Federal lawsuit alleging Midlands school board ‘conspired’ against former member dismissed
A federal judge has dismissed a First Amendment retaliation lawsuit brought by a former Midlands school board member against several of his board colleagues
U.S. District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis on Friday dismissed federal claims brought by former board member Ken Loveless, finding a lack of standing. Loveless lost his reelection bid in 2022 but is seeking election again this November.
The former Lexington-Richland 5 school board member filed suit last year against former board members Michael Cates, Beth Hutchison and Ed White along with former school board attorney Michael Montgomery for actions allegedly taken against him because of his criticism of the construction of an elementary school. Loveless served on the Chapin-Irmo area board from 2018 to 2022 but lost his reelection bid in 2022. He is seeking election again this November.
Loveless alleges the four of them conspired to accuse him of ethics violations related to his relationship with Contract Construction, the firm that built Piney Woods Elementary School, which opened in 2021. Loveless’ company had a contract to work with the construction firm on another project at the same time he was questioning the firm’s work at the elementary school.
He was ultimately charged with violating the state’s Ethics Act, and was fined more than $6,000 by the S.C. Ethics Commission. Loveless is appealing that decision, denying that he did anything improper.
Rather, Loveless alleges in his lawsuit, it was the “cabal” of school district officials who worked to protect their relationship with Contract Construction by seeking to silence his criticism of the Piney Woods project. For a time, Loveless recused himself from discussion or oversight of the project.
Hutchison and White were critics of Loveless’ involvement in the Piney Woods project while he had a relationship with Contract Construction. Cates was the school board chairman.
In her opinion, Lewis writes that Loveless can’t tie a particular injury to the alleged actions of the defendants. Loveless said in the suit he suffered social ostracism as a result of the controversy, claiming he was “shunned” from professional and philanthropic events due to public criticism of him. Loveless ultimately lost his re-election bid in 2022 by a mere 16 votes.
Loveless also cited allegedly defamatory remarks made online by school district resident Kevin Scully, including calling Loveless “crooked” and “a loser.” Loveless filed a separate defamation lawsuit against Scully, who was subsequently elected to the Lexington-Richland 5 school board himself. Loveless’ lawsuit against Scully is still pending.
Lewis said the reasons a voter may have cast their ballot for one candidate or another can’t be adjudicated in court, nor tied directly to any particular action taken by the defendants in the lawsuit. She also wrote that comments made by Scully, who is not a party to this lawsuit, are not relevant to any actions by the named defendants.
Furthermore, “There is no evidence Scully was the cause of Plaintiff’s alleged exclusion from these professional and charitable activities, other than Plaintiff’s unconvincing attempts to correlate facts, time lines, and suppositions,” the judge writes in her decision.
Lewis notes that Loveless’ own lawsuit seems to minimize the impact of the alleged offenses. She referred to this statement in the initial lawsuit:
“(I)t is hoped that the reputational damage effected by Defendants and others is limited to unsophisticated and minimally competent individuals who think social media is a real world, some of whom appear to have difficulty differentiating between what is on social media and reality.”
Lewis said that because Loveless “is unable to meet the injury-in-fact element of his first amendment claim, the Court declines to address the parties’ remaining arguments here,” Lewis wrote.
Any claims under South Carolina state law for abuse of process and conspiracy could be refiled in state court, she said in the ruling, and declined the defendants’ request to dismiss them outright.
Loveless is currently running to regain a seat on the Lexington-Richland 5 school board in the Nov. 5 election. He is one of three candidates running for two at-large seats on the Lexington County side of the district, along with USC professor Scott Herring and incumbent Catherine Huddle.
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