SOUTH CAROLINA — A new judge has taken the reins in the James Brown estate proceedings, and on May 12 he issued an order that may help to conclude nine years of legal battles in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit.

Aiken Judge Clifton Newman has ordered the Columbia law firm of Kenneth Wingate release a document requested in 2011 under the FOIA from Attorney General Alan Wilson by former Brown co-trustee, Adele Pope of Newberry.

The document, known as the “Wingate contract,” retained the firm of Sweeny Wingate and Barrow to bring a 2010 lawsuit against Pope and former co-trustee Robert Buchanan of Aiken.

Plaintiffs included both public and private parties: the Attorney General and the trustee he appointed, Columbia CPA Russell Bauknight; the Brown children who contested the will; and others, including Tomirae Hynie, Brown’s companion who claimed a spousal share of his assets.

On June 17, the S.C. Supreme Court ruled that Hynie and Brown were not married.

The lawsuit that resulted from the Wingate contract, Richland 4900, alleged that Buchanan and Pope damaged a trust created by the Attorney General, the Legacy Trust, during the 18 months they served as co-trustees, 2007-2009.

Richland 4900 was filed soon after Buchanan and Pope appealed a 2009 settlement under which then Attorney General Henry McMaster gave to will contestants and Hynie over half of what Brown left to his education charity for needy students, the “I Feel Good” Trust.

Brown’s will provided that will contestants receive nothing.

Pope has claimed in court pleadings that Richland 4900 was an effort to stop the appeal of the McMaster settlement, which was overturned in 2013 by the Supreme Court with a decision that called the settlement a “dismemberment” of Brown’s estate plan.

While mounting her defense in Richland 4900, Pope requested a copy of the Wingate contract from Attorney General Wilson. When the contract was withheld, Pope sued under the FOIA.

The FOIA gives citizens the right to view public documents and attend public meetings, thereby improving government transparency and awareness of public officials’ actions.

Attorney General Wilson advanced several arguments as to why the document should not be released to Pope, and in an unprecedented move, her FOIA lawsuit was consolidated with Richland 4900 at the Attorney General’s request.

The consolidation is how the May 12 ruling in a private tort action may help to resolve the FOIA lawsuit, which by definition involves public documents. The FOIA suit itself is still pending.

In Judge Newman’s order he wrote, “The Wingate Agreement is not privileged in that it is a public document. This document was previously declared to be public by both a United States District Court and in a South Carolina Circuit Court.”

In November 2013, a copy of the contract was produced in a Brown-related federal lawsuit, and in July 2014 a copy of the contract was produced in a Newberry County FOIA lawsuit. When released in 2013, the contract was found to contain a clause that said: this is a public document and is subject to FOIA.

Pope has continued her FOIA lawsuit to confirm that previously-released copies of the Wingate contract were complete and exact. Attorney General Wilson has fought the release, arguing that the lawsuit became moot when the contract was released in other lawsuits.

Richland 4900 claims the former trustees damaged the Legacy Trust by “tens of millions,” a figure that belies the $4.7 million value Bauknight reported to the IRS for Brown’s music empire.

Richland 4900 has not been heard, but Buchanan dropped out of Brown litigation after he was paid $500,000 (half-million dollars) from the estate in 2012.

Brown’s companion, Tomirae Hynie, has received payments from the exercise of rights under the Federal Copyright Act, even though the Supreme Court has ruled she and Brown were not married. Brown’s children have also received payments. No information about funding for Brown’s charity is available.

Judge Newman assumed responsibility for all Brown litigation when Aiken Judge Doyet Early retired in 2019, and Judge Newman has announced he hopes to conclude the litigation in a timely manner.

Pope was represented by Columbia attorney Adam Silvernail.