Former Myrtle Beach Air Force base lawsuit moves forward after judge denies dismissal
The lawsuit concerning redevelopment at the former Air Force base will be allowed to continue after a judge ruled against Myrtle Beach’s motion for dismissal.
The lawsuit, which has been ongoing for more than a year, centers around the redevelopment of the area that includes Market Common. Horry County and Horry County Schools allege the city and Myrtle Beach Air Force Base Redevelopment Authority are misusing tax increment financing and taxpayer funds on a project that has already been completed.
Tax revenues have been frozen on properties within the former Air Force base area since 2004 while the assessed value of the land has increased from about $4.2 million to more than $38.2 million, according to court documents.
The defendants’ attorneys have continually called the lawsuit “baseless” in court documents and accused the county and school district of trying to delay court proceedings until the city is no longer able to issue additional debt for redevelopment of the area, a statutory authority that expires Dec. 13, 2020.
Judge Carmen Mullen issued her ruling Friday to deny the defendants’ motion to dismiss, which was converted to a motion for summary judgment, and their counterclaims.
The city and authority had filed counterclaims seeking attorneys’ fees and damages for losses, which the city estimated “could exceed $42,000,000 as a result of the Plaintiffs’ filing of this baseless, frivolous lawsuit.”
The city had entered into an agreement with Wells Fargo for the sale of $12.6 million in bonds prior to the filing of the lawsuit, but failed to close the deal due to the suit, according to court documents.
Ken Richardson, chairman of Horry County Schools’ board, called the judge’s decision a win for the children in their district and showed that the city’s repeated claims of a frivolous lawsuit were false.
An accounting firm retained by the county and school district to audit the city’s spending as part of the suit has identified millions of potentially misspent funds among other issues, court filings show, but city officials have argued the accountant doesn’t understand the law and is making assumptions based on an incomplete review of information.
Myrtle Beach spokesman Mark Kruea declined to comment on the judge’s order.
The public agencies involved have spent more than $500,000 combined through the end of 2019 in legal fees, according to multiple open records requests from The Sun News.
