Petition by plaintiff to rehear pursuant to Rule 31 denied 1 February 2001. The Court ex mero motu vacates its order entered 5 October 2000 denying plaintiffs peitition for writ of certiorari *377and allows plaintiffs petition for writ of certiorari for the purpose of reversing the order entered 16 May 2000 by the N.C. Court of Appeals denying plaintiffs petition for writ of certiorari and remanding the case to the Court of Appeals for determination on the merits.