Another MorningStar legal action is in. See what the church alleges against York County
The latest legal filing in the years-long dispute over what is now the MorningStar tower alleges York County violated the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act.
MorningStar Fellowship Church filed the allegations last week against the county. Morningstar alleges the county published what the church says is largely false information in a March press release, but then invoked attorney client privilege as a reason to not provide MorningStar information supporting the release, which the church requested through FOIA.
The filing mentions public information officer Greg Suskin, who sent the release to media outlets in March. On Thursday afternoon, Suskin emailed to The Herald that the county has no comment at this time on the latest filing.
MorningStar supporters have been at odds with the county for more than 15 years over an unfinished 21-story tower in Fort Mill. Discussions remain intense, as York County Council meetings in recent months routinely draw up to a dozen church members or supporters who ask the county to let MorningStar finish the tower. Various legal disputes have been in court dockets for more than a decade.
Construction began in 1986 on the tower as part of Heritage USA and Praise the Lord ministry property in Fort Mill, which had been popularized by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. The tower was left unfinished when the ministry filed for bankruptcy amid a scandal that cost Jim Bakker his position.
MorningStar, unaffiliated with the prior ministry, took ownership of the tower almost two decades ago. MorningStar has completed several building projects on its property in the Regent Park area. The church wants to complete the tower to allow senior living.
The county contends deadlines have already passed for when the tower should have come down, and that even the construction done decades ago would have to pass current, more stringent building standards.
“The county has a duty to the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens and simply cannot allow a 35-year-old building that has never been completed to stand in its current condition,” reads the March release.
In the filing Wednesday, MorningStar states the church submitted a FOIA request largely in response to the media release.
“By publicly blasting false claims to potentially millions of readers in the press release, York County effectively waived any claims of attorney-client privilege or attorney work-product because it disseminated information to third parties through its reckless press release, which is now largely the basis of the FOIA request,” MorningStar wrote in the filing.
MorningStar takes exception with York County’s statement in the release that courts had dismissed all previous claims against the church, related to the tower.
“As the record of both courts incontrovertibly shows, this reckless epistle was blatantly false on several crucial points and was clearly designed, in part, to directly, undermine, and destroy MorningStar’s ministry by sabotaging and maligning its reputation with the public,” the filing reads.
The filing Wednesday calls for a reponse from the county within 30 days.
