Atlantic Beach councilwoman files lawsuit, alleges town kept her from fulfilling duties

ATLANTIC BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A newly elected Atlantic Beach Town Councilwoman has sued the town and several of its leaders and filed a temporary restraining order, alleging the town kept her from fulfilling her duties.

Carla Taylor filed the suit in Horry County Common Pleas Court on April 26. It names Jake Evans, council members Jacqueline Gore, Edward Campbell and John David. It also names Town Manager Benjamin Quattlebaum and municipal election commission members Kenneth McIver, Carolina Gore and Derek Stevens. Shaun Swinson and mayoral candidate Josephine Isom were also named.

Taylor won her council seat during November’s election and was sworn in at the beginning of last month. However, the lawsuit alleges that Quattlebaum, the town manager who announced his plans last month to resign effective Wednesday, scheduled a new council member orientation with Taylor on April 8, but canceled it the same day and rescheduled it for April 11.

Quattlebaum then canceled the April 11 meeting and rescheduled it for April 16, according to the lawsuit. The meeting was then canceled a third time without explanation.

Quattlebaum “has failed to explain why Taylor’s new council member orientation was canceled three times and never rescheduled,” the lawsuit reads. It alleges Taylor has “not had an opportunity to participate in the town of Atlantic Beach new council member orientation.”

The suit alleges that on April 18 while at a League of Cities event, the current mayor “failed to recognize” Taylor as a councilmember while introducing the rest of the Atlantic Beach Town Council present for the community event.

Taylor is seeking in the lawsuit to be declared as an elected town councilmember and to participate in all town council business. The lawsuit also seeks a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction preventing the defendants from “depriving Taylor from exercising her rights as a member of the Atlantic Beach Town Council.”

Council meetings are held on the first Monday of each month.

News13 has reached out to Gore, Evans, David and Quattlebaum for comment. As of this writing, we have not heard back.

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Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here .

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