§ 143-300.16.  Payment of judgments and settlement of claims.

(a) Any final judgment awarded against an employee in an action that meets the requirements of G.S. 143-300.14, or any amount payable under a settlement of the action, shall be paid the State.  The first one hundred fifty thousand dollars($150,000) of liability shall be paid from funds appropriated to the State Board of Education for the payment of State Tort Claims.  The balance of any payment owed shall be paid in accordance with G.S. 143-299.4. No payment shall be made from either funds appropriated to the State Board of Education or funds transferred from State agencies under G.S. 143-299.4 for any judgment for punitive damages. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to waive the sovereign immunity of the State with respect to a claim covered under this section or authorize the payment of any judgment or settlement against a public school employee in excess of the limit provided in the Tort Claims Act.

(b) The Attorney General may settle any claim to which this Article applies which he finds valid. In any case in which the Attorney General has stated in writing that private counsel ought to be provided because of a conflict with the interests of the State, any settlement shall be approved by the private counsel and the Attorney General.

(c) The coverage afforded an employee under this Article is excess coverage over any commercial insurance liability that the employee may have. (1979, c. 971, s. 2; 2000-67, s. 7A(i).)