Former Coast RTA leader Rollins’ lawyers trying to settle out of court

Lawyers for former Coast RTA General Manager Myers Rollins will spend the next few months trying to negotiate an out-of-court settlement with the bus service, the state Department of Transportation and other officials Rollins sued after he was fired earlier this year, according to court records and Rollins’ attorney.

All parties have decided to try negotiations to see if they can resolve the matter outside of court, said Ashley C. Story, an attorney with J. Lewis Cromer and Associates, the Columbia law firm representing the bus service’s former leader.

Rollins was fired April 30 after controversy erupted over his handling of a long-delayed bus shelter and signage program. State officials scrapped the project in 2013 and later asked for $324,000 in reimbursement for some equipment that had already been installed.

In June, Rollins filed a 24-page lawsuit in Horry County District Court. The 93-item document alleged years of abuse, humiliation and deceit that ultimately culminated in his termination after a nine-year tenure with the agency.

In his lawsuit, Rollins blamed state officials for mishandling the shelter project and said his firing was “improper and baseless.”

The lawsuit listed Coast RTA, the S.C. Department of Transportation, Horry County Councilman and Coast RTA board member Gary Loftus, County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus, Coast board Chairman Bernie Silverman, Coast board member Katherine D’Angelo and Coast’s interim General Manager Julie Norton-Dew as defendants. SCDOT official Doug Frate and former SCDOT official Hart Baker were also named in the case.

The lawsuit provided seven causes of action, including defamation, civil conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, violation of South Carolina Wage and Payment Act, interference with contractual relations and equitable relief.

Rollins is seeking $5 million in actual damages and punitive damages awarded by a jury. He also wants his job back, back pay and benefits.

After the lawsuit was filed, Frate, Baker and SCDOT submitted responses in August asking the court to dismiss the case.

That same month, Coast RTA and local leaders responded with a motion asking the court to toss out some of Rollins’ claims and send the others to arbitration.

The Coast motion was scheduled to be heard in court last week, but Story said all parties are trying to address the matter through negotiations first.

“We have agreed to postpone it to see if we can do an early mediation,” she said. “We’re talking about trying to mediate the case in the next couple of months.”

If the mediation doesn’t work, she said, the matter would head back to court for a hearing on Coast’s motion.

Story said the goal is to find an “amicable resolution” for all groups involved in the case.

Frate, SCDOT’s deputy secretary for intermodal and freight programs, was out of the office Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.

Silverman, who chairs the bus service’s board, said Coast’s early goal was to resolve the case through mediation.

Silverman said he doubts either side wants to prolong the process.

“I don’t think it will go on forever and ever,” he said.

This story was originally published December 23, 2014 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Former Coast RTA leader Rollins’ lawyers trying to settle out of court."