The City of Walterboro began its first court-ordered mediation session with Camilla Hughes Hiers to determine if a settlement was due in the lawsuit regarding Hiers’ business, Diary Land. At the moment the specific details of the mediation session are not public.

Hiers’ attorney, Peter Protopapas, filed a lawsuit against the city on March 21 of this year. The lawsuit was seeking damages that Hiers and her husband claim occurred because of the road work on South Jefferies Boulevard where the couple’s business operates. The construction is related to the city’s I-95 Business Loop project.

In addition, the couple filed for a preliminary injunction seeking to stop work on the part of the road that fronts their property and remove the median planter and sidewalks that are already installed. Hiers claims the sidewalks and planter has limited access to Dairy Land and affected her business negatively.

 The mediation session(s) were ordered by the preliminary injunction judge to see if the case could be settled. The judge also ordered the South Carolina Department of Transportation play a role in the mediation.

In the preliminary hearing, Hiers received some of what she was requesting, including that the contractor assigned to work on the South Jefferies Boulevard improvements not be allowed to continue construction near Dairy Land until the case is officially settled. Hiers was not granted the request that the planters and sidewalk be removed.

Included in Hiers’ lawsuit are affidavits from a realtor, a civil engineer, and a property appraiser, all of whom state her business has been affected negatively and the resale value of the property has decreased because of the limited access.