble’s complaint alleges whistleblower retaliation, civil rights violations, and wrongful termination.⁴ It names Mayor Carney, Town Manager Tracey Jerome, and CFO Quinn individually, accusing them of working together to suppress evidence and punish Noble for doing his job. The suit further accuses Jerome and Quinn of “weaponizing police and investigative authority to protect politically connected officials.”³

On damages, Noble is seeking compensation for lost wages, lost benefits, emotional distress, and reputational harm.¹

The Town’s Response

The Town of Mooresville has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said it intends to “defend this matter vigorously” through the legal process.⁵ Mayor Carney has denied playing any role in the termination or investigation of the employees who have sued, and has said a private firm hired by the town, ISS, concluded that “it just never happened.”⁶

Two Other Former Employees Have Sued Over the Same Incident

Noble’s case is the first of three, and the later filings expand on the picture his complaint lays out.

In February 2026, Frank Falzone, a former assistant police chief with nearly 29 years on the force, sued the town, alleging he was forced into involuntary retirement after raising concerns about the town hall footage and a separate roadside encounter involving the mayor. His complaint alleges violations of his constitutional rights and seeks relief under federal civil rights law and North Carolina whistleblower protections. It names Carney, Jerome, and Police Chief Ron Campurciani as defendants, alleging they “weaponized” the internal affairs process against him by reviving a previously closed complaint to force him out.⁷⁸

The third suit came on March 4, 2026, from Christopher Lee, the town’s former IT director and Noble’s own supervisor. Lee’s complaint describes the video in more explicit terms, claiming the footage shows Carney “in a state of partial or complete undress, with his genitalia exposed and his penis visibly erect.”⁹ Lee alleges town leaders pressured him to suppress or delete surveillance footage and related access logs, and that he was pushed out of his job after refusing. His complaint also alleges that Town Attorney Sharon Crawford removed responsive records from a public records production, and that when he confronted her, she responded that “the Town would respond with what it chose to respond with.”¹⁰

Where the Case Stands

Noble’s lawsuit, along with the Falzone and Lee cases, remains pending in federal court. The underlying surveillance video has not been publicly released; a separate court order directing the town to produce it is on appeal before the North Carolina Court of Appeals, with no oral argument date publicly scheduled.¹¹ Mayor Carney remains in office and has said he will serve the rest of his term, which expires in November 2027, and does not plan to run for reelection.⁶

1
QC News. Ex-Mooresville IT Employee Accuses Town of Retaliation Over Video Showing Mayor Pantless in Town Hall: Lawsuit
2
WBTV. Former Mooresville Employee Sues Town Over Alleged Mayor Video Retaliation
3
Charlotte Observer. Former Mooresville IT Employee Sues Town Over Alleged Retaliation
4
Lake Norman Publications. Third Lawsuit With More Explicit Claims Filed Against Town Officials
5
WCNC. Lawsuit Filed by Mooresville Officials Over Town Hall Incident
6
QC News. Mooresville Mayor Will Not Resign Amid 3 Lawsuits, Alleged Pants-less Town Hall Incident
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QC News. 3 Lawsuits Pending Over Alleged After-Hours Incident of Mooresville Mayor Partially Naked Inside Town Hall
8
Lake Norman Publications. Another Lawsuit: MPD Veteran Alleges Retaliation, Wrongful Termination
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WBTV. Third Mooresville Employee Sues Town, Claims Video Shows Mayor Exposed, Sexually Aroused
10
Iredell Free News. New Federal Lawsuit Alleges Conspiracy to Target Whistleblower, Protect Mooresville Mayor
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WBTV. Mooresville Mayor Saga Postpones Budget Talks