Lawsuit filed for former county building official

A lawsuit has been filed in the Oconee Common Pleas Court on behalf of the county’s former building official.  The lawsuit, by Pawleys Island attorney J-Clay Hopkins, was filed yesterday for David Stokes and alleges slander and wrongful termination against Oconee County and two county council members, Edda Cammick and Wayne McCall.  The lawsuit claims that Stokes, hired as building official in 2011, always did his job satisfactorily and received no written complaints, write-ups, or other disciplinary action from his superiors.  But, according to the allegations, Cammick on March 8 applied for a building permit for a pre-fabricated structure on her property.  According to the lawsuit, Cammick objected to Stokes telling her that she would need “manufacturing documents” before approval of her project.  It further alleges that in late April both Cammick and McCall voiced frustration with the building department for requiring engineering documents to permit a structure that they believed did not require the documents.  It alleges the defendants made false statements pertaining to Stokes’ fitness for his position and that he was retaliated against and terminated.  The lawsuit requests a jury trial.