New pre-trial motions in Pioneer case

Attorneys for Pioneer Rural Water District have filed new motions in the case challenging its right to make its own water to retail to customers in a two-county area.  It’s a summary judgment motion to dispose of the case before the scheduled trial August 28 in Walhalla.  Attorneys Theodore Gentry and Alice Parham Casey prey to the court:  “This motion is made on the grounds that there is no genuine issue of material fact to prevent the granting of this motion and Defendant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.  This motion is supported by the Third Affidavit of Terry L. Pruitt and the Expert Report of Josh Fowler dated August 3, 2017, which is verified by an affidavit from Mr. Josh Fowler, and by Pioneer’s memorandum of law in support hereof…”  Pruitt is the Pioneer general manager; Fowler is an engineering consultant who works as director of water and wastewater services for Synterra Corporation of Greenville.  Pioneer’s legal challengers are Seneca, Westminster, Oconee County, and the Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority, but the Pioneer attorneys say those parties lack standing to bring the challenge.  They argue:  “This Court is faced with three public bodies seeking judicial review of the discretionary functions of another governmental body with which they have no relationship, other an a commercial one.  Gentry and Casey further maintain that “Pioneer Board’s determination That the Facility Is in Ratepayers’ Best Interest is Entitled to Substantial Deference….”