Superior Court Judge Carl Fox dismissed a lawsuit brought in November 2007 by dozens of Wendell residents claiming the town acted improperly when it approved the expansion of the Pepper Pointe subdivision.

Fox handed down his one paragraph ruling late Friday afternoon, one day after hearing arguments in a motion for summary judgement.

The ruling clears the way for the developer, William Barker, to begin work on the new phase of the development. Commissioners approved the project in September 2007 after having initially rejected the plan. Under town rules, developers were required to wait one year before resubmitting plans for a new development if those plans were rejected. The only exception to that rule is in cases where significant changes are made to the plan.

Barker incorporated some changes in his plan, including some he had agreed to in negotiations prior to the commission's rejection.

Commissioners OK'd the plan the second time, prompting the lawsuit that included 65 complainants.

Fox's ruling can be appealed by the complainants to the N.C. Court of Appeals. In his ruling, Fox offered no explanations of why he ruled the way he did.