Jeffrey S. Tibbals

Bar / Professional Activity

• South Carolina
• District of Columbia
• U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
• U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina
• U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
• James L. Petigru American Inn of Court
• 18th Circuit Representative for Young Lawyers Conference of Virginia State Bar, 2003
• Member, Charleston County Business License/User Fee Appeals Board, 2011-2014
• Member, SC Bar Practice and Procedure Committee, 2008-2009 
• Co-Chair, Title Insurance Subcommittee, Real Estate Litigation Committee, ABA Section of Litigation, 2009-2011
• Member, Board of Trustees, Charleston Stage Company, Inc., 2008-2010
• Co-Chair, Real Estate Litigation & Condemnation Committee, ABA Section of Litigation, 2012-2016
• Vice-Chair, Real Estate Litigation Committee, ABA Section of Litigation, 2011-2012

Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)

• Lead litigation counsel in successful defense of condominium unit owner seeking to construct a one-story addition, 2008.
• Lead counsel in complex foreclosure matter involving mixed-use property with conservation easements on a portion of collateral. Prevailed in contentious litigation and two bankruptcy filings to achieve results of a $1.5M sale and a $400k deficiency judgment, 2015.
• Lead counsel in several day jury trial in state court in Lexington County, South Carolina, on alleged construction defects. Plaintiffs sought more than $1m in damages. Case settled favorably for client just prior to judicial decision on motion for directed verdict. 2016.
• Prevailed upon motions, and Plaintiff reduced its demand to a fraction (one sixteenth) of its pre-suit demand, 2016.
• Lead counsel in complex commercial contract dispute involving a damages claim of several hundred thousand dollars. Developed and implemented strategy to remove case to federal court and transfer venue in accordance with the contractual forum selection clause.
• Lead counsel in litigation against the Town of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, challenging denial of vested rights for approximately a $30mm luxury apartment complex. Subsequent to the filing of the lawsuit and a hearing on a motion for a writ of mandamus, Town Council moved to reconsider and granted the vested rights extension, as required by law. The case garnered significant media attention and was the subject of several newspaper articles, 2016.
• Lead counsel in $15mm dispute between REIT and a corporate tenant with numerous leases nationwide. Achieved favorable resolution of dispute (payment of 100% of amount owed), 2016.
• Lead counsel in sophisticated and high-stakes real estate litigation involving more than 200 acres of prime development property in the City of Charleston on the Ashley River. Represented the lender entity, Magnolia/ARC Lender, LLC (“MARC”), which held secured debt of more than $20mm on the property. Prevailed upon all claims in litigation spanning state court, federal district court, and an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court, 2016.
• Counsel for Landowner in a multijurisdictional takings case, a zoning and constitutional property rights case involving more than 300 acres in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Involved state and federal court proceeding and appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2017-2023.
• Counsel for a multinational timberland REIT in eminent domain cases involving takings of timber-producing and development tracts by a state-owned railway company, 2018-2023.
• Lead trial counsel for Landowner on Kiawah Island, South Carolina in title to Marsh Case, 2018.
• Counsel for Landowner in Berkeley County zoning dispute, successful in obtaining a permit, 2018-2020.
• Led defense counsel in federal district court, negotiating a pretrial settlement of $75,000 on the plaintiff's claim for $1.8 million, 2014.
• Counsel for Landowner in right-of-way taking of railroad corridor by state-owned railway, offer of $1,705,500.00, settled for $4,500,000.00, 2019.
• Trial counsel in an eminent domain jury trial in Barnwell County, South Carolina, obtained a jury verdict 100x the amount of the offer, 2019.
• Lead trial counsel in title to marsh case for landowner in Mt. Pleasant, SC, 2020-2021.
• Second chair at a two-week-long jury trial in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in a case representing a tenant involving the applicability and effect of restrictive covenants in a commercial lease. Negotiated a seven-figure settlement payment with the landlord just prior to closing arguments, 2003.
• Counsel for Landowner in road ROW taking, offer of $202,630.00, settled for $1,595,000.00, 2021.
• Counsel for CSX in several SCDOT takings of railway corridor takings, 2021-2023.
• Counsel for Landowner in eminent domain case involving taking by South Carolina State Authority offered $1,166,800.00 and settled for $3,289,312.59 in 2021.
• Counsel for Landowner in SCDOT road right-of-way taking offered $98,000.00 and settled for $3,250,000.00 in 2021.
• Lead trial counsel in a specific performance case for a buyer relating to property in the City of Charleston against the Charleston County School District and the State of South Carolina. 2021.
• Counsel for Landowner in Eminent Domain case involving Dominion Energy taking of electrical power line easement across several tracts offered $1,786,800.00 and settled for $3,250,000.00 in 2021.
• Counsel for Landowner in eminent domain case involving taking by Charleston County for government office building offered $1,050,000.00 and settled for $1,400,000.00 in 2021.
• Counsel for Landowner in Berkeley County Road right-of-way and utility easement cases offered $580,700.00 and settled for $2,824,700.00 in 2021.  
• Counsel for Landowner in SCDOT highway ROW taking offered $4,900.00 and settled for $15,000.00 in 2021.
