By Dan McCue

CHARLESTON -- CaroLinks has settled a lawsuit filed by a North Carolina developer over a $500,000 loan given to the Charleston-based logistics company in support of its plans to establish an inland port with a direct rail connection to North Charleston.

But the settlement was just one event in a month of financial developments for the company, which last month sold the land options it held on nearly 1,300 acres in Orangeburg to Dubai-based Jafza International.

Last week company officials also satisfied an outstanding tax debt to the state of South Carolina of more than $82,000, and another outstanding tax debt, this one to the federal government, of nearly $483,000.

"We've settled everything," said company spokesman Alan Capper. "CaroLinks has settled its liabilities and settled this lawsuit to everyone's satisfaction."

The details of the settlement, which was filed in Charleston County Civil Court on Oct. 10, remain confidential. The debts were related to unpaid employee withholding taxes, according to documentation filed with the Charleston County registrar's office.

The court documents  revealed that developer John W. Harris lent CaroLinks $500,000 to help support its planned inland port project, which initially included an ambitious plan to transfer cargo from the S.C. State Ports Authority's Wando Welch terminal to the former Macalloy site in Charleston, and then to transport it by rail and barges to Orangeburg.

Harris, who is president and CEO of the Charlotte-based commercial real estate investment firm Lincoln Harris, said in the lawsuit that CaroLinks' decision to abandon the purchase of the Macalloy site was a violation of the loan agreement.

CaroLinks attributed the decision to pull out of the purchase to uncertainties related to the SPA's plan to build a new cargo container terminal at the former Charleston Naval Base, a site that would have been directly adjacent to its planned facility at the Macalloy site.

At the time, the SPA was wrestling with concerns raised by the National Marine Fisheries Service about the impact of increased shipping into Charleston Harbor on the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

CaroLinks said its main lender would not allow the deal to close until the whale and other environmental issues at the Macalloy site were addressed. Ultimately, the company's option on the land expired.

In his lawsuit, Harris said CaroLinks agreed to repay the loan with interest July 29.

He filed his complaint on Aug. 2. Harris' attorney, Jeffrey A. Long, declined to comment on the settlement.

Capper said the company's principals have "learned a lot" over the two years that have transpired since it originally announced its inland port and intermodal plan.

"The experience has made us tougher and very, very focused on our company's purpose and objectives," he said. "I think the future is going to be an extension of what we've been about all along. What we are doing is offering our clients turnkey solutions on Web site selection, property development and logistics…and we'll be far more than simply a consultancy.”

For example, given CaroLinks' founder Lucy Duncan-Scheman’s background in the security field and that many companies today have unique security and privacy needs, the company may look at specific sites for a client and offer them security services.

Duncan-Scheman established a port security firm, Safe-Ports, prior to starting her logistics business in Charleston.

"We could also consider doing a commerce park again," Capper said. "It all depends on what our client base is going to need."

If there is a change in CaroLinks' focus, it is that its mandate now extends far beyond Orangeburg and Shipyard Creek, Capper said.

"What we see now is that we will be a national company," he said.

CaroLinks’ headquarters would remain in Charleston for the foreseeable future, Capper said, but its future projects will likely take its staffers all over the country.

"Lucy's heart is in the Southeast, and I'm sure she'd like to do more projects here, but like I said, this is a national company now, and we'll be wherever there's a client in need of strong logistics management skills," he said.