Developers suing 93-year-old Hilton Head resident decline meeting to discuss ‘relocation’ of construction

Blake Douglas
·2 min read
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As the developer lawsuit against 93-year-old native islander and landowner Josephine Wright continues, influential South Carolinians are rallying to her family’s aid.

Wright’s story drew considerable community and social media outcry last month, when she and her family first shared that they were being sued by developer Bailey Point Investment LLC, because of three alleged encroachments onto land the company is using to build a 147-unit neighborhood on Jonesville Road. The company and the legal representatives listed in Beaufort County court records have not responded to The Island Packet’s requests for comment on the suit since May 16.

Former state Rep. Bakari Sellers was among the most high-profile figures to state their support for Wright. On May 26, Sellers sent a letter to Bailey Point management, which has since been provided to The Island Packet.

“To preserve the principle of property ownership and safeguard the rights of Ms. Josephine Wright to exclude others from her property, we request your consideration to relocate to a different region within Hilton Head Island to fulfill your business objectives effectively without encroaching upon Ms. Wright’s enjoyment of her private property,” the letter reads.

Bakari Sellers made history in 2006 when he became a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. This made him the youngest African American elected to office at the time. He was named to TIME’s “40 Under 40” list in 2010, and The Root’s 100 Most Influential African Americans list in 2014 and 2015.
Bakari Sellers made history in 2006 when he became a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. This made him the youngest African American elected to office at the time. He was named to TIME’s “40 Under 40” list in 2010, and The Root’s 100 Most Influential African Americans list in 2014 and 2015.

Sellers requested a meeting with the company to discuss the situation, but received no response. Sellers said he is planning to visit Hilton Head soon to meet with Wright in person.

The family shared concerns that the lawsuit was meant to financially pressure them and force them into selling the land, which is surrounded on all sides by parcels Bailey Point purchased for development. Their answer to the original lawsuit also claims the company has used intimidation tactics to make Wright’s life uncomfortable, including workers coming onto her property to litter and cut the family’s shrubs and tree branches, “causing dirt and debris to cover her automobile, house and contents.”

After Wright’s story went public, thousands online voiced their support for the Gullah family. Family members flew to South Carolina on short notice, asking Hilton Head’s leaders to help their grandmother retain the 1.8-acre parcel she’s owned for 30 years, and that has been in the family for close to 150.

Since the suit was originally filed, two of the three encroachments the company claimed have been resolved, including a shed that cost about $1,900 to remove. The family has since created a GoFundMe page to assist with that cost and ongoing legal fees, which has raised over $17,000.

Wright maintains the final alleged encroachment, her home’s back porch, sits well within her property lines. The family commissioned an independent survey, Wright said, which found the porch does not cross onto Bailey Point’s parcels.

The lawsuit is still in discovery, according to Bluffton-based attorney Roberts Vaux, who is representing the Wright family.

Josephine Wright lists her relatives, including her son, that are buried in Elliott Cemetery, a Gullah graveyard located behind the gates of Hilton Head Plantation on June 9, 2023 as Kelly LeBlanc looks over a gravesite records. Wright is currently fighting to keep her land that family says has been in their name since around the end of the Civil War.