Rule 24 Requirements Must Be Met To Intervene As Party Under APA

In Holly Ridge Associates, LLC v. NC DENR, the NC Supreme Court made clear that to intervene as a party in a contested case, the intervenor must satisfy the requirements of Civil Procedure Rule 24 (direct and immediate interest relating to the property / transaction at issue or where intervenor's claim shares fact and/or legal issue with action in which it seeks to intervene). Should an intervenor be interested in participating as something less than a party, the intervenor may do so pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act and subject to the judge's discretion regarding the lesser role the intervenor may play.