50K Beaufort County taxpayers may have overpaid fees, lawsuit claims. Are you one?
Between 40,000 and 50,000 residents who paid their county property taxes late may be affected by a class-action lawsuit against the Beaufort County Treasurer’s Office, according to a Nov. 15 court filing.
Russell Patterson, the attorney representing a group of plaintiffs bringing the lawsuit against the county, alleges that the Treasurer’s Office — under incumbent Treasurer Maria Walls and her predecessors — has collected over $3 million in profits in the last 10 years. These profits stem from what the lawsuit refers to as $125 in “disputed fees.”
“The county is charging more in treasurer and execution fees, neither of which is allowed by statute,” Patterson said in phone calls on Nov. 30 and on Wednesday. “Beaufort County consulted an attorney general opinion and still charged these fees.”
The two opinions cited are from 1993 and 2012, the latter of which involved Beaufort County directly. One sentence Patterson points to reads: “... we believe a court would likely conclude that any fees imposed by a county treasurer in addition to the penalties and costs expressly permitted ... are invalid as being not authorized by statute.”
Mary Lohr, who represents Walls and the Treasurer’s Office in the suit, would not comment because the lawsuit is pending.
The lawsuit is not against Walls outside her capacity as the county treasurer. The official class-action suit lists seven plaintiffs, but Patterson said Wednesday that the number of people affected is much larger.
“We’re representing all delinquent taxpayers over the last three years,” he said.
Patterson said there are between 17,000 and 21,000 who miss the due date to pay taxes each year.
Patterson said the named plaintiffs discovered the $75 treasurer fee and $50 execution fee when one of them lost property at a tax sale.
The lawsuit alleges taxpayers are being overcharged.
“The only amount that should be charged in connection to those charges should be the actual cost of the ads, the mailing, the postage and the cost to post, which is substantially lower than $125 per person,” Patterson said. “ ... There shouldn’t be any excess funds.”
The suit was slated to go before the 14th Circuit Court on Dec. 20, but Patterson granted the county an extension to respond to the suit. Beaufort County will have until Jan. 15 to respond.
This story was originally published December 13, 2018 at 10:50 AM.
