Author: Stan Deatherage | Published: October 19th, 2009

Beaufort County is Free From Lawsuit ... For The Rest of the Fiscal Year

    The Beaufort County Board of Education has filed, in the Beaufort County Superior Court, a request for voluntary dismissal, with prejudice, of their case against the Beaufort County taxpayers. By filing that lawsuit, they have withdrawn all rights to continue this, or any future lawsuit against Beaufort County, until the conclusion of their inter-local financing agreement struck with a majority of the County Commissioners over 2 years before.

    As I mentioned in my last article on the commissioners' closed session with their attorney regarding their next possible impending lawsuit with the school board, I cannot relate what transpired in the closed session meeting, and as I did before, I will relate to you only what the county's attorney communicated to the entire press after that meeting. Attorney Neil Yarborough's comments are as follows:

    "My purpose here this evening was to provide the county commissioners with their options, and advise them as to what approach they might take, even though, for all practical purposes, the case is over for the Board of Education."

    Attorney Yarborough continued, "The Beaufort County Board of Education has filed for voluntary dismissal, with prejudice means they are essentially diminished with the case. The question is at the point, will the Beaufort County Commissioners file a 'motion in the cause,' which they have the right to do, to recover the 412,000.00 that was awarded the school board in error. As specified in the original judgment rendered by judge Griffin, Beaufort County has the right to do just that."

    The commissioners' attorney continued, "We have determined three important issues by pursuing this lawsuit to its fruition:"
    "1. We have won our case, and it cannot be retried."
    "2. We have a clear cut procedural case, as a precedent, to recoup those funds."
    "3. We have a right to do so."

    The county's attorney concluded, "Even though by winning this case, the commissioners have the right to pursue their 412,000.00, if the Beaufort County Board of Education offers a suitable rapprochement, I feel that the commissioners will seek 'peace in the valley.'"

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