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Davis v. Orange-Calhoun Law Enforcement Commission1/29/2001
Appeal From Orangeburg County Donald W. Beatty, Circuit Court Judge
Heard September 13, 2000
REVERSED
In this wrongful discharge action, the Orangeburg-Calhoun Law Enforcement Commission ("OCLEC") appeals from a jury verdict in favor of Joshua Davis. We reverse.
FACTS
On May 2, 1985,Orangeburg County, Calhoun County, and the City of Orangeburg formed the Orangeburg-Calhoun Regional Law Enforcement Commission to provide facilities for incarceration of prisoners. A detention center was established and operated by this joint commission, composed of representatives appointed by the governing bodies of all three entities. The detention center included a canteen from which inmates and staff could purchase drinks, snacks, cigarettes, and sundries. The money generated from the canteen and the pay telephones was known as the "canteen fund."
During the relevant times, James Gordon was the Director of the Detention Center. In 1990, Joshua Davis applied for the position of Deputy Director. Davis told Gordon that he had a bachelor's degree in marketing and accounting and at least thirty hours of college credit in accounting. Gordon hired Davis, and assigned him the task of establishing an accounting system for the canteen fund so that it could be properly audited. At that time there were no policies or procedures governing the handling of the canteen fund.
Davis drafted policies and procedures which the commission revised and adopted in 1991. Under these procedures, Davis had primary responsibility for counting, verifying, and maintaining the cash receipts, as well as verifying the deposit of funds by an administrative assistant. Davis reconciled the fund records and reported monthly in writing to the commission.
In 1993, the City of Orangeburg withdrew from the commission. Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties repealed their enabling ordinances and created a new commission. Although Davis argues in his brief that Calhoun County did not follow Orangeburg County's lead in abolishing the "old" OCLEC by amending the Calhoun ordinance, it is clear that Calhoun County also abolished the old OCLEC. Calhoun County ordinance 92-5 "abolish the existing commission and establish a new commission." Seven members were appointed to the new OCLEC, including some who had served on the previous commission.
In June 1993, the OCLEC approved a canteen fund policy largely promulgated by Davis, which required an annual audit. A certified public accountant audited the fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1993, reporting no problems. In November 1994, Davis reported a $1,250 expense for the 1994 audit of the canteen fund, leading the OCLEC to believe an audit had been performed for that year. In 1995 the canteen fund audit was added to the bid package with other Orangeburg County audits, and the county selected a different accounting firm to conduct the audit.
In November 1995, the new auditor reported to the OCLEC that the Detention Center did not have sufficient records to audit the canteen fund. A committee was formed to investigate, and a bookkeeper was hired to put the records into ledger form. Later that month, an OCLEC commissioner reviewed the records and concluded that they did not agree with the monthly reports Davis had presented to the OCLEC.
In early January 1996, the bookkeeper and several OCLEC commissioners met with Davis and Gordon at the Detention Center to inventory the canteen. Davis allegedly told them he did not consider it necessary to set up the account on a ledger system and insisted the fund could be audited as it was. Contrary to Davis's position, OCLEC commissioners testifi
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