The dust still hasn't settled in the fight between the town of James Island and the city of Charleston, but the legal costs of the struggle are clear. They are close to half a million dollars and rising.
Although the S.C. Supreme Court's ruling against the town means the end is in sight, it isn't here yet, and the bills are still growing.
"The lawyers are happy with all this," said James Island Mayor Mary Clark.
The town has asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling that the law that allowed the town to incorporate was unconstitutional special legislation. That likely won't add dramatically to the final bill, but it will add some.
To this point, the combined legal bills in the suit challenging the town's legality and a related suit that dealt with overlap between the town and the James Island Public Service District total about $470,000.
The city has spent about $150,000 in the two suits; the town and the PSD have spent more than $300,000.
Both town and city officials say their expenses were justified.
The town's existence was at stake, and the city wanted to be able to grow on the island and prevent the town from siphoning off shared local sales taxes.
"We had no choice," Clark said.
Frances Cantwell, an attorney who represented the city, said that while the legal battle has not been cheap, the stakes were high.
The town, if it continues to exist, will block the city from continuing to annex and expand on the island.
"It's a lot of money, no matter how you slice it," she said. "Clearly, for the citizens of the city of Charleston, it was worth it."
The town also will deprive the city of money it would have received as a share of local option sales taxes that are distributed to municipalities. Town officials say that residents were entitled to their fair share.
City officials estimated that Charleston could have lost as much as $500,000 annually. Cantwell noted that the suit cost the city far less than that.
"In the long run, this will be a bargain for the city of Charleston," she said.
Clark said that while the town had to spend the money to defend itself against the city's suit, it ultimately was a waste.
"Look what we could have done with the money, look at what the city of Charleston could have done," she said.
The two current suits were not the only legal battles involving James Island.
An earlier town of James Island met the same fate, and the James Island PSD has frequently been engaged in litigation with the city.
"It just goes on and on and on," said Clark.
The town's hopes now hang by a slender legal thread.
Both sides agree the chances that the court will agree to reconsider its unanimous ruling are slim.
If the court declines, the town will be dissolved.
"It's very difficult to get five people to change their minds," said Trent Kernodle, an attorney for the town. "We'll see. We're going to give it our best shot."
The town can still function until the court rules on the request for reconsideration, although a circuit judge who ruled against the town told officials to avoid doing anything drastic.
"We still have a charter," said Clark. "Until the charter is revoked, we're still in business."
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Jason Hardin covers the city of Charleston. Contact him at 937-5549 or jhardin@postandcourier.com.