State appeals court ruling in Oconee case

A recent ruling by the South Carolina Court of Appeals upholds a 10th circuit judge’s four-year old ruling in the case of David Stokes vs. Oconee County, Wayne McCall, and Edda Cammick.  The court on November 8 affirmed circuit judge Lawton McIntosh’s 2019 ruling that granted summary judgment to both McCall and Cammick, but the appeals court also ruled, “We decline to address the circuit court’s order quashing the subpoena Stokes served on Moulder.”  In McIntosh’s ruling, the circuit court ruled Stokes could not sue then council members McCall and Cammick as individuals.  A dispute arose when Stokes lost his job as county building and codes director, and Stokes sued following comments during a 2017 county council committee meeting.  At the time, McCall and Cammick served as county council members and Scott Moulder served as county administrator.    Stokes’ lawsuit alleged slander and wrongful termination. According to the ruling, the appeals court decided that Stokes failed to produce “sufficient evidence of actual malice and also failed to show that the statements in question (during an April 2017 committee meeting) were directed at Stokes individually or that they were false.”  In the committee meeting, there was discussion of complaints about the building and codes department but nothing therein identified Stokes by name.  The appeals court attached to its ruling a transcript of what was said in the meeting by McCall and Cammick and others.