Greenville Ends Camping World Flag Lawsuit After State Law Change

GREENVILLE, N.C. — The City of Greenville has moved to end its lawsuit against Camping World over a large American flag flying at the company’s Red Banks Road location, filing a voluntary dismissal in December.

The dismissal followed the passage of a new North Carolina law that limits the ability of local governments to regulate the size of official government flags on private property. The law also requires cities to drop pending fines and litigation once it takes effect.

Lawsuit Background

Greenville filed the lawsuit in June after months of zoning enforcement tied to the size of a flag and flagpole installed at Camping World’s property at 111 Red Banks Road.

According to a verified complaint filed by the city, the property is located in a General Commercial zoning district, where city code limits flagpole height to 70 feet and caps noncommercial flag size at 216 square feet.

City records show a building permit issued July 3, 2024, approved a 70-foot flagpole and a 12-by-18-foot U.S. flag. The city alleges that a much larger installation later appeared on the site — an approximately 130-foot pole flying a flag measuring about 3,200 square feet.

Enforcement and Citations

After a visual inspection in late October 2024, the city issued a Notice of Violation requiring the property owner to bring the site into compliance. When the flag remained in place, the city revoked the building permit in January 2025 and began issuing civil citations under its zoning ordinance. Penalties escalated from $50 on the first day to $250 for each subsequent day of violation.

Court records cited by the city show Camping World paid $650 covering the first four citations. The city later continued issuing citations and reported more than $37,000 in accumulated fines before city council voted to end the case.

Attempts to Change City Rules

Rather than remove or replace the flag, the property owner sought changes to Greenville’s zoning ordinance. Two proposed amendments — one allowing multiple 130-foot flagpoles and another defining government flags more broadly — were considered by the city’s planning commission and city council.

Both proposals were rejected following public hearings, with council members citing safety, aesthetic, and public-welfare concerns, according to the complaint.

Public Statements and State Law

The complaint also references public statements made on social media by Marcus Lemonis, identified as Camping World’s CEO. In a Jan. 10, 2025, post quoted in the filing, Lemonis wrote: “You will have to jail me to take the flag down and it will still stay up.”

In October, however, House Bill 926 went into effect without the governor’s signature. The law prevents local governments from restricting the size of official government flags on private property and requires pending fines and lawsuits to be dropped.

Case Dismissed

In October, the Greenville City Council voted unanimously to dismiss the lawsuit. A voluntary dismissal was formally filed Dec. 15.

According to court records, the city has dropped all fines previously assessed against Camping World, bringing the dispute to a close.

No further court hearings are scheduled.