• Counsel for Landowner in eminent domain case involving taking by Charleston County for government office building offered $260,000.00 and settled for $500,000.00 in 2021.
• Counsel for the landowner in an easement and restrictive covenant dispute obtained summary judgment, prevailing in the case. 2022.
• Counsel for Landowner in road right-of-way and utility easement taking, offer of $280,000.00, settled for $840,000.00. 2022.
• Counsel for Landowner in SCDOT road right-of-way taking offered $1,900.00 and settled for $79,511.14, plus plan changes and residential property. 2022.
• Counsel for Landowner in Berkeley County highway right-of-way taking offered $134,170.00 and settled for $300,000.00. 2022.
• Counsel for Lessee in the major SCDOT highway project Carolina Crossroads spanning multiple tracts in Richland and Lexington Counties. 2022-Present.
• Counsel for Landowner in Berkeley County highway right-of-way taking offered $202,700.00 and settled for $80,000.00 in 2022.  
• Counsel for Landowner in Charleston County, taking for a government building complex, offered $2,100,000.00 and settled for $2,500,000.00 in 2022.  
• Counsel for Landowner in roadway right-of-way taking offer of $39,400.00, settled for $160,000.00. 2023.
• Counsel for Landowner in several takings by Dominion Energy for gas easement offered $670,000.00 and settled for $946,721.28 in 2023.
• Counsel for Landowner in Berkeley County road right-of-way and utility easement cases offered $108,900.00 and settled for $216,000.00 in 2023.
• American Tower v. Liberty County, Georgia. Lead counsel prevailed in a constitutional challenge of a local zoning ordinance regarding telecommunications tower permitting fees in Liberty County, Georgia, in 2013.
• High-profile workout of an $8,400,000 loan on a proposed development property near the Angel Oak tree in Charleston, SC (Johns Island). The matter involved navigation of sensitive environmental issues, significant media coverage, and negotiations with local political officials and groups such as Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, Charleston County Council members, and Lowcountry Open Land Trust, among others, in 2014. 
• Penny Creek Associates, LLC v. Fenwick Tarragon Apartments, LLC, 375 S.C. 267, 651 S.E.2d 617 (S.C. App., 2007). In a landmark case in South Carolina relating to condominium law, prevailed at the trial court level and on appeal in a case representing the developer of a 216-unit, 10-building multi-family apartment complex who wished to convert the units to a condominium form of ownership. The opposing party claimed that certain restrictions prohibiting the subdivision of the property eliminated the developer’s right to convert the condominiums, but the trial court and South Carolina Court of Appeals agreed with our client, holding that a condominium conversion is a subdivision of ownership interest, but not of the land itself as contemplated by the covenants at issue, 2007.
• SCDOT v. Realty Income: Prevailed on an appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court seeking to overturn an award of litigation expenses awarded post-trial, 2015 
• Holcombe & Fair v. Ashley II, Magnolia/ARC Lender, LLC. Lead counsel represented the lender holding approximately a $20 mm loan in intervention to protect collateral property. Prevailed on summary judgment on equitable lien and breach of contract claims, removed lis pendens from hundreds of acres of real property in the City of Charleston, South Carolina, 2015.
• Dixie Investments II, LLC vs. Peninsula Self Storage, LLC, lead trial counsel, prevailed in bench trial in boundary line dispute between multimillion-dollar commercial tracts in downtown Charleston, 2014
• SCDOT v. Realty Income Lead trial counsel in bench trial in eminent domain just compensation case, obtaining judgment for client landowner of $900,000 for the taking (versus offer of $201,000), plus over $100,000 in interest and attorneys’ fees award, 2012
• Lead counsel in several foreclosures and workouts on commercial, investment, and development properties relating to various loans totaling more than $100,000,000. Obtained several judgments in foreclosure cases and supervised several transactions on deeds in lieu of foreclosure, 2008-2013
• Holstein v. Spinnaker Resorts, et al.; defeated plaintiff's attempt to certify class of timeshare owners in Beaufort County Circuit Court; case settled on terms favorable to defendants after class certification failed, 2015.
• Sunset Landing, LLC v. Shining Ivory, LLC, Civil Action No.: 2006-CP-07-2848.  Lead litigation counsel obtained summary judgment, including an attorneys' fee award, in a six-figure real property contract dispute. The case was settled favorably during the appeal, 2010.
• Lucille Pate v. The Belle W. Baruch Foundation, Georgetown County Circuit Court. Defended the Belle W. Baruch Foundation at a two-week-long trial, which resulted in a “take nothing” judgment in a property dispute concerning approximately 80 coastal acres in Georgetown County, 2004.
• MPI South Carolina - 1, LLC v. Levy Center, LLC, Boyd Capital, LLC, The Savannah Bank, and The McNair Law Firm, P.A., Unpublished Opinion No. 2011-UP-065, South Carolina Court of Appeals (February 16, 2011). Lead litigation counsel obtained summary judgment, upheld on appeal, in favor of client Boyd Capital, LLC for a mid-six-figure judgment and attorneys' fees award, 2011.
• Shay v. Austin, 466 F.Supp.2d 664 (D.S.C. 2006). Lead litigation counsel obtained summary judgment in federal court, including an award of attorneys' fees, on a specific performance action for a client, a contract purchaser of an $840,000 property, in 2006.
• Thomas v. Louisiana-Pacific Corp., 246 F.R.D. 505 (D.S.C. 2007). Obtained class certification order in federal district court on behalf of class of plaintiff homeowners alleging defects in a composite wood trim product. Class certification order upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2007

