By Scott Graber
The Island News
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, the South Carolina Court of Appeals handed down two decisions dealing with the City of Beaufort, developer Dick Stewart (Beaufort Inn LLC); Beaufort landowner Graham Trask (West Street, LLC and Mix Farms, LLC); the Historic Beaufort Foundation and their competing visions for downtown Beaufort.
Stewart had previously gotten approvals from Beaufort’s Historic Review Board for a new hotel on Scott Street; and a parking garage just off Craven Street. Trask and the Historic Beaufort Foundation challenged the Review Board’s approval of Stewart’s plans.
In January 2022, Circuit Judge Bentley Price denied the appeal of West Street, LLC and Mix Farms, LLC and Historic Beaufort Foundation. Thereafter West Street, LLC, Mix Farms, LLC, and HBF moved on to the South Carolina Court of Appeals.
In its one paragraph opinion, the three-judge panel said that it would not disturb the rulings of the Historic Review Board, writing, “When an appellant provides no legal authority regarding a particular argument, the argument is abandoned and the court can decline to address the merits of the issue.
“Short, conclusory statements made without supporting authority are deemed abandoned on appeal and therefore not presented for review.
“The burden is on the appellant to furnish a sufficient record on appeal from which this court can make an intelligent review.”
West Street, LLC and Mix Farms, LLC had also petitioned the Circuit Court for injunctive relief — what is called a declaratory judgment—that would overturn various approvals granted by the City of Beaufort.
When the three-judge panel spoke to the issue of injunctive relief, they affirmed the decision of Circuit Judge Scott Sprouse, who had denied the request, saying a similar challenge had already been decided by the Circuit Court and was pending appeal.
The panel then quoted Corpus Juris, writing: “When an administrative agency is vested with primary jurisdiction of the question at issue, the courts ordinarily will not grant injunctive relief prior to a decision by the agency (and) the availability of any adequate administrative remedy precludes the granting of injunctive relief.”
In terms of this second appeal the panel reiterated that “Short, conclusory statements made without supporting authority are deemed abandoned on appeal and therefore not presented for review.”
Atop the first page of these two opinions is the statement “THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE,” — meaning these two decisions can’t be used to bolster or defeat arguments made in future proceedings having the same fact pattern.
But in the current opinions there is no recitation of facts; and there is no narrative linking those facts to relevant case law. There is only the recitation of cases followed by a principle which was, apparently, used by the panel in reaching its decision.
West Street Farms, LLC; Mix Farms, LLC; and HBF can petition the South Carolina Supreme Court for a review of these decisions.
There is an ongoing, parallel civil lawsuit wherein Stewart (303 Associates) is asking for damages, both actual and punitive. That suit is now moving though the discovery phase of its legal life; but it is not clear when that case will go to trial.
In its press release, the City of Beaufort thanked its former lawyer, Bill Harvey, for his help with these two matters and then, in an interesting and unusual departure from previous practice, reported that the City had spent $88,135 on legal fees connected with these two cases.
Normally one does not see or know the costs of litigation. And, in some cases where there is alleged municipal negligence, that cost is covered by insurance paid by the State’s Insurance Reserve Fund.
But releasing these costs is an unusual step in the direction of “transparency.”
The City’s press release also reminded its citizens that “Each court action at both the Circuit Court and Court of Appeals has consistently upheld the City.”
Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.
