Wilson v. Preston

Decision Date02 June 2008
Docket NumberNo. 26497.,26497.
Citation662 S.E.2d 580,378 S.C. 348
CourtSouth Carolina Supreme Court
PartiesM. Cindy WILSON, Appellant, v. Joey PRESTON, Anderson County Administrator, Respondent.

Jay Bender and Holly Palmer Beeson, both of Baker, Ravenel & Bender, L.L.P., of Columbia, for appellant.

William A. Coates, D. Randle Moody, II, and Ella Sims Barbery, all of Roe Cassidy Coates & Price, P.A., of Greenville, for respondent.

Robert E. Lyon, Jr., and M. Clifton Scott, both of the South Carolina Association of Counties, of Columbia, for Amicus Curiae.

Justice MOORE.

Appellant (Wilson), a member of the Anderson County Council (Council), filed a petition for writ of mandamus. She sought access to records pertaining to the operation of county government, including financial records and legal bills, which were in respondent's (Administrator), possession. Both parties subsequently filed motions for summary judgment. The Administrator's motion was granted. Wilson appealed to the Court of Appeals. We granted Wilson's motion to certify the appeal to this Court.

FACTS

Anderson County operates under a Council-Administrator form of government. In this type of government, the Council is elected by the county's citizens and the Council employs an administrator who serves as the administrative head of the county government and is responsible for the administration of all departments over which the Council has control. S.C.Code Ann. § 4-9-610 and § 4-9-620 (1986).

The powers and duties of the administrator include: executing the policies, directives, and legislative actions of the council; preparing budgets for submission to the council and, in the exercise of that responsibility, having the authority to require such reports, estimates, and statistics on an annual or periodic basis as the administrator deems necessary from all county departments and agencies; preparing annual, monthly, and other reports for council on finances and administrative activities of the county; and performing such other duties as may be required by the council. S.C.Code Ann. § 4-9-630 (1986).

The Administrator was hired by the Council in 1996. Wilson, who was sworn into office in 2001, is one of seven members who comprise the Council. Since being sworn into office, Wilson has sought from the Administrator various financial records pertaining to the operation of county government. At the time of Wilson's 2005 deposition, she had received over 59,000 pages of documents from the Administrator. Wilson stated that she shares the information she receives from the Administrator with the media and the Anderson County Taxpayers Association.

In response to Wilson's requests, the Council adopted an ordinance in 2003 involving the prioritization of the Administrator's duties. Wilson was the lone dissenting vote. The ordinance states:

In performing the duties of his office, the Administrator shall be governed by the following prioritization of functions: those duties established by law or contract, by the Anderson County Code, by the South Carolina Code of Laws, by the Administrator's contract with the County; those duties required for the efficient and effective day-to-day operations and functioning of County government; other duties, as time permits after completion of the first two sets of priorities.

Specifically in regard to this appeal, Wilson sought vendor files where legal expenditures were described, an annual financial report, weekly copies of the general ledger report, and records containing information concerning details of transfers between accounts in excess of $2,500.

After determining the Administrator was failing to give her the documents in a timely and complete manner, Wilson sought a writ of mandamus that would allow her full access to all financial records pertaining to the operation of the county government. The trial court granted the Administrator's motion for summary judgment on the ground that the Administrator's duties in regard to the above documents are discretionary.

ISSUES

I. Did the trial court err by ruling mandamus cannot issue to compel the Administrator to disclose financial records to a county council member?

II. Did the trial court err by ruling mandamus cannot issue to compel the Administrator to disclose to Wilson the narratives in the County's legal bills?

DISCUSSION

A lower court may properly grant a motion for summary judgment when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Rule 56(c), SCRCP; Connor Holdings, LLC v. Cousins, 373 S.C. 81, 644 S.E.2d 58 (2007). In determining whether any triable issues of fact exist, the lower court must view the evidence and all reasonable inferences that may be drawn from the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Id.

