Businesses didn't prove burden tied to ban, ruling says
By Jonathan Tressler - The Sun News

An Horry County judge on Tuesday denied a temporary restraining order to a group of Surfside Beach businesses worried the town's smoking ban will harm their profits.

The businesses, mostly bars and restaurants, sought the injunction against the town so they may allow their customers to smoke inside their respective buildings.

They argued they're suffering "irreparable harm" in the face of the ban, which council passed July 24. It took effect Oct. 1, followed by a 30-day grace period.

The case comes at a time when the S.C. Supreme Court is reviewing a similar ban enacted by Greenville City Council Oct. 30, 2006, then overturned in March. It could set a legal precedent and pave the way for a statewide indoor smoking ban as in other states - something many have said is around the corner for South Carolina.

"From a common-sense type approach, my clients would like you to grant this motion on a kind of wait-and-see basis to see what happens in the Supreme Court," said Johnny Gardner, the Conway lawyer representing the Surfside Beach businesses.

But Circuit Judge Steven H. John said the Supreme Court's eventual decision in the Greenville case could very well preempt the need for a restraining order in Surfside Beach, especially if it leads to a statewide smoking ban.

John said he had another bone of contention with the businesses' argument that they've lost much money since the ban began.

"I don't have any information other than conjecture from the plaintiffs, like tax records or financial records, comparing the exact time period over the last few years to this year documenting if there have actually been losses. None of this is quantified for the court," the judge said. "I don't have anything in front of me that indicates irreparable harm at this point."

Gardner pointed out two of his clients referred to losses - one 15 percent and another 40 percent - since enforcement of the ban started, but John discounted those numbers, asking how he could know that wasn't "just a cyclical thing that happens ... this time of year."

Contact JONATHAN TRESSLER at 444-1723 or jtressler@thesunnews.com.