Representative Clients

• KB HOME, Realty Income, Adams Outdoor Advertising, Ameris Bank, FrontDoor Communities, Beal Bank, CLMG, Adams Development Company, CATCON, WestRock, Rialto, Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, BELFOR

Pro bono / Community Service

• Carolina Yacht Club
• St. Philip’s Church
• Vice-Chair, Pro Bono Board, South Carolina Bar, 2016-Present 
• Reappointed as Chair for the City of Charleston Board of Zoning Appeals, 2023-2026
• Fellow, Riley Institute at Furman's Diversity Leaders Initiative, 2016 
• Chair, Nexsen Pruett, LLC Pro Bono Committee, 2007-2009; 2013-2017
• Executive Committee, Leukemia Ball, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2005

Educational Background

• Washington and Lee University, B.A., 1995
• Tulane University, Certificate in Environmental Studies

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

• "Analysis & Perspective, New Initiatives to Encourage Disclosure of Environmental Costs and Liabilities," 34 Env’t Reporter 217 (01/24/03) (BNA). Co-Author, BNA, 2003
• Continuing Legal Education Seminar presented by National Business Institute on Local Government Law: Lectured on the topic of Eminent Domain, Lecturer, NBI, Real Estate, 2015
• Participated on panel in public forum, at the invitation and request of Town Council, regarding short-term rentals in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, including issues emerging from rising popularity of Airbnb and vrbo.com. Panelist, Real Estate, 2015
• "Landlord-Tenant Mediation/Dispute Resolution," Lecturer, Landlord-Tenant Law, Sterling Education Services, Inc., 2011
• "Eviction and the Judicial Process," Lecturer, Commercial Landlord Tenant Law, Sterling Education Services, Inc., 2010
• "Eviction and Judicial Process" and "Ethical Considerations in Landlord-Tenant Law" at Commercial Landlord-Tenant Law CLE Seminar in Columbia, SC, on January 6, 2009. Lecturer, Commercial Landlord-Tenant Law, Sterling Education Services, Inc.

Honors

• With this award, we honor young professionals who take community service to the next level. They are the future of our community and we tip our hats to their awesome commitment to professional, personal and philanthropic endeavors. How exactly do 40 people rise to the top each year? The Forty Under 40 awards are about well-rounded lifestyles that focus on work and community. Plenty of businesspeople give 110% to their jobs, making this region thrive economically. However, lots of people go beyond that and donate their personal time and talents to the Lowcountry’s countless nonprofits and charitable organizations. We take this opportunity to honor those who go above and beyond in both realms., Forty Under 40 Award Winner, Charleston Regional Business Journal, 2009
• Leadership Charleston (2007)
• South Carolina Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in Business Litigation (2012, 2013)
• Best Lawyers in America® (Commercial Litigation) (2016-2017).
• Martindale Hubbell, AV Preeminent, Peer Review Rated (2012-2018).
• Outstanding Subcommittee Chair, ABA Section of Litigation, 2012

Awards

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AV Preeminent®: This elite award is granted to attorneys who have been recognized by their peers for their very high ethical standards, with an average peer review score of 4.5 or higher.