New Seawall Communication

Yesterday evening, an email informed the Owners that the Club and the J-Lot owners were near a settlement on the seawall. But there are quite a few unanswered questions:

1.    What will be the cost of the settlement to the Club? The J-Lot owners?

2.    Will the Club's obligations under the settlement agreement be specific or indefinite?

3.    Will the settlement resolve issues with just the 12 J-Lot owners who have sued the Club or the M-Lot owners and Phase II owners, as well? Alternatively, have settlement agreements already been negotiated with the M-Lot and Phase II owners?

4.    How will the Club's obligations under the settlement agreement be funded? The email said that no assessment is "expected." But every dollar spent on the settlement is a dollar that would otherwise be available for other Club purposes (including lower annual assessments).

5.    Will the Club's Owners have the opportunity to vote on the settlement?

6.    The email refers to the settlement being "presented" to the Court for "approval" and "recording." Perhaps South Carolina law is unique in this respect, but settlements are negotiated by the parties, who then dismiss the lawsuit in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure. Other than class actions, courts don't "approve" settlements--they simply close the case when the stipulation of dismissal is filed by the parties. Courts are happy to weigh in after a trial or dispositive motions (and even happier to see lawsuits removed from their docket), but otherwise courts simply don't have enough information be able to determine the fairness of a settlement--that's up to the parties. The Board must believe that the settlement is good for the Owners--selling the proposed settlement to the Owners will probably be an easy job for them.


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