Lawsuit against Beaufort County treasurer dismissed; lawyer for auditor plans to press on

A lawsuit filed by one top Beaufort County elected official against another was dismissed early this month, but the plaintiff — Auditor Jim Beckert — was unaware of that fact until Tuesday.

The suit, filed in September against the county and Treasurer Maria Walls, claimed Walls was improperly provided with of a copy of Beckert’s personnel file, which compromised his family’s privacy by releasing some of their personal information.

The suit claims Walls, who received the personnel file after submitting a Freedom of Information Act request to county administrators, got private information such his family’s Social Security numbers, dates of birth and driver’s license numbers.

The suit filed was in the midst of a struggle between county administration, the treasurer’s office and the auditor’s office over powers related to property tax billing and collection in the county.

However, paperwork from the suit was never served to the county attorney’s office, and the suit was dismissed.

Beckert and his attorney Fred Kuhn said Tuesday that they were both unaware of the dismissal until informed by a reporter from The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette.

Kuhn, an attorney with the firm Moss, Kuhn and Fleming, said “there hadn’t been much activity (filed with the Beaufort County Clerk’s Office) on the case” in recent months because Beckert’s legal council was working with the county on an informal resolution to the suit.

But Kuhn said staffing changes both within the firm and the county’s legal department resulted in a situation where paperwork was not served on time, leading to the case’s dismissal.

A letter from the clerk’s office dated April 13 said, “No proof of service has been filed since (September), and the Clerk of Court has requested that this action be dismissed” unless a response from Beckert’s attorney’s was received within 10 days.

That didn’t happen.

Kuhn said the letter warning of the suit’s pending dismissal was sent to the home of Beckert’s former attorney, Kimberly Smith, who no longer represents the auditor.

Beckert declined Tuesday to comment on the specifics of the case.

Walls also declined to comment Tuesday but called the suit “unfortunate” when it was originally filed.

Despite the dismissal, Kuhn said, “The suit is very much alive and well.”

“It’s not a dismissal on merit,” he said. “The case still very much has merit, and I’m not going to waste any time filing a motion to restore (the suit).”

County administrator Gary Kubic said Tuesday that he’s “pleased the case has been dismissed.”

When the suit was filed, “it was my opinion and as county administrator that (the contents of Beckert’s personnel file), … which are not things like Social Security numbers, should be released if requested,” Kubic said. “I still believe that to be the case.”

This story was originally published May 30, 2017 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Lawsuit against Beaufort County treasurer dismissed; lawyer for auditor plans to press on."