A former information technology employee is suing the town of Mooresville, alleging he was wrongfully terminated after reporting the existence of security footage allegedly showing Mayor Chris Carney walking through the Town Hall hallways late at night without pants on.
The lawsuit, filed by former town employee Jeffery Noble, claims Noble reported the surveillance video to his supervisors days after it was recorded in the early hours of Oct. 10, 2024. The existence of the footage was first reported by WBTV.
According to the complaint, Carney was seen entering Town Hall shortly after midnight with a female communications consultant, Jamie Gatton, and occupying the building for nearly four and a half hours. During that time, the footage allegedly showed Carney "walking through the Town Hall hallways without pants for an extended period," the lawsuit said.
Officers with the Mooresville Police Department responded after motion detectors were triggered inside the building, but no charges were filed. The lawsuit alleges that Gatton retreated into the mayor's office during the police response, and officers did not enter or inspect the office.
In a court filing related to a WBTV lawsuit seeking to obtain the footage, Carney reportedly said he had returned to Town Hall that night to pick up his cell phone, then spent time there "sobering up" after "unfortunately mixing wine with an anti-anxiety medication."
Noble says in the complaint he alerted town leadership shortly after discovering the footage. He alleges he was later accused by town staff of leaking the video to local media — an allegation he denies. The lawsuit says Noble was placed on administrative leave and later fired in July 2025.
Noble is seeking unspecified damages and a trial by jury. He is represented by C. Christopher Adkins of Adkins Law and Christerfer Purkey of Rech Law.
The lawsuit also names Carney, Town Manager Tracey Jerome and Chief Financial Officer Christopher Quinn as defendants.
A spokesperson for the Town of Mooresville did not respond to requests for comment.