The primary purpose of a writ of mandamus is to enforce an established right and to enforce a corresponding imperative duty created or imposed by law. Riverwoods LLC v. County of Charleston, 349 S.C. 378, 563 S.E.2d 651 (2002). To obtain a writ of mandamus requiring the performance of an act, the petitioner must show: (1) a duty of respondent to perform the act; (2) the ministerial nature of the act; (3) the petitioner's specific legal right for which discharge of the duty is necessary; and (4) a lack of any other legal remedy. Id. Whether to issue a writ of mandamus lies within the sound discretion of the trial court, and an appellate court will not overturn that decision unless the trial court abuses its discretion. Charleston County Sch. Dist. v. Charleston County Election Comm'n, 336 S.C. 174, 519 S.E.2d 567 (1999). Mandamus is based on the theory that an officer charged with a purely ministerial duty can be compelled to perform that duty in case of refusal. Id.

The duties of public officials are generally classified as ministerial and discretionary (or quasi-judicial). Redmond v. Lexington County Sch. Dist. No. Four, 314 S.C. 431, 445 S.E.2d 441 (1994). The character of an official's public duties is determined by the nature of the act performed. Long v. Seabrook, 260 S.C. 562, 197 S.E.2d 659 (1973). The duty is ministerial when it is absolute, certain, and imperative, involving merely the execution of a specific duty arising from fixed and designated facts. Redmond, supra. It is ministerial if it is defined by law with such precision as to leave nothing to the exercise of discretion. Id. In contrast, a quasi-judicial duty requires the exercise of reason in the adaptation of means to an end, and discretion in determining how or whether the act shall be done or the course pursued. Id.

I. Financial Records

In her complaint, Wilson alleged she has sought and repeatedly been denied copies of the annual financial report (GLR 153), and timely copies of the weekly general ledger reports (GLR 110).

Wilson's complaint regarding the GLR 153 was that she wanted to receive an unaudited version immediately at the end of the fiscal year. The Administrator informed her that the annual report was typically only run after the audit was completed and all required adjustments had been made due to the volume and cost associated with running the report. She was told she would be promptly provided with the report after all accounts were closed out and the external audit finalized. A finance department employee stated that an unaudited version of the report is not very relevant because certain items are overstated or understated. Wilson was given the 2004 GLR 153 in December 2004, after the audit was complete.

Regarding the GLR 110s, Wilson's complaint is that she receives them in bunches of four to six and she believes she is entitled to receive them weekly, i.e. immediately after the finance department completes them.

In his deposition, the Administrator stated that he provides Wilson with the GLR 110s as soon as he can. However, he noted that he likes to review them first so that he may anticipate Wilson's future inquiries. He stated that sometimes he did not have time to review them and so there would be a delay in delivery.

Wilson previously moved twice before Council that Council, as a body, instruct the Administrator to provide the ledger reports in a timely manner for their review. The motions died for lack of a second.

Wilson argues the trial court erred by ruling that a writ of mandamus cannot issue to compel the Administrator to disclose financial records to a county council member in a particular manner or time frame. She contends that the Administrator's duty to do so is ministerial and not discretionary.

We find that providing a council member with the county financial information in a particular time frame or manner are discretionary actions on the Administrator's part. The law does not require the Administrator to give the documents to a single council member in any particular manner. See § 4-9-630 (outlining administrator's powers and duties); Long v. Seabrook, supra (duty is ministerial when it is absolute, certain, and imperative, involving merely the execution of a specific duty arising from fixed and designated facts). We emphasize the Administrator cannot deny a council member access to county financial documents.1 However, here, the Administrator has not denied Wilson access to the documents. The Administrator, in his discretion, has delayed the delivery of some documents so that he may be able to respond to queries by Wilson. Further, the Council, acting as a whole with only Wilson dissenting, has enacted an ordinance prioritizing the Administrator's duties so as to ensure that the Administrator takes care of the County's business before fulfilling Wilson's requests. Additionally, the Council has twice declined to accept Wilson's motion to require the Administrator to produce documents in a...

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