Small town's future uncertain after 'astronomical' jury verdict
Dave Munday and Glenn Smith
COTTAGEVILLE - [South Carolina] A mix of shock, joy and uncertainty buzzed in this tiny, rural community Thursday as residents contemplated how the town might pay a court judgment so large it could fund the local budget for the next 162 years.
Mayor Tim Grimsley, a white-bearded Santa Claus figure who drives an old VW van, said business was normal in the wake of a $97.5 million award by a federal jury to the family of a town leader fatally shot by a Cottageville police officer three years ago.
"It's such an astronomical amount," Grimsley said outside Town Hall Thursday afternoon. "Everybody I talked to said, 'Is this for real?'?"
"I plan to go forward," he said, citing plans to renovate the gym and build a park and a library.
But others weren't so sure, predicting that the award, if it stands, could send this little burg between Summerville and Walterboro into bankruptcy or worse.
The town has $1 million in coverage through the S.C. Municipal Insurance and Risk Financing Fund. But that likely wouldn't even pay the interest on any loan they'd find to cover what's owed to the family of slain former Mayor Bert Reeves.
"I don't think they'll ever collect that money because the town doesn't have any money," former Town Councilman Jimmy Ramsey said. "I don't know if we'll have to go bankrupt, but I'm not sure we're going to be able to survive as a town either."
Grimsley said most folks in this of town around 750 people aren't panicking yet. Many can't even wrap their heads around the $97.5 million figure, he said. That's not surprising given the fact that the town's annual budget is a little less than $600,000. Besides, he said, many expect the final judgment will be whittled down as motions and possible appeals go forward.
A federal jury handed down the judgment late Wednesday following a nine-day trial in U.S. District Court in Charleston. The case stemmed from a May 16, 2011, incident in which Randall Price, an officer with a questionable record, shot Reeves in the chest during an argument. Price claimed self-defense, but Reeves' family alleged negligence in a wrongful-death suit against the town, the police department and Price.
If the case had been tried in state court, the town's damages would have been limited under South Carolina's tort law to $300,000 per individual or $600,000 per event. But the Reeves' family alleged civil-rights violations that kept the suit in federal court, where awards can exceed the state cap. The jury, in fact, sided with the Reeves family on all counts, including allegations that the town had been negligent in hiring Price and that the officer had used excessive force against the former mayor.
The resulting award includes $7.5 million in actual damages, $60 million in punitive damages against the town and $30 million in punitive damages against Price, who was let go by the town about three months after the shooting.
"I cannot thank the jury enough for their courage to do justice in this case," Ashley Reeves, the former mayor's widow, said in a written statement. "My children take great comfort in knowing their father's name has been cleared and that this officer will no longer carry a gun and a badge."
Price's attorney, Lake Summers, did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday night or Thursday. The town's attorney, Vinton "Dee" Lide, was said to be away from his office Thursday and unavailable for comment.
Patrick Hubbard, a tort law professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, said a number of things could still occur to reduce the final judgment, including a required review of punitive damages by the judge. An appeal could also be in the cards.
"I would be surprised if the defendants are not already working on their post-judgment options," he said.
Constance Anastopoulo, an associate professor at the Charleston School of Law, agreed. She said she personally doubts the judgment will stand as is, but having the verdict go against them could "make the defendants a little more pliable in terms of reaching a settlement."
George Addison, another former mayor and town councilman, said the people he spoke to around town Thursday seemed happy with the "just verdict" the Reeves family had received. "The mood in town is that justice was served," he said.
Addison is among those who expect the town will go bankrupt and hand its control over to Colleton County government. He thinks it's for the best, as the town offers few services and has little tax base, essentially forcing its police officers to write a blizzard of tickets to generate enough money to pay their salaries, he said.
"That's not fair to the officers or the citizens," he said.
During the case, it was revealed that Price alone brought in more than $600,000 writing tickets from 2008 to 2011, according to Mullins McLeod, attorney for the Reeves' family.
"Police should not have a financial incentive to target their own citizens," he said. "That runs contrary to the very principles of policing."
Price came to Cottageville in 2008 following a string of terminations across the state for insubordination, dangerous use of firearms and other alleged acts of misconduct. His ticket-writing ability led town officials to ignore his tactics, but others, including Reeves, weren't pleased, McLeod said. McLeod told the jury Price shot Reeves on a dirt road near Town Hall because the ex-mayor raised concerns about the officer's "aggressive behavior."
The controversy over the shooting nearly led the town to disband its police department. McLeod said the town should revisit that issue and consider dumping the police department in favor of a substation for Colleton County sheriff's deputies. "That would make the town safer overnight," he said.
The town only had one full-time police officer for years. Grimsley added several more after he took office last October.
Lifelong resident Esther Womble, 73, lives by the Dollar General in the house her parents owned. She said residents had been complaining for years that the town's officers were rude and arrogant. She hopes the verdict sends a message that police officers should treat people with more respect.
"They made you feel small," she said. "I hope this will calm them down. ... I hope we can go back to the friendly town it used to be."