Judge denies Atlantic Beach councilwoman’s motion for temporary injunction against town leaders
ATLANTIC BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A judge denied a motion Thursday for a temporary injunction filed by an Atlantic Beach councilwoman against some of its town leaders.
In the motion, Carla Taylor argues that the defendants — Atlantic Beach Mayor Jake Evans, councilwoman Jacqueline Gore, councilman Edward Campbell and councilman John David would prevent her from fulfilling her role as councilwoman without the injunction, but the court concluded that Taylor suffers “no personal harm or injury” while the proper legal proceedings take place to determine the proper outcome of the hotly contested Nov. 7 municipal election.
The judge further said that Taylor has “no merit while a pending investigation is taking place into the validity of the 2023 election as to whether or not non-resident members of the community contributed to the votes in the election.”
Last month, Taylor sued the town and several of its leaders and filed a temporary restraining order, alleging the town kept her from fulfilling her duties as councilwoman. She filed the suit in Horry County Common Pleas Court on April 26.
Taylor won her council seat during November’s election, but was not sworn in until April after a protest hearing due to concerns on the legitimacy of some votes in the election.
After the protest hearing, Taylor alleged in the lawsuit that former Town Manager Benjamin Quattlebaum rescheduled her new council member orientation three times without explanation.
The lawsuit further alleged Taylor has “not had an opportunity to participate in the town of Atlantic Beach new council member orientation.” All of this occurred despite being sworn in.
Taylor was also ordered on May 10 to be removed from the executive session portion of the town’s special called council meeting.
Taylor was told that she was not counted as part of the quorum and therefore could not be in the room during executive session because the results in her council election were being challenged/appealed.
The temporary injunction that was denied would have prevented any town council members from preventing Taylor from performing her duties as a “duly elected Atlantic Beach Town Council Member” and to “participate in the business of the Atlantic Beach Town Council.”
In the court document’s conclusion, the judge said, “after careful consideration of the memoranda and exhibits submitted to the court, hearing from the parties, and abiding by the tenets of rule 65 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction is hereby denied.”
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Taylor Ford is a digital journalist for News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2023. Taylor is a Florence native and covers the Pee Dee out of News13’s Florence Bureau. Read more of Taylor’s work here.
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