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by WILL FOLKS
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The city of Columbia, South Carolina was dealt a multimillion dollar defeat in state court this week when a Midlands judge ordered it to pay a local business owner $4.2 million – not counting interest payments – for destroying a wall on private property without compensation four-and-a-half years ago.
The destruction of the wall resulted in chronic flooding of the property – which forced the business owner to shut down his company.
As FITSNews reported back in May, Constan Car Wash and its owner, O. Stanley Smith III, filed an “inverse condemnation” claim against the city after it demolished the wall. The city claimed it owned the property on which the wall stood – but never provided any proof of that assertion. In fact, to the contrary, records showed the property in question has been owned by Norfolk Southern since 1874.
Constan entered into a lease with Norfolk to build the wall on its property.
“The city never owned this property and never had any right to do what it did,” a motion filed in May by Constan’s attorney, Dick Harpootlian, noted.
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The wall erected by Constan was approved by the city in January 2018 – and completed in early 2019. It stood for nearly two years before the city tore it down in an effort to address flooding of the Rocky Branch watershed, an area of approximately four square miles which drains into the Congaree River.
Constan’s former location was within the “most impacted” subwatershed of the Rocky Branch, per a May 2016 report (.pdf) prepared for the city.
On March 9, 2021, a team of city employees led by engineer Dana Higgins arrived on the property. Informed by a Norfolk Southern police officer that they were trespassing, Higgins was unmoved, court pleadings alleged.
“The wall is coming down,” she told the officer, per the filing (.pdf).
City employees proceeded to destroy the structure, causing a fire on an embankment near Norfolk Southern’s railway and dirtying vehicles which were using the car wash at the time.
“Dust from the demolition was cast upon cars that had just been washed,” Constan’s motion alleged. “It was a chaotic scene. One struggles to imagine more affirmative, positive, and aggressive acts than the ones the city committed that day.”
Now city taxpayers are on the hook to the tune of mid-seven figures…
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S.C. circuit court judge Robert Hood concluded the city’s destruction of the wall “was an affirmative, positive, aggressive act that caused plaintiffs’ damages.” In fact, Hood stated the city’s action was “calculated to destroy plaintiffs’ wall, and in fact were intended to cause flooding on the property.”
“This was undoubtedly a positive, aggressive act,” Hood added. “The city knew and intended that flooding would result to the property from the demolition of the wall.”
Hood went on to say city officials “neither offered nor provided any valid defense” for their actions. He further chided them for requesting title to the Norfolk Southern property after the fact.
“In order for a governmental entity to obtain title to or rights in property from a landowner, it must either purchase the property by agreement with the landowner or follow the procedures set former in (eminent domain),” he wrote.
The city has twenty days to pay the $4.2 million “and interest thereon” after which time “the full amount of the judgment will begin to earn interest.” Per the judge’s calculations, the “interest thereon” totaled $1.34 million as of March 9, 2025.
Hood also determined Smith and his business were entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees, which could add another several hundred thousand dollars to the judgment.
Harpootlian was thrilled with the decision.
“Constan car wash was built in 1949 and has had a storied career in the city of Columbia,” the attorney told FITSNews. “It survived hurricanes and natural disasters, but it could not survive the city of Columbia’s negligent destruction of a wall that kept it from flooding.”
Harpootlian added the decision from Hood proved “government can’t willy-nilly destroy people’s businesses.”
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THE ORDER…
(S.C. Circuit Court)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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5 comments
Danna Higgins should have her Engineering PE License removed. If she even has one. Which would be required to do what she was doing as a City Engineering Employee. If she does not have an Engineering SC PE, she should be arrested for practicing Engineering without a State License. Or, under the direct supervision of a State Engineering PE.
Agreed 100%. If the city hasn’t fire her yet, they’re risking future liability for tax payers.
Glad Mr. Smith won his case. Constan’s business problems were Constan’s but the city made them much worse.
Good thing the city manager is black or she’d be shown the door.
Columbia and Richland County are an embarrassment to the state of South Carolina.