Charleston Animal Society officials say a lawsuit filed against them by Charleston Carriage Works, LLC has been settled in the society's favor.
CAS officials held a press conference to talk about the decision Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Charleston Animal Society, 2455 Remount Rd. in North Charleston.
In May of 2018, Charleston Carriage Works filed a lawsuit alleging the Charleston Animal Society (CAS) and Ellen Harley of Charleston Carriage Horse Advocates conspired to defame the company by spreading false information about it.
The defendants included Charleston Animal Society, Charleston Carriage Horse Advocates and Ellen Harley.
CAS says the lawsuit started when its organization posted a video of one of the carriage horses "collapsing" downtown in an effort to bring attention to the inhumane working conditions the horses are put through, including intense heat.
CAS claims the lawsuit was a "SLAPP" lawsuit -- or a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation -- often used to intimidate advocacy organizations to back down from their efforts due to the legal costs of defending these types of claims.
Charleston Carriage Works leaders issued the following statement this week:
Lawsuits proceed in an orderly fashion through a series of proscribed steps. The system is designed to go slow to get it right, and the Master-in-Equity’s decision is only the first in a series of precise steps leading to a final adjudication. It is important to note that no jury has weighed the evidence in this case. The Charleston Animal Society has over 28 million dollars in assets and receives more than $5500 from Charleston County taxpayers every single day. They are a political and PR giant, yet we are determined to pursue the truth despite their well-funded attempts to prevail via attrition and misrepresentation.
The group filed a Notice of Appeal on August 11.