South Carolina county that had a closed-door meeting sued, ordered to pay over $13,000

A South Carolina county council has been slapped with more than $13,000 in fees for not disclosing the reasons for meeting behind closed doors, according to U.S. News and World Report.

The Newberry County Council has been ordered to pay Columbia attorney Desa Ballard $13,708 in costs and attorneys’ fees after Ballard sued them for violating the palmetto state’s Freedom of Information Act, said U.S. News and World Report.

Newberry County made public the reasons for their executive session using methods that hid the specific subject of their closed-door meeting according to a ruling by Judge Thomas Russo, reported U.S. News and World Report.

It is unknown if Newberry County will appeal, and their attorney refused to comment.

This story was originally published July 16, 2017 at 1:39 PM with the headline "South Carolina county that had a closed-door meeting sued, ordered to pay over $13,000."