Beaufort County caucus authorizes attorneys to negotiate settlement; declines plaintiffs' offer for now

At a Beaufort County Council caucus, council members voted unanimously to decline a plaintiffs' settlement offer in the James Ware et al v. Beaufort County (Buckingham Landing) litigation for now and authorized the county attorney and outside counsel to continue negotiations on terms discussed in executive session.

The council chair opened the caucus, confirmed the meeting was advertised in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, and the body approved the caucus agenda by a unanimous show-of-hands vote. The chair then read executive session statutory bases under South Carolina Code §30-4-70(a)(2) and §30-4-78(a)(2), citing legal advice related to pending litigation, interest-calculation issues and refunds owed to taxpayers, and a personnel complaint alleging potential retaliatory action related to an employment termination.

After returning from executive session, a council member moved "that council not approve the settlement offer proposed by the plaintiffs in the litigation related to James Ware et al v. Beaufort County (Buckingham Landing litigation) at this time, but authorize the county attorney and outside legal counsel to negotiate a settlement in accordance with the terms discussed in executive session," and added that "if a settlement agreement is reached in accordance with the discussed terms, I authorize the administrator to execute the settlement agreement on behalf of the county." The motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Tabernick and approved unanimously by show of hands.

The council did not disclose the settlement terms on the public record; the motion authorized negotiation consistent with those terms and delegated execution authority to the county administrator if the agreed terms matched what was discussed in executive session. No further votes or amendments to the motion were recorded in the transcript. The chair then adjourned the caucus and announced a five-minute recess before the county council meeting.

The council cited South Carolina Code §30-4-70(a)(2) and §30-4-78(a)(2) as the legal basis for the executive-session discussions and listed the two litigation matters discussed: James Ware et al v. Beaufort County (Buckingham Landing litigation) and Beaufort County v. Sean Lather et al. The transcript did not specify monetary figures, settlement terms, or a timetable for returning to the public record on any agreement; those details were not specified in the public caucus transcript.