Charleston School of Law sues Charleston in property sale dispute - Live 5 News WCSC

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston School of Law has filed a lawsuit accusing the city of Charleston of breach of contract.

School of Law spokesman John Strubel says the lawsuit stems from a 2017 agreement between the city and the school in which the parties agreed to modify a contract that would remove a “reverter clause” from the title of a property at the corner of Meeting and Woolfe Streets in Charleston, which would allow the school to sell the property.

The school entered into a contract to sell that property to OmShera Hotel Group LLC, he said in a deal valued at $12.85 million.

“Everyone wins if the sale of this lot goes forward,” school President J. Edward Bell III said. “The City will gain millions to cover its budget shortfall this coming year which will assist in funding affordable housing. Residents will benefit from the development of Meeting Street, jobs and tax revenues will be added, and the Law School will be able to move forward with its plans to convert to a nonprofit. This is a straightforward legal matter. The City agreed to this transaction years ago. Its failure to complete its portion of the deal is a textbook case of breach of contract.”

The school says the 2017 agreement called for the city to remove the reverted clause to allow the school to finalize the sale of the property. In return, the city would receive 25% of the net purchase price, which includes the original purchase price of the lot.

The city, Strubel said, has already been paid in full for the lot and has received part of the proceeds of the sale to OmShera.

The law school intends to use its portion of the proceeds from the sale to pursue its desire to become a nonprofit entity, he said.

From the proposed sale’s $12.85 million value, the city would receive more than $4 million of combined sales proceeds, interest earned and agreed contributions, of which more than $3 million is designated for affordable housing.

The Charleston School of Law and OmShera Hotel Group have made multiple attempts since 2018 to resolve the issue, alleging the city has failed to respond to “multiple written requests and deadlines in recent months, which has left the Law School with no other recourse except to seek help from the Court to resolve this dispute,” Strubel said.

Charleston city attorney Julia Copeland released a statement from the city on the lawsuit.

“The city does not comment on pending litigation, except to say that we intend to defend this matter vigorously,” she said.

“We are confident that an objective and honest review of the facts and law will result in a finding that the Law School has upheld its end of the bargain struck years ago and that the city has not.” Bell said.

The complaint includes a demand for attorneys’ fees and other costs against the city.

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.

source: https://www.live5news.com/2021/12/17/charleston-school-law-sues-charleston-property-sale-dispute/

Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.