‘I am your king’: SC Senate candidate sued for harassment says case was dropped. Lawyers say he settled

A Midlands lawyer and former Lexington County Council member accused of sexually harassing his office manager and telling employees “I am your king. I am your god,” has settled a lawsuit with his former employee, according to court records.

On March 7, U.S. District Court Judge Mary Geiger signed an order dismissing the case against West Columbia attorney Billy Oswald, who is currently running for state Senate, as the court had been “advised by counsel for the parties that the above action has been settled.”

This followed a mediation conference on March 6 where the parties reached a settlement agreement, according to the court records.

On April 30, the plaintiff’s lawyer’s filed a stipulation to dismiss their complaint.

But in an interview with The State Media Co., Oswald, a candidate in next month’s Republican primary in Senate District 26, took issue with the characterization that the case was settled. The lawyer, who remains in good standing with the South Carolina Bar, instead characterized it as “dropped.”

“It’s dropped and settled. If it’s dropped, it’s gone, and as far as I’m concerned as an attorney, that settles it. That lawsuit is no longer in existence against me,” Oswald told The State Media Co. “I don’t know how else you answer that, without discussing the case, and I can’t discuss the case. I’m under a court order not to do that. But the case was definitely dropped by her, and it will not go to trial.”

The use of the term “settled” as well as the confidentiality agreement were at the request of the plaintiff, Oswald said.

Lawyers for the plaintiff, who is not being named because the case concerns sexual harassment, also declined to discuss the specifics of the settlement, citing its terms. But they were surprised at Oswald’s understanding of the outcome.

“The matter was settled with terms agreeable to both sides, and I don’t know why Billy would now be denying that,” said one of the plaintiff’s lawyers, Jack Cohoon.

The settlement resolves claims against Oswald, the owner of the Oswald & Burnside LLC law firm, made by his office manager, who had worked for him since 2003. Those claims, alleged in a complaint filed in federal court, include allegations that he groped the employee, called female clients and workers “b-----s,” solicited his female employees for “sexual services,” and performed “sexual acts” with prostitutes in the office conference room during work hours.

Oswald described the allegations as “all lies.”

“There’s no truth in there,” Oswald told The State. “This was totally made up on a shot of getting a bunch of money, which did not work.”

Oswald said that some of the allegations against him would be “physically impossible” following surgeries he received in 2008 after a severe case of gangrene.

The dismissal contains the stipulation that the parties can petition to reopen the case if the settlement is “not consummated within sixty days.”

The State was not able to reach Oswald’s attorney.

After the story was first published by The State, lawyers for the plaintiff filed a motion to enforce the settlement agreement. In their motion filed Monday, they said Oswald had violated the terms of their agreement by disparaging the plaintiff and disclosing the terms of the settlement in “violation of the Agreement’s Confidentiality provision.”

“Defendant Oswald attacked Plaintiff by painting her as dishonest and having improper motives. Such statements are both untrue and indisputably disparaging,” Cohoon wrote in the motion.

Lawyers for the plaintiff also argued that Oswald violated the terms of the confidentiality provision by saying that he was under a court order not to say anything. He also violated the provision by “mischaracterizing” the settlement, “implying that the Plaintiff dropped the suit without Defendants having to pay anything or that Plaintiff settled the case for a nominal amount,” according to the filing.

Attorneys for the plaintiff have asked the court to enjoin Oswald from “continuing to violate the Agreement.” They have also asked for damages and sanctions Oswald, as well as attorney’s fees and costs for having to file the motion.

Oswald’s long career in South Carolina politics includes serving on county and state bar associations. In addition to serving on the Lexington County Council, Oswald was the South Carolina director for Gary Hart’s 1984 Democratic presidential campaign and later ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primaries for state House District 89 in 2016 and 2018.

In the June 11 Republican primary for state Senate District 26, he faces Jason Guerry and Chris Smith, with the winner taking on the Democratic nominee in November. Democrats running for the seat are state Sens. Dick Harpootlian and Russell Ott.

Oswald told The State Media Co. that he is primarily focused on issues of infrastructure in Lexington County, state financial responsibility and South Carolina’s energy needs.

The seat is currently occupied by Democrat Nikki Setzler, a 47-year incumbent who is not seeking reelection.

Asked if he believed that these allegations might affect his chances, Oswald conceded that it might.

“All I know is I’ve been good and hardworking,” Oswald said. “If people want to believe lies, I can’t change that.”

Editors Note: This article was updated to include the motion to enforce the settlement agreement, which was filed on May 6, 2024, after this story was first published on May 3, 2024. It was filed in response to statements by Oswald that were included in the original article.