By Matt Tomsic
mtomsic@scbiznews.com
Published June 4, 2012

A judge set a hearing next week for a lawsuit between conservation groups and Carnival Cruise Lines so that attorneys can brief the judge on the case’s progress and pending motions.

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On May 24, the S.C. Supreme Court appointed Judge Clifton Newman as a special referee, and Newman set the hearing for June 14.

At the hearing, attorneys will brief Newman on the status of several motions that are pending before the state Supreme Court. Newman will then prepare a report for the court and will provide recommendations for rulings on motions by defendants to dismiss the case and by plaintiffs to file another reply to the defendants’ motion.

The state’s highest court took the cruise lawsuit out of Charleston County court in January after granting original jurisdiction in the case.

The lawsuit — filed in June 2011 by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of neighborhood associations and conservation groups — argues Carnival Cruise Lines is breaking local zoning, nuisance and environmental permitting laws. The legal complaint has 12 counts and wants Carnival to go through the processes required of Charleston tourism-related businesses.