A Circuit Court judge has ruled that the current Sullivan’s Island Town Council is not required to abide by an agreement made by a previous Council to settle a lawsuit brought by homeowners who were unhappy about the town’s refusal to let them cut down trees in the Maritime Forest.
On Jan. 30, Judge Jennifer B. McCoy granted summary judgment in favor of the town against Nathan Bluestein and Theodore Albenesius III and the defendants’ counterclaims for breach of contract.
“The settlement agreement is invalid and unenforceable as a matter of law because it involves the legislative/governmental powers of the town and purports to bind the current and future Town Councils,” the judge wrote. “However, even if the settlement agreement could somehow be said to involved only proprietary/business functions, it is still invalid and unenforceable because it is unreasonable as a matter of law.”
The lawsuit against the town of Sullivan’s Island was originally filed in July 2010. The Council that was elected in May 2019 voted 4-3 to approve a settlement with the homeowners in October 2020 that permitted some cutting in the forest. Two of the Council members who supported the settlement agreement, Tim Reese and Chauncey Clark, were defeated in the May 4, 2021, election, while three candidates who opposed the agreement – Scott Millimet, Justin Novak and Gary Visser – won seats on the Council.
In February 2022, the current Council voted 5-1 to approve a motion to retain attorney William Wilkins to determine if any part of the settlement agreement violates South Carolina law. At the time, Mayor Pat O’Neil said a major question Wilkins would ask the court was whether one Council has the authority to bind the efforts of another Council.
The motion for summary judgment was filed on May 23, 2022, and a hearing was conducted on Sept. 22, 2